NANOGrav Student Teams of Astrophysics Researchers Undergraduate Pathways (STARS-UP): Infrastructure for the Two to Four-Year College Transition

The proposed STARS-UP (Students Teams of Astrophysics Researchers - Undergraduate Pathways) program will create research partnerships between five two-year community and technical colleges (CTC), four four-year colleges (FYC), including the lead institution West Virginia University, and the Green Bank Observatory. The overarching goal of the research partnerships is to increase diversity, and retention of that diversity, in STEM by creating CTC and FYC partnerships, which will allow CTC students and faculty to conduct original scientific research in a local chapter of a national astrophysics research community while providing them with STEM mentoring. First-generation, underrepresented minority, and other students from low socioeconomic status communities represent the largest untapped STEM talent pool in the U.S. STARS-UP will build a sustainable pipeline to careers in astronomy, physics, and the greater STEM enterprise for students who begin their post-secondary education at community or two-year colleges and transfer to four-year colleges. The project will include collaboration between the NSF-funded Pulsar Search Collaboratory, North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) Physics Frontiers Center, and the First2 Network, West Virginia’s NSF INCLUDES Alliance, and will build on several successful education programs. STARS-UP will pair each CTC with a nearby FYC to form bilateral research and mentoring partnerships. These CTC-FYC pairs will work together on a research project throughout the academic year. Project activities will include online training sessions with all participants, local meetings between each CTC-FYC pair, a summer workshop at the Green Bank Observatory, attendance at NANOGrav meetings, and development of faculty and peer mentoring networks. Multiple levels of research projects will be available to students as they progress through the program, ultimately leading to publishable research papers. The project also provides a pathway for CTC faculty to become full members of NANOGrav, hence ensuring sustainability of the STARS-UP initiative. Through involvement with large scientific organizations, the network will be offered as a model community. The project will also include examination of the cumulative impact of participation on retention, transfer, and graduation rates for STARS-UP students compared to historical STEM student data from each CTC institution as well as the impact on STEM interest, STEM belonging, and STEM and cultural identities of participating students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.