Henry Ford College student research group awarded $20,000 grant

Henry Ford College instructor Jesse Mason’s student research group, dubbed the Dead Stars Society, has been awarded a grant from the LSST Discovery Alliance that will allow the group to purchase new laptops, take part in workshops, and analyze data from Chile’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

According to an article on Henry Ford College’s website, Mason explained what his group does and what the award will mean for his students. He is quoted as saying, "This grant affirms the value our students have been contributing to the astrophysics community over the past year and will amplify the next phase of our research efforts. I gave a presentation at a NASA AWESOM Cosmic Origins committee about our research and they asked how we’re able to do what we’re doing right now. I replied that I’m at the nexus of a dream team and our research group probably wouldn't exist without the generous support of my colleagues. I owe a big thanks to Dr. Hassan Mohseni Nameghi, Gillian John, Janice Gilliland, Brandon Laycock, Hans Harff, Jeremy Tabor, and Geoff Collins for their advice and assistance in making such an incredible educational opportunity possible for our students.”

Mason, who is an astronomy and physics instructor, went on to explain how he and his students will interact with the LSST telescope. He said, “The LSST will explore our universe in unprecedented detail. For the next eight months, the DSS will complete 24 training modules, learning how the telescope works, how to process and interpret data from the telescope, and how to correlate that data with data from other telescopes. As part of the grant, our students will write a student-friendly guide for working with data from the LSST with the hopes of making similar astronomy research opportunities available to community college students all over the nation.”

Currently, the Dead Star Society is researching black holes alongside astrophysicist Dr. Kristen Dage of Wayne State University. Dr. Dage was instrumental in getting the grant for the Dead Star Society. She explained the type of things the students are researching and expressed how impressed she is with the group. She said, “For a long while, Jesse and his students have been working with me to identify intermediate mass black holes in extragalactic star clusters. They've managed to process and analyze 200 GB (or 150 individual observations) of X-ray data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory in a very short time. They learned the data analysis and data processing methods that I learned in grad school. They've really blown me away with their dedication and enthusiasm for the project, they ask fantastic questions, and are just all-around fantastic. I am also just very excited that we can bring astrophysics research opportunities to students at this career stage.”

The grant will be used to give the Dead Star Society access to the telescope’s data. In addition, the group will purchase new laptops, receive training for the telescope data they will be getting, and have access to a development workshop.

Anthony Preston, a member of the Dead Star Society, expressed his excitement for the opportunity that is being presented to him and his group mates, saying, “Our team will be one of the first groups to access the state-of-the-art telescope data, which is absolutely bewildering to think about. That is not including the fact that they are paying to send someone to teach us how to manipulate that data because it is a completely different process from what we do currently. Never would I have suspected that this is what the DSS would amount to: Not only the scope of what we are doing but the viability of it as well. How many smaller institutions or community colleges are offering this sort of program to students? It is a legitimately life-changing experience and, hands down, one of the coolest things I've had the pleasure to be a part of in my life!”

For more information about Henry Ford College, visit the school’s website.