IRES: Exploring New Horizons in the Observable Universe at the Cosmic Dawn Center of Excellence

This award supports the DAWN-IRES Scholars Program, an international summer research experience for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students at the Cosmic Dawn Center of Excellence (DAWN) in Copenhagen, Denmark. DAWN specializes in studying the formation of the first stars, galaxies, and black holes - addressing some of the most profound questions in modern astronomy. Through a 10-week immersive program, students engage in globally competitive astrophysics research while developing critical skills in data analysis, communication, and cross-cultural collaboration. The program is designed to broadly encourage applications from students across a wide range of backgrounds. In addition to one-on-one research mentoring, the student cohort participates in community-building activities, professional development workshops, and public research presentations in both Denmark and the United States. The program promotes global collaboration, scientific discovery, and a more diverse STEM workforce. This project investigates the physical processes that governed the formation and evolution of the earliest galaxies, with a focus on the epoch of cosmic dawn. Working alongside faculty at the Cosmic Dawn Center and U.S.-based collaborators, students contribute to projects that explore questions such as: What caused cosmic reionization? How do the first galaxies assemble and shut down star formation? Research methods span observational astronomy - using data from a premier suite of space- and ground-based telescopes (including the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) - as well as theoretical modeling enabled by state-of-the-art hydrodynamical cosmological simulations and advanced data science techniques. Participants gain experience in scientific computing, proposal writing, and independent, data-driven inquiry. The broader impacts of the program include training the next generation of astronomers, building the STEM workforce and strengthening U.S. leadership in global astrophysical research through sustained international partnerships. 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.