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March 31, 2000

ULM students to participate in radio astronomy in MIT project

Students at the University of Louisiana at Monroe will soon be able to participate in undergraduate research in Radio Astronomy in a project organized by MIT's Haystack Radio Observatory. The administration of the project is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Paul Fisher, Assistant Professor of Physics at ULM, will direct the effort at ULM. Fisher has been in contact with the project since its inception.

In anticipation of the project, the Department of Physics submitted a grant application to the Louisiana Board of Regents for enhancing research in ULM's Department of Physics. A $56,000 grant was funded this year.

In the first phase of the project, a 10-foot satellite dish, formerly used by the Atmospheric Science Group to receive weather data, will be modified and a microwave receiver constructed.

Fisher will attend a three-day meeting with the faculty and staff of the radio telescope in Cambridge, Mass., May 24-26.

Participation in the project is not limited to physics students, but open to all students of chemistry, computer science, math and others with an interest in astronomy. The data gathered in the research will be shared with other participating universities, using the Internet.

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