UCSC Osterbrock Mini-Grant Program

Summaries by Year

2019-2020:

Osterbrock PI	Mentor(s)	Project Title	Brief Description
Felipe Ardila	Sandra Faber, Senior Fellow	Reviving the Sierra Conference: A Collaborative Meeting for UC Astronomy Graduate Students	Revive the annual UC astronomy graduate student Sierra Conference, Year 2
David Coulter	Steve Mandel, CEO Mandel Communications and Osterbrock Mentor	Expanding the Impact and Reach of Astronomy on Tap (AoT) Santa Cruz	Enlarge and improve AoT Santa Cruz through move to a larger venue, new audio-visual equipment, advertising, and survey follow-up
Brian DiGiorgio	None	Instrument-Building for Physics Undergraduates	Instrumentation experience for physics undergrads by designing and building a remotely operated weather station
Rosa Everson	Sandra Faber, Senior Fellow	The OLP/WiPA Bridge Scholarship	A scholarship program for undergraduates from underrepresented groups applying to STEM graduate programs to pay GRE, PGRE, and graduate program application fees. In partnership with UCSC Women in Physics & Astrophysics (WiPA)
Evan Morris	Emily Martin, co-organizer of the Equity and Inclusion Journal Club (EIJC)	Facilitation Training for Equity and Inclusion	Professional facilitation training for two grad students in the astronomy EIJC to support shift to organizational issues impacting the department

 

Note: There were no mini-grants in 2018-2019 because of a change in the program's application-and-award schedule.

2017-2018:

Osterbrock PI	Mentor(s)	Project Title	Brief Description
Felipe Ardila	Katherine Alatalo, STScI staff astronomer and Sierra Conference organizer 2009-10	Reviving the Sierra Conference: A Collaborative Meeting for UC Astronomy Graduate Students	Revive the annual UC astronomy graduate student Sierra Conference, which had lain dormant for several years
Kevin McKinnon	Steve Mandel, CEO Mandel Communications and Osterbrock Mentor; Carol Foote, science writer	UCSC Astro Monthly Newsletter: The Approachable Astronomer	Issue a newsletter (every month or quarter) that summarizes recent scientific advances in the UCSC Astronomy & Astrophysics department
Brittany Miles	Christine Rosales (MINT Co-Director); Esther Wallace, Interim Director, UCSC Women's Center	Supporting Underrepresented Womxn-Identified Students on Their Path to Graduate School	Provide underrepresented undergraduate womxn in the UCSC MINT (Matriculating, Influencing, Networking and Triumphing) program with research opportunities
Diana Powell	Prof. Ruth Murray-Clay	UCSC AstroPhysics Research Council (UAPRC)	Mentoring underrepresented minority students in physics wanting to pursue original research beyond AY 9: Introduction to Research
Amanda Quirk	Rick Gubash, Director, UCSC Disabilities Resource Center	Accessible Astronomy	Create a guide and resource materials for faculty and TAs in the astronomy department on how to make courses and instruction maximally accessible
Alexa Villaume	Genevieve Graves, tech entrepreneur and Osterbrock Mentor	Training and Support for Conflict Resolution in the Professional Setting	Send two astro grads to formal conflict-resolution training classes to serve as resource for grad community

 

2016-2017:

Osterbrock PI	Mentor(s)	Project Title	Brief Description
Viraj Pandya	Prof. Steve Finkelstein, UT Austin, PI of the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)	Experience in Large-Project Management	By special arrangement, Pandya was able to observe the project-building process for the CEERS team and through that became a team member