The New York City Space Science Research Alliance Enhancing Undergraduate Education and Research: An Educational Initiative Targetting Increased Diversity in Space Science

The New York City Space Science Research Alliance Program is initiating and enhancing multiple collaborations in Space Science research and developing a Space Science major in the City University of New York Baccalaureate Degree (BS) program. The Alliance is a coalition of CUNY Colleges in collaboration with the Astrophysics Department of the Hayden Planetarium, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The purpose of this initiative is to increase the pool of minority or underrepresented astrophysicists, astronomers and physicists; given the CUNY system with over 200,000 mostly minority students, this represents a unique opportunity to increase the production of minority scientists. The CUNY Baccalaureate Program offers students the chance to earn a BS by completing an individualized program of study and taking courses at any combination of the University's seventeen colleges and at the Graduate School and University Center. o Hayden, GSFC and GISS scientists are assisting in the development of the proposed CUNY BS Degree program in Space Science; o Hayden and GISS scientists will be among the faculty teaching courses in this program and classes will be held at Hayden and GISS; o Concentrations for students will include Planetary Science, Earth-Sun Connection, and Astrophysics; and o Undergraduate research and research related activities will play a significant role in the Space Science program; Research projects include: "Astrometry and Photometry of Asteroids, Comets with Emphasis on Near Earth Objects (NEO's)", "Photometry of Binary and Variable Stars", "Radial Distribution of Supernovae in Spiral and Elliptical Galaxies", "The Evolution of Galaxies in Groups", "Radio Luminosity Extinction in Jets of Extragalactic Radio Sources", "The Distribution and Dynamics of Atmospheric Aerosols on Jupiter" and "Probing Planetary Surfaces for Micro-Organisms".