The Department of Physics and Astronomy has received funding from NASA and the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium to support undergraduate research in advance of the total solar eclipse on August 21st, 2017. Several students from the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the School of Engineering, with the help of faculty mentors, will design and build a payload that will be flown on a high altitude balloon during the eclipse. Initially students will be selected for part-time research during the fall of 2016. However, it is anticipated that these same students may continue working on the project through the post flight analysis of the data which will extend into the fall semester of 2017.

Students who receive the initial award will be supported for 10 hours of research work per week during the fall semester of 2016. Preference will be given to candidates who are current or recently declared majors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and who have an anticipated graduation date of December 2017 or later. Exceptional candidates who plan to graduate in April 2017 or August 2017 will be considered, but at minimum they should be available to participate during the August 2017 eclipse event. Preference will also be given to qualified women and minority candidates. Please note that only U.S. Citizens are eligible to receive one of these awards.

 

The deadline for applications is Friday, September 2nd, 2016.

 

The application materials should include:

1) A letter of interest (be sure to include your name, department and email address).

2) A resume or CV.

3) A letter of recommendation from a faculty member.

4) A transcript (official or unofficial).

 

All application materials should be sent to:

Dr. Russell Clark

Department of Physics and Astronomy

100 Allen Hall

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

 

Questions should be directed to Dr. Russell Clark (ruc2@pitt.edu).