USA Sky Partners: Expanding Access to Authentic Research Experiences for Undergraduates

A program called USA Sky Partners, managed by the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO), will provide astronomy research opportunities for students at US undergraduate institutions, especially those who are historically underrepresented in astronomy and who do not have easy access to professional astronomical facilities. The program provides the curriculum materials, training and mentoring for faculty, and access to a professional telescope network. The program builds research capacity, and fosters a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment for research and education. Over the next three years, the project will grow the program developed during a two-year pilot phase to add up to 25 faculty members participating at campuses on the US mainland and in Puerto Rico. The USA Sky Partners research experience to engage students is called the Astronomy Research Seminar. The first seminar topic for the program is Double Star Astrometry. The 8-week research program can be done separately or in conjunction with an introductory astronomy course. The curriculum materials are all available online. The observing experience utilizes the ten 0.4m telescopes in the LCO global robotic telescope network. These telescopes are dedicated almost entirely to education. All that is required to observe with LCO telescopes is a computer with access to the internet and an allocation of telescope time, which is provided through this award. The materials are open source and provided in English and Spanish, thus expanding access. A key component of the program is to provide a framework for developing partnerships between interested institutions to share materials and other successful internal programs. These interactions help build a more diverse and inclusive community. 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.