undergraduate research

Update: the position is filled. 

We are not considering internships at this time, funded or unfunded. 

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Professor Keren Sharon and her graduate student Kate Napier are recruiting one or more undergraduate student research assistant, to work on projects related to gravitational lensing. 

Example project:
Our collaboration was recently awarded Hubble Space Telescope observations of COOL J2129-0126, a galaxy cluster at z = 1.33 strongly lensing a background source at z = 3.29 into a giant arc (see picture on the right). Under the mentorship of Kate and Professor Sharon, you would contribute to the strong lensing analysis and cluster science of this project. Specifically, the analysis will include photometry, identification of cluster member galaxies, identification of strong lensing constraints, and lens modeling.

More information about gravitational lensing can be found in most astronomy and cosmology textbooks, or online. A good resource can be downloaded here: http://folk.uio.no/hdahle/JeruLect.pdf though it may be a bit technical.

If you wish to apply for this project, please write a short (one page or less) letter explaining your interest, any prior experience or skills (e.g., Astronomy/Physics courses, computational skills, prior research, activities, etc.) and what you expect to gain from conducting research in Astrophysics. The letter should also indicate the expected time commitment to research, expected course load, and whether you are intending to do this research project for academic credit.  If selected for this project, you are expected to work well in collaboration with others. Please send your application to Professor Sharon (uniqname: kerens) and Kate Napier (uniqname: kanapier). We look forward to hearing from you.