Education and Public Outreach
The Center for Chemistry of the Universe, in association with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the North American ALMA Science Center, sponsored the 2009 Center for Chemistry of the Universe Workshop “Advancing Chemical Understanding through Astronomical Observations” May 26-29, 2009 at the site of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. The workshop focused on the formation of molecules under interstellar conditions, the challenges these conditions pose for experimental physical chemists, and the advantages provided by astronomical instruments such as the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Talks were given across six session topics: Laboratory Spectroscopy and Observations, Interstellar Surface Chemistry and Ices, Laboratory Kinetics for Interstellar Reactions, Theoretical Modeling of Interstellar Chemistry, Molecular Astrophysics with the GBT, and GBT Instrumentation for Chemistry Applications. Over 20 invited speakers, including senior scientists and those in their early career, shared their research findings and expertise with the 80+ individuals in attendance. The purpose of the workshop was largely educational; consequently, more than half of the registered participants were graduate students and postdoctoral research associates. Approximately 35 of these young scientists also participated in the workshop's poster session.
Click here for more details and pictures from the 2009 CCU Workshop. |
Undergraduate and Graduate Education
We plan to capitalize on the general public's interest in astronomy and space science to deliver a course that presents the "chemistry of the universe" to a general university audience. At the graduate level, the Center structure and its partnership with NRAO will provide unique collaborative training opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral research associates.
Public Outreach
The Center offers a unique and exciting opportunity to engage the interest of school children and the general public in scientific research. Astronomical observations that reveal the molecular composition of space generate much interest in the broader scientific community and the general public. In 2000 the first sugar, glycoaldehyde, was detected in space.Its detection was reported in the New York Times on July 18, 2000 and in Science News. Following additional observations of this sugar in space, this work was named one of the top 100 science stories of 2004 by Discover Magazine.
EPO Activities: Past and Present
- September 19, 2009
The University of Virginia hosted the 2009 Virginia-North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (VA-NC LSAMP) Graduate School Preparation Retreat September 18-20. Dr. Brooks Pate attended the retreat on Saturday to assist visiting LSAMP students with their graduate school applications, resumes, and personal statements.
- August 28, 2009
Dr. Brooks Pate gave a presentation as part of the University of Virginia Chemistry Department's Seminar Series entitled "Chemistry in the Interstellar Medium."
- August 6, 2009
Dr. Anthony Remijan gave a presentation to the NRAO-Green Bank Governor's School students entitled "Investigating Astrochemistry."
- August 4, 2009
Matt Muckle, a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Brooks Pate at the University of Virginia, gave the TUNA Lunch Talk at the NRAO Headquarters in Charlottesville, VA entitled "Laboratory and Possible Interstellar Detection of Trans-methyl Formate."
- July 29, 2009
Dr. Anthony Remijan gave a presentation to the NRAO-Charlottesville summer undergraduates entitled "Interstellar Chemistry."
- June 22-26, 2009
- May 26-29, 2009
CCU senior scientists, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students presented their research at the 64th International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy held at The Ohio State University.
The CCU, in association with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the North American ALMA Science Center, sponsored the 2009 CCU Workshop "Advancing Chemical Understanding through Astronomical Observations" at the site of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, WV.
- April 22, 2009
- April 6, 2009
Dr. Anthony Remijan gave a presentation to the Optical Technology Division at NIST entitled "Astrochemistry in the New Millennium: Centers, Surveys and Databases."
- April 2-4, 2009
Five graduate and postdoctoral students represented the CCU at the NSF and National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) "Research to Innovation (R2I)" workshop held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, Cambridge, MA.
Dr. Michael McCarthy gave a presentation as part of the Harvard University Origins of Life Initiative entitled "Organic chemistry and the Chemical bond in Interstellar Space."
- March 23-26, 2009
Dr. Lucy Ziurys and members of her University of Arizona astrochemistry research group along with the staff of the Arizona Radio Observatory hosted graduate and postdoctoral students from the other CCU institutions (UVA, OSU, and Harvard-Smithsonian CfA) for the 2009 CCU Spring School. The students participated in various exercises demonstrating how chemists collect and interpret radio astronomy data.
- February 26, 2009
Dr. Anthony Remijan gave a presentation to the Blue Ridge Astronomy Club entitled "So What Is This Thing Called 'Astrochemistry' Anyway?"
- November 8, 2008
- October 16, 2008
Dr. Eric Herbst gave a presentation as part of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's 2008-2009 Frontiers of Astronomy lecture series entitled "Chemistry Meets Astronomy: The Role of Molecules in Understanding Stellar and Planetary Formation."
- Early 2008
The CCU hosted a laboratory exhibit called “Chemistry at the Center of the Galaxy” for the annual Virginia Junior Academy of Sciences' Science Career Symposium.
Dr. Lucy Ziurys worked with the NPR public radio show Pulse of the Planet to produce a Science Diaries program series on chemistry in space. It began airing on May 12, 2008.
CCU Lecture Series
- September 15, 2009
"Interstellar Detection of CH2D+"
Presentation by: Dr. Al Wootten, Research Scientist, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- May 13, 2009
"The Astrochemistry of Molecular Anions, from AGB Stars to Dark Clouds"
- April 1, 2009
"New Pathways for the Formation of Complex Organics and Prebiotic Synthesis in the Gas Phase, on Nanoclusters, and on Dust Grain Surfaces"
- January 22, 2009
"Molecular Astrophysics with the Spitzer Space Telescope"
Presentation by: Dr. David Neufeld, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University
Presentation by: Dr. Martin A. Cordiner, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Presentation by: Dr. Samy El-Shall, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Virginia Commonwealth University