California-Arizona Minority Partnership for Astronomy Research and Education

(CAMPARE)

Astronomy, Planetary Science, and Astrobiology

summer research opportunities

CAMPARE opens up a world of possibilities

CAMPARE: What is it?

• Paid 10-week summer internships• Housing and travel costs included• Research areas include: Astronomy,

Planetary Science, Astrobiology• Sites include: University of Arizona

Steward Observatory, SETI Institute, JPL/Caltech

CAMPARE: Where is it?

CAMPARE: Research projectsSETI Institute• IR spectroscopy of ethane and ethane-water mixtures• Dark slope streaks on Mars• Meteor showers and their parent comets• SETI and radio astronomy

JPL/Caltech• Morphology of Titan dunes• Studies of main belt asteroids• Planetary atmospheres outside the Solar System

University of Arizona Steward Observatory• IR variability of proto-planetary disks• Molecular cloud mapping with the Arizona sub-millimeter telescope • Observations of young stars in the Carina Nebula • Astronomy camp/astronomy education research

Studies of Main-Belt Asteroids• Mario’s project was entitled “WISE/NEOWISE

Post-Cryogenic Main-Belt Asteroid Data Analysis”

• His project was to determine the accuracy of the post-cryogenic data for the main-belt asteroids, working with the NEOWISE team led by the Dr. Amy Mainzer and Dr. Joe Masiero.

Mario Cabrera, Physics majorWorked at JPL/Caltech

OREOcube experiment on the ISS• Jason Alonzo is an Electrical

Engineering major pursuing a minor in Physics

• His mentor was Dr. Richard Quinn of SETI, and his research was conducted at NASA Ames Research Center: Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

• He worked on OREOcube, an astrobiology experiment destined for the International Space Station

• His project was to develop various sample cells of organic and inorganic materials to study chemical reactions while exposed to a space environment

Jason preparing the Deposition System with SiO2 optical window for the organic sublimation procedure.

Studies of the M17 Molecular Cloud

• Natalie Nicole Sanchez is a Physics major

• She worked at the Steward Observatory in Tucson, Arizona this past summer

Natalie next to the Submillimeter Telescope (SMT) on Mt. Graham in Arizona

• Her mentor was Dr. John Bieging of the University of Arizona.

• Her project was to reduce raw data from the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope into three dimensional data maps of the M17 molecular cloud

• The image to the right shows the M17 molecular cloud at its brightest velocity

• Aaron is an Electrical Engineering pursuing a minor in Physics/Astronomy.

• His mentor was Dr. Gerry Harp, Director of Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA.

• Project included several individual projects to develop software for the Allen Telescope Array (ATA).

Aaron with 3 of 42 antennas of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA). Hat Creek Radio Observatory. July 2012.

SETI: Software Development at the ATA

CAMPARE: Who has participated?20 students from seven different majors have participated in CAMPARE:• Physics, Geology, Biology• Aerospace, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering

CAMPARE: Where are they now?8 participants have graduated since CAMPARE began; their pursuits include:• Graduate training• Teaching career• NASA internship• NUPOC program, US Navy

Student Major Post-graduation activities/plans

Amber Butcher Geology PhD program, Department of Earth Sciences, USC

Ashley Curry Biology Applying to PhD programs in Biology

Clint Hawkins Physics Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program (NUPOC), U.S. Navy

Steven Jasso Physics High school physics teaching credential program, CPP

Courtney Lemon Physics PhD program, Department of Physics, Florida State University

Hector Saldivar Physics Engineering job or high school physics teaching credential program

Steffi Valkov Aero Internship, NASA Academy, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB

Stephanie Zajac Physics MS program in astronomy instrumentation, SUNY Stony Brook

CAMPARE: Presentations at national meetings

Students present at national meetings such as the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meetings in Seattle, Austin, and Long Beach and at the American Geophysical Union meetings in San Francisco

Stephanie Zajac (above) was selected as one of the winners of the Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award competition, “given to recognize exemplary research by undergraduate students who present posters at the semi-annual AAS meetings”

CAMPARE: Who can apply?Anyone can apply! The only requirements are :• Complete freshman physics before the summer• Don’t graduate before the summerApplication materials are:• On-line application, including personal essay• Transcript• 2 letters of recommendationApplications are due February 1, 2013

Visit: www.csupomona.edu/~astronomy for more information

alrudolph@csupomona.edu