{"id":35832,"date":"2015-11-06T03:28:07","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T07:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/utnews.utoledo.edu\/?p=35832"},"modified":"2016-01-26T17:51:28","modified_gmt":"2016-01-26T21:51:28","slug":"astronomy-researcher-receives-grant-to-study-star-lifecycles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/11_06_2015\/astronomy-researcher-receives-grant-to-study-star-lifecycles","title":{"rendered":"Astronomy researcher receives grant to study star lifecycles"},"content":{"rendered":"

A University of Toledo astronomer\u2019s research will help shed light on two poorly understood stages in the lifecycle of a star cluster \u2014 just before they are born and very soon after they form.<\/p>\n

Dr. Rupali Chandar, UT associate professor of astronomy, is the principal investigator for \u201cThe Birth and Death of Stellar Clusters: Uncloaking the Roles of Stars, Gas and Physical Environment in Nearby Galaxies,\u201d a study that was recently awarded a $270,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"Chandar\"<\/a>

Chandar<\/p><\/div>\u201cThis new funding from the National Science Foundation will allow me and my team to answer some fundamental questions about star cluster formation and dissolution in nearby galaxies,\u201d Chandar said. \u201cWe will take advantage of key new observations from premier ground-based telescopes in order to build on previous results based on data taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. A better understanding of the full lifecycle of star clusters, from birth to death, has important implications for many areas of astronomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Star cluster formation is one of the most fundamental processes in galaxies, and occurs over an incredibly diverse range of environments and physical conditions, far broader than those found in the Milky Way alone, Chandar said.<\/p>\n

Observations from the National Science Foundation\u2019s new Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the most expensive ground-based telescope in operation, enable direct study of clouds in distant galaxies covering a much wider range of physical conditions than our nearest neighbors. The properties of these clouds, when compared with those of young star clusters in the same galaxy, provide important clues to understand the efficiency with which stars and clusters form under different physical conditions, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Chandar\u2019s research grant is particularly noteworthy given the very competitive nature of research in the field of astronomy. Our faculty compete with colleagues from around the country for funding from federal agencies like the National Science Foundation,\u201d said Dr. William Messer, UT vice president for research. \u201cDr. Chandar\u2019s success in garnering support for studies of star formation builds on our strong reputation in the natural sciences and provides exciting research and training opportunities for our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grant also will support Girls in Science, which is an all-day outreach event aimed to foster middle school girls\u2019 interest in science through age-appropriate, hands-on activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant award highlights the excellent work being done by Dr. Chandar and her team. The project will address the most fundamental questions about how star clusters form in galaxies, improving our understanding of the processes that led to our universe today,\u201d said Dr. Karen Bjorkman, dean of UT\u2019s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. \u201cIt will expand our astronomers\u2019 and students\u2019 use of the most cutting-edge international astronomical facilities in the world such as the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, while simultaneously leveraging the strength of UT\u2019s partnership with the Lowell Observatory and the Discovery Channel Telescope. It also continues our tradition of bringing the joy of discovery to our community through outreach, such as the Girls in Science program, to help inspire the next generation of scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Rupali Chandar, UT associate professor of astronomy, has received a $270,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to research the birth and death of star clusters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,1,3,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35832"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35832"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36830,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35832\/revisions\/36830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}