WVU astrophysicist to connect community college students with four-year STEM research institutions

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WVDN) — A West Virginia University researcher is paving the way for two-year community and technical college students to pursue astrophysics and astronomy at four-year institutions like WVU.

The project, called Students Teams of Astrophysics Researchers — Undergraduate Pathways, or STARS-UP, is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships in Astronomy and Astrophysics Research and Education initiative, which is expanding and diversifying the astronomy community by building more pathways for students to get into astronomy and astrophysics.

Maura McLaughlin , department chair and Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy in the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences , said the program will bring together different types of institutions to get more students involved in STEM research.

“We want to create a sustainable pipeline to careers in these areas for students at a two-year college who are interested in science,” she said. “Maybe they’re not really sure what kind of science, not really sure if they have what it takes to go to a four-year university. They’ll be able to get involved in a research project, get experience with research and also be part of a community.”

WVU is currently partnering with WVU Potomac State College in Keyser. Faculty and students from both schools will conduct joint research and meet primarily online to start, and then in person through the fall and spring. Additionally, the participants will attend a summer workshop at the Green Bank Observatory.

“We’ll build bilateral research agreements,” McLaughlin said of her partnership with Potomac State’s Joan Vogtman , with whom she’ll work to recruit students, establish a research team and plan school visits. “The goal is for Potomac State students to come to WVU as undergraduates and finish their physics degrees here. And hopefully, they’ll go on to graduate school or into STEM careers.”

In the same vein, she sees STARS-UP as a chance to reach students from different backgrounds. The program is particularly focused on students from low socioeconomic communities, first-generation students and underrepresented minorities who may lack access to a STEM education.

The partnership will include four four-year colleges — WVU, Penn State Abington, the University of Washington Bothell and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; five community and technical colleges — Cascadia College, Lorain County Community College, Montgomery County Community College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha and WVU Potomac State; and the Green Bank Observatory. Each two-year college will be paired with a nearby four-year college to conduct bilateral research and form mentorships.

“All the community colleges have students from underrepresented groups, but they’re different kinds of underrepresented students,” she said. “At WVU, we have a lot of very rural students but less racial diversity. Our partners at Montgomery County Community College outside Philadelphia will have fewer rural students but more African American students. And then our partner out in Washington State, Cascadia College, has a lot of Native American students.”

Each of the four-year institutions is part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves, a scientific collaboration co-directed by McLaughlin that detects low-frequency gravitational waves using highly magnetized neutron stars called pulsars. NANOGrav engages K-12 students through an outreach team and gives them hands-on research experiences in astrophysics.

A second part of the project will track the participants as they move through the research partnerships. The researchers will observe how different interventions — like Zoom versus in-person instruction — affect the students’ experience. McLaughlin said she hopes this data will give the researchers a blueprint for how to implement similar programs at other institutions.

“Maybe we’ll find that our West Virginia students are impacted way more by a visit to Morgantown, whereas for the students in Philadelphia, it’s not so important, and the larger impact is found from Zoom meetings that make it easier because they’re working during the day. We’ll try to root out the impediments to moving on to a four-year institution and how we can solve them in a place-specific way.”

McLaughlin said she is hopeful students coming from two-year colleges will excel at WVU.

“They’re some of the best students,” she said. “They work hard and think about their intentions and plans. It’s good because we’re at a critical juncture in West Virginia. The fraction of young people going to college is decreasing. So if we want to increase the economic prosperity of West Virginia, the number one way to do it is to create STEM jobs and produce students who can do those jobs.”

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