Dartmouth and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will team up on a wide range of space research projects that will increase funding and internships available for professors and students interested in space exploration.
"Developing a strategic partnership with one of the country's leading laboratories is exciting," Martin Wybourne, the vice-provost for research, said in a Dartmouth press release. "The partnership will enable Dartmouth students and faculty to work with JPL scientists, particularly in the areas of physics, nano materials, engineering, astronomy, robotics and remote sensing. It will also open the possibility for Dartmouth personnel to participate on NASA/JPL advisory boards."
JPL is a NASA sponsored research center located at Caltech. It conducts a large number of research on space exploration and astrophysics, specializing in unmanned space expeditions. Almost every mission to Mars has been carried out by JPL.
"[JPL] is a top flight operation. It's one of the leading research operations in the entire United States. Thousands of scientists work for it," College Provost Barry Scherr said. "To have Dartmouth students have access to it is a wonderful opportunity for us."
The principal beneficiary of the new collaboration is physics and astronomy professor Brian Chaboyer, who is working on JPL's SIM Planet Quest project. The project relies on new interferometric telescopes to upgrade scientists' ability to measure the size of stars. JPL is planning to launch the interferometric telescope into space, thereby increasing the accuracy of Chaboyer's measurements by a factor of three or four. The research will allow scientists to determine which solar systems contain habitable planets and calculate how far away those planets are from Earth.
Chaboyer's work with JPL has gone back many years. It was his research that led Dartmouth and JPL to formalize their relationship this summer, an agreement that will last until June 2010. Dartmouth is one of only 10 colleges to be participating in this level of collaboration with JPL.
Chaboyer said that his research is just the first step of the partnership. Physics and astronomy professor Kristina Lynch is also working with JPL, studying aurora borealis, and Chaboyer predicted other professors will take up JPL-sponsored projects.
Students are also benefiting from the program. Graduate student Aaron Dotter spent the summer at JPL, while Andrew Han '09 and Sam Rauch '10 spent the summer with Professor Chaboyer working on SIM Planet Quest.
Chaboyer believes these internship opportunities will expand as the exchange grows and said that any student interested in working with JPL should contact him.
