- Management Update: Statement from the Director (April 7, 2021)07 Apr, 2021
- Observatorio de Arecibo recibe cartas de apoyo y aliento de estudiantes en la Florida01 Apr, 2021
- Arecibo Observatory Staff Receives Letters of Support and Encouragement from Schoolchildren in Florida01 Apr, 2021
- Reflecting on the Legacy and the Future of the Arecibo Observatory01 Apr, 2021
- Arecibo Hunts Down “Spider” Pulsars24 Mar, 2021
- Education and Public Outreach Highlights (January – March 2021)24 Mar, 2021
- UCF Graduate Course Dives Deep into the Science, Engineering, & Operation of the Arecibo Observatory 24 Mar, 2021
- Preparing for Human Exploration of Mars: Missions to Earth-based Analog Sites 17 Mar, 2021
- Inspiring the Future of Space Exploration 17 Mar, 2021
- New Research on Photocatalysts for Clean Energy and Clean Waters08 Mar, 2021
- CARLA Instrument Container Arrives at Arecibo Observatory03 Mar, 2021
- Arecibo Observatory Contributes to the Exploration of Black Holes Started by this Year’s Nobel Prize Winners in Physics19 Nov, 2020
- UCF Delivers Engineering Options for Arecibo Observatory (AO)16 Nov, 2020
- Management Update (October 12, 2020) by Director Eng. Francisco Cordova13 Oct, 2020
- Summer Student Assists in Development of Newest AO Facility01 Oct, 2020
- STAR Academy: Training the Next Generation of STEM Professionals 29 Sep, 2020
AO Adapts: Continued Workshops, Training, and Education
Byadmin06 July 2020 Education

Education |
The Strategic Vision for Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) Workshop was funded by the NSF to occur the first week of April in Cornell University. The purpose of this workshop is to define a vision highlighting what the community sees as the most important objectives for the ISR facilities, and to develop a strategy for pursuing them. In lieu of the workshop, a mini-workshop was held with session speakers over video chat to discuss objectives and move the workshop goals forward.
ISR Summer SchoolThe Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) Summer School is a five-year NSF award to provide students with hands-on experience in designing and running experiments at (ISR) facilities. Since 2008, the ISR Summer School has been run to ensure the continued ISR technical capacity of future scientists. The 2020 ISR Summer School will be conducted virtually for the first time. The school will adopt a "flipped classroom" structure with pre-recorded lectures and live activities. Students will remotely conduct and analyze experiment data.
STAR Academy
The STEAM Teaching at Arecibo (STAR) Academy was not interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Classes and research projects were completed remotely. Rather than host a virtual graduation, the STAR students and their families will be invited for an in-person celebration at the Science and Visitor Center when conditions are safe enough.
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program
Adapting to the global pandemic, the AO REU students participated in a virtual one-week long professional development program this summer and will complete their internship at the observatory next year for 9 weeks (rather than the usual 10 weeks). During the professional development week, the students met AO scientists and engineers, participating in both technical talks and skill development presentations. The week also included discussions on equity, diversity, and inclusion in the science community. The program ended with a pizza party (pizza delivered to each student at their homes)! A few REU alumni attended to share their experiences with the group as well. The AO team looks forward to hosting these talented students on-site next year! The REU program is funded by the National Science Foundation to support active research participation by undergraduate students, and has been hosted at AO since 1987.
REU Virtual Professional Development Week
The Arecibo & Green Bank Observatories will co-host a Remote Observer Training Workshop between October 12 - 16, 2020. The Arecibo-specific sessions will be on Oct 15 - 16, 2020. This is a great opportunity for graduate students and astronomers to be trained to remotely use the Arecibo telescope and process the data. If you are interested, you can register at the Single Dish Training web post.
Web post written by Dr. Tracy Becker - AO Collaborator / SwRI |
Keywords: arecibo, observatory, ISR, education, radio, telescope, radio, STAR, single, dish