Target audience: Undergraduate ALFALFA Team members

Goals:

• Instruct undergraduates (and their faculty mentors) about the ALFALFA project and the nature of large legacy style surveys
• Interaction of undergraduates with their peers, ALFALFA experts, and NAIC staff
• Presentations by undergraduates of their ALFALFA-related research
• Observing experience on Arecibo telescope
• Provide a framework for exchanging materials (lecture PPT, handouts, exercises) among participants as well as the educational community.

Workshop Components:

• Lectures covering the science background and technical details of ALFALFA
• Tours of Arecibo Observatory
• Lectures about Arecibo science by NAIC staff
• Observing run on Arecibo telescope:
  • Students collaboratively write observing proposal in weeks before observing run and submit to NAIC director
  • Students obtain observations during meeting, observing in groups of 3-4 with an ALFALFA expert
  • Reduction of observations in groups during meeting
• Faculty discussion of educational materials
• See January 2009 Workshop Schedule (more links below)

Contact: Becky Koopmann (koopmanr at union.edu)