Astronomy & Astrophysics

University of California Santa Cruz

Send

• Learning:
  Course
• Location:
  california
• Price:
  By request

Presentation

UCSC is one of the world's leading centers for both observational and theoretical research in astronomy and astrophysics. The department includes twenty-two faculty members, whose research interests range from the Solar System and the Milky Way to the most distant galaxies in the Universe and the most fundamental questions of cosmology. There are typically over a dozen postdoctoral researchers in residence, as well as a dedicated and skilled technical staff and a steady stream of visiting scientists. The UCSC department was recently ranked first in the country in research impact, based on citation studies.

UCSC is also a leader in astrophysics education. The department currently enrolls about twenty-five students working towards the Ph.D. degree. Graduate students benefit from the low student-faculty ratio in the department and extensive research opportunities, as well as course offerings that cover both theoretical and observational aspects of astronomy. UCSC alumni hold positions at leading universities and research institutes around the world. The department offers an undergraduate minor in Astrophysics, and collaborates with the Physics department to offer an undergraduate major in Astrophysics.

Faculty and student research at UCSC is carried out using major national and international ground and space-based observatories that span the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio wavelengths to the highest energy gamma rays. Of particular importance are Lick Observatory, which stands on Mt. Hamilton just 55 miles from Santa Cruz, and Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Lick, a facility of the University of California, was the first major mountaintop observatory and continues to be an important research site. With the 1-m Nickel and 3-m Shane telescopes, Lick remains one of the best facilities in the world for high-resolution spectroscopy and a leader in the development of instrumentation for adaptive optics. UCSC faculty and students are also active in operation and development of instrumentation for the twin 10-m Keck telescopes. The University of California Observatories, which manages UC participation in both Keck and Lick Observatories, is headquartered on the UC Santa Cruz campus.

The department is involved in several major interdisciplinary research projects. The Center for Adaptive Optics is an NSF Science and Technology Center that is studying new optical correction techniques with applications in both astronomy and vision science. It is based at UCSC, but involves researchers from nearly two dozen academic, governmental, and industrial partners. The Center for the Origin, Dynamics and Evolution of Planets is part of UCSC's branch of the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics. It brings together members of the Astronomy, Earth Sciences, and Physics departments to study planets in our Solar System and around other stars. Members of the Astronomy department interested in cosmology and high energy astrophysics also interact frequently with colleagues in the Physics department and the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics.

The UCSC campus consists of 2000 acres of meadows and redwood forests on a dramatic site overlooking Monterey Bay and the city of Santa Cruz. The Astronomy and Astrophysics department office, the UCO/Lick administrative offices, and most faculty and student offices are in the brand-new Interdisciplinary Sciences Building, which is shared with Physics and with Environmental Studies. Immediately adjacent is the new Center for Adaptive Optics headquarters building, which includes meeting space, visitor space, and faculty and student offices. Also next door are the Earth and Marine Sciences building and the science library, and additional laboratory space for UCO/Lick is nearby.

All contents related on this page with University of California Santa Cruz are exclusive property and belong to University of California Santa Cruz. These contents have been extracted from the website of the Center to provide the necessary information to users at the time to select a centre or education program that meets your needs.