National Science Foundation Award # 2428684

PI Paul McCudden, Colorado Mountain College
Co-PI Russell Genet, Gila Community College
Co-PI Rachel Freed, Institute for Student Astronomical Research
Co-PI Sanlyn Buxner, University of Arizona

The consortium engages two-year colleges students and faculty in collaborative astronomy
research projects. The consortium brings together students and instructors from rural areas in
Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. While undergraduate research in two-year colleges is a
growing national initiative, small rural colleges often rely on unique strategies to support their
students in authentic engagement with the STEM enterprise. Importantly, the nation's recent
rural broadband initiative, remote online synchronous classes, and centralized internet
accessed research facilities such as robotic telescopes, have made it possible for the
consortium to offer significant research opportunities in rural regions of the US.
 

So far, research projects have been precise measurements of close binary stars, using speckle
astrometric techniques.