EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP): Enhancing Interdisciplinary Astrophysics Research at Dartmouth College

The National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) supports EGFP designated institutions/programs in EPSCoR jurisdictions by providing funding for graduate fellowships for eligible applicants. Institutions receive a total of three years of stipend and associated cost-of-education (COE) allowance for each NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellow. This award at Dartmouth College seeks to enhance research competitiveness and capacity through an investment in talent development. Fellow research topics will align with goals and programs supported by the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS). Research topics and activities will focus on the growth and development of cutting-edge astrophysics research in New Hampshire by supporting recruitment and retention of talented students. Graduate Fellows will conduct research in astrophysics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The projects will span observations and theory, and size scales from young exoplanets to the oldest Milky Way stellar populations, to the most distant galaxies and their supermassive black holes. Machine learning will be implemented to handle increasingly extensive theoretical and observational datasets. Fellows will work with undergraduate students as research mentors and participate in and organize outreach events to promote community engagement with STEM across northern New England EPSCoR region. Research associated with this award is aligned with NSF's priority areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Quantum Information Science (QIS). This program will recruit Fellows for research projects broadly focused on studying (i) dark energy and dark matter, (ii) cosmic magnetism, the solar wind, and radiatively active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets, (iii) extreme compact object environments (magnetars and black holes), and (iv) cosmic and stellar evolution. These projects systematically connect disparate areas of astrophysics and have a strong potential to advance broader understanding of the astrophysical processes that govern the universe, from its largest structures to its most extreme environments. The research outcomes could additionally deepen understanding of the conditions for planetary habitability and the evolution of our own Galaxy. 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.