Space Physics and Astronomy

Dr. Darrel Smith, ChairDepartment of Physics

College of Arts & Sciences

Temasek Polytechnic Visit

September 6, 2013

Areas of Undergraduate Research

1. Astronomy

2. Gravitational Physics/Cosmology

3. Space Propulsion Systems

4. Particle Astrophysics / LIGO

On the web: http://physicsx.pr.erau.edu/SpacePhysics/

Summer Internships

The MiniBooNE DetectorAt Fermilab

Gravitational Waves sensing with LIGO

LIGO Livingston Observatory

LIGO Hanford Observatory

"Colliding Black Holes“ Credit: National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)

Dr. Andri GretarssonDr. Brennan HugheyDr. Michele Zanolin

Relativity violations imply a modified acceleration on Earth

Atom interferometers can measure daily changes in the local gravitational acceleration on Earth arising from violations of the laws of Relativity. This was recently studied by a group of Stanford physicists using atom interferometers.

Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs)Zachery Northern

Exotic Propulsion

at ERAU Prescott

Matter-Antimatter PropulsionMatt Boyd

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP)Theoretical Modeling

Steven Walton

Road Trips (Los Alamos Nat’l Lab)

Road Trips (JPL--Pasadena, CA)

1. Society of Physics Students2. Sigma-Pi-Sigma (Honors Society)

Road Trips

Space Physics Program

On the web: http://physicsx.pr.erau.edu/SpacePhysics/

This is a 4-year program. 120 credit hours

You will want to average ~15 credit hours per semester.

Many students are involved in undergraduate research projects before their senior year.

Astronomy Program (New Program)

1. Starting Fall 20132. Combination of Astronomy and Astrophysics3. Dr. Brian Rachford (Program Chair)

Astronomy Program

Undergraduate Research Projects

1. Funded Hubble Space Telescope (NASA)Search for super–massive black holes, and galaxy formation.

2. Kepler Project (Caltech) Search for extra-solar planets

3. Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) in collaboration with CU Boulder, Univ. of Chicago and other institutions.

Dr. Brian Rachford (Program Chair)Dr. Nick Devereux

Astronomy Program

Our Observatory (Variable light sources)

1. Extra-Solar Planets

2. Eclipsing Binary Stars

3. Variable Stars (varying light output-intrinsic to the star)

Dr. Brian Rachford (Program Chair)Dr. Nick Devereux

Astronomy Program

Research Experience for Undergraduates (Summer)

1. NSF supported REU summer internships

2. NASA supported summer internships

Program is already developed inside the Space Physics program

1. Students have already published in peer-reviewed journals.

2. Observatory, Radio Telescopes, and antenna arrays are alreadyup and running.

Physics and Astronomy

1. Prepare students for jobsin industry and labs.

2. Prepare students for graduate school

Graduate RecordsExams (GREs)