REU Site: The Lamat Summer Research Program on High Performance Computing in Astrophysics

This award supports the renewal of an REU Site in computational astrophysics at the University of California-Santa Cruz (UCSC). Students will principally be recruited from community colleges, where the main selection criteria will be outstanding academic accomplishments and promise of future achievement. Each year, ten selected interns will work closely with mentors at UCSC and will take part in an intensive eight-week introduction to astrophysical research methods and tools with an emphasis on computational astrophysics and astronomical instrumentation. The overall goal of the program is not to solely train the next generation scientists but to use astrophysical simulations and astronomical instrumentation as an exciting medium for imparting a broad array of technical skills to the participants. The REU Site will increase the retention and graduation rates for students enrolled in two-year colleges through inquiry-based learning of concepts related to astronomy and planetary sciences, using state-of-art astrophysical simulations and astronomical instrumentation as a common pillar. Through a comprehensive program of research instruction, mentoring, workshops, and support programs at UCSC, students will develop additional skills to advance their education and careers. As high-performance computing becomes a routine tool, industry and government will seek graduates with expertise in these fields. 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.