REU Program

CTIO Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program

The 2015 REU and PIA Students in front of the 4-m Blanco Telescope at CTIO

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not currently have funding to host the REU program in 2018.

We do, on occasion, accept unpaid interns who have funding through another source. For example, in the past we have hosted unpaid interns with funding through a scholarship or grant from their university, and through the Fulbright Program [1]. If you have a source of external funding and would like to apply for an unpaid internship at CTIO, or if you have any questions about past CTIO REU programs, please send email to ctioreu@noao.edu [2]. Below you can find the information describing our previous CTIO REU programs.

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) [3], a division of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) [4], located in La Serena, Chile, offers 10 week Undergraduate Research Assistantships to qualified undergraduates as part of the National Science Foundation [5] funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program [6]. The program is run during the Chilean summer, January through March, both to offer students an alternative to the more common northern summer programs, and to encourage interaction with Chilean students visiting and working at CTIO throughout these months as a part of the Práctica en Investigación en Astronomía (PIA) Program [7]. The 2016 CTIO REU program will run from January 8th to March 19th, 2016. You can find answers to common questions about the CTIO REU program on the Frequently Asked Questions page: REU/PIA FAQ [8].

We do not offer the REU program during the northern summer months of June through August. Students interested in programs during this period should investigate the opportunities provided by the Kitt Peak National Observatory REU program [9] and at other REU sites [6], as well as the listings of summer programs maintained by the American Astronomical Society [10], the American Physical Society [11], and on the Pathways to Science [12] website.

More information on how to apply to the CTIO REU program can be found in the application instructions [13]. The application deadline for the 2016 program has passed. Our 2016 program accepted 6 REU students from U.S. institutions, and 2 PIA students from Chilean institutions.

The 2016 REU program advertisement flier can be downloaded here [14].

CTIO PIA Program [7]

Current and Past REU/PIA Programs [15]

CTIO REU/PIA Alumni [16]

CTIO REU & PIA Programs Publication List [17]

REU/PIA FAQ [8]

CTIO REU/PIA English/Spanish Astronomy Dictionary [18]

REU/PIA Current and Previous Programs

Click on the links above each picture for more details.

REU/PIA 2016 [19]	REU/PIA 2015 [20]	REU/PIA 2014 [21]
REU/PIA 2013 [22]	REU/PIA 2012 [23]	REU/PIA 2011 [24]
REU/PIA 2010 [25]	REU/PIA 2009 [26]	REU/PIA 2008 [27]
REU/PIA 2007 [28]	REU/PIA 2006 [29]	REU/PIA 2005 [30]
REU/PIA 2004 [31]	REU/PIA 2003 [32]	REU/PIA 2002 [33]
REU/PIA 2001 [34]	REU/PIA 2000 [35]	REU/PIA 1999 [36]
REU/PIA 1998 [37]	REU/PIA 1996 [38]	REU/PIA 1995 [39]

CTIO REU/PIA Publications [17]

CTIO REU/PIA 2012

REU Participants and Projects

Student & Institution	Mentor(s)	Project Title
Melissa Butner Austin Peay State University	Eric Mamajek (CTIO)	Spectral Classification of Members of a Candidate Cluster in Telescopium
Kimberly Emig University of Hawai'i at Hilo	Catherine Kaleida (CTIO)	Simulated Star Clusters with MASSCLEAN: Testing a Stellar Grouping Selection Method
Christine Gilfrich St. Mary's College of Maryland	Tiago Ribeiro (SOAR)	Orbital Period of WD + M Binaries
Bezia Laderman New York University	Timothy Abbott (CTIO)	Finding Periodicites of CP Eri
Samuel Meyer Harvard College	Peter Pessev (Gemini)	Expanding Integrated-Light Photometry of LMC Star Clusters in the NIR to Extremely Young Ages
Clara Thomann Macalester University	David James (CTIO)	A Photometric and Spectroscopic Survey of Solar-type Stars in Open Cluster Collinder 70

PIA Participants and Projects

Student & Institution	Mentor(s)	Project Title
Mayte Alfaro Universidad de La Serena	Percy Gomez (Gemini)	Analysis and reduction of ISPI images in the Near-IR of Abell 1882 Galaxy Cluster
Odette Toloza Universidad de Valparaíso	Nicole van der Bliek (CTIO) and Jackie Faherty (U. de Chile)	Searching for Nearby Brown Dwarfs

Práctica Student Participant

	Student & Institution	Mentor(s)	Project Title
	Fernando Caro Universidad de Chile	Guillermo Cabrera (U. de Chile/LSST)	Super-Resolution Image Reconstruction

English/Spanish Astronomy Dictionary

English/Spanish Dictionary of Astronomy Terms

The dictionary of terms was started by the 2012 REU, PIA, and Práctica students at CTIO, in an effort to list the common technical terms used in astonomy that may not be found in a general English/Spanish dictionary. New words will be added by each year's summer students. If you would like to contribute some translations of commonly used words, or if you would like to suggest a better translation, please send and email to ctioreu AT ctio.noao.edu [40]. Entries with ??? next to them need confirmation.

ENGLISH	SPANISH	YEAR ADDED
accretion disk	disco de accreción	2015
camera	cámara	2012
cataclysmic	cataclísmica	2012
cluster	cúmulo	2012
code	código	2012
comet	cometa	2012
Dewar	thermo cryogenico, Dewar	2015
galaxy	galaxia	2012
Gaussian fit	ajuste Gaussiano	2012
gravity	gravedad	2012
histogram	histograma	2012
imager	camera de imágenes???	2012
infrared	infrarrojo	2012
mass	masa	2012
metallicity	metalicidad	2015
methane	metano	2012
Milky Way	Vía Láctea	2012
nebula	nebula	2012
nova, novae	nova, novae	2014
period	período	2012
plate solution	solución de lámina???	2012
point spread function	función de distribucion de punto	2012
program	programa	2012
rocket	cohete	2012
scattered light	luz dispersada	2012
science frames	imágenes de ciencia	2012
script	script	2012
shooting star	estrella fugaz	2012
solar	solar	2012
solar system	sistema solar	2012
spectra	espectros	2012
spectrum	espectro	2012
star	estrella	2012
statistics	estadística	2012
sun	sol	2012
ultraviolet	ultravioleta	2012
universe	universario	2012
variability	variabilidad	2015
wavelength	longitud de onda	2012

CTIO REU/PIA Alumni

1995	1996	1998	1999	2000
2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
2016

Name

School

Where are they now?
*Year last updated in parentheses

top 2016
Natalia Carignano	Smith College	Smith College (2016)
Sarina Etheridge	College of Charleston	College of Charleston (2016)
Alex Gordon	Macalester College	Macalester College (2016)
Jacqueline Loerincs	Colorado School of Mines	Colorado School of Mines (2016)
Michael Pajkos	Butler University	Butler University (2016)
Sarah Stevenson	Williams College	Williams College (2016)
Tomás Ahumada	Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile	Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2016)

top 2015
Scott Carlsten	Rice University, Astrophysics Major (2016)	Princeton University Astrophysics PhD. student.
Samuel Castle	Davidson College	University of Washington Computer Science PhD. Student (2016)
Alexander Gagliano	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2016)
Brittany Howard	University of Michigan-Dearborn	University of Michigan-Dearborn Physics and Mathematics Major (2016)
Md. Tanveer Karim	University of Rochester	University of Rochester (2016)
Cherish Prickett	Georgia Perimeter College	University of Rhode Island Engineering Major (2016)
Tomas Cassanelli	Universidad de La Frontera	University of Bonn Astrophysics MSc. Student (2016)
Pamela Soto	Universidad de Concepción	Universidad de Concepción Astrophysics MSc. Student (2014)

top 2014
Sarah Burkhart	Arizona State University	Arizona State University (2014)
John Michael Farmer	Clemson University	University of Chicago (2016)
Joshua Frechem	Old Dominion University	Old Dominion University (2014)
Shane Loeffler	University of Minnesota-Duluth	University of Minnesota-Duluth (2014)
Blake Pantoja	University of Louisville	Universidad de Chile (2016)
Veronica Margot Paez	East Los Angeles College	University of California-Los Angeles (2014)
Alexander Contreras	Universidad de Valparaíso	Instructor at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa Maria, Valparaíso Campus (2014)
Piera Soto	Universidad de La Serena	Universidad de La Serena (2014)

top 2013
Brian Chinn	University of Florida	University of Florida (2014)
Alexander Deich	Humboldt State University	Reed College (2014)
Emily Finney	Scripps College	Univeristy of California-Davis (2014)
Briana Indahl	University of Wisconson-Madison	University of Texas-Austin (2014)
Lois Smith	University of Colorado-Boulder	University of Michigan (2014)
Molly Williams	Eastern Kentucky University	Indiana University Bloomington (2014)

Diego Calderon	Universidad de Concepción	Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2014)

top 2012
Melissa Butner	Austin Peay State University	Physics graduate student at Northern Illinois University (2015)
Kimberly Emig	University of Hawai'i at Hilo	Leiden Observatory Ph.D. student (2016)
Christine Glifrich	St. Mary's College of Maryland	Development Intern at NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts (2016)
Bezia Laderman	New York University	Universiteit Gent / Université de Lorraine (2014)
Samuel Meyer	Harvard College	Rovi Corporation (2014)
Clara Thomann	Macalester College	Quantum Spatial (2014)
Mayte Alfaro	Universidad de La Serena	Universidad de La Serena (2014)
Odette Toloza	Universidad de Valparaíso	University of Warwick (2014)

top 2011
Ana Mikler	Union College	Union College (2010)
Julia O'Connell	Tennessee State University	Texas Christian University (2014)
Derrick Rohl	Illinois Wesleyan University	Planetarium Manager at Adventure Science Center (2016)
Brett Basarab	Middlebury College	Middlebury College (2010)
Gustavo Morales	Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile	Universität Heidelberg (2014)
Cesar Munoz	Universidad de Concepcion	Universidad de Concepcion (2010)

to [3]p

2010

Katy Acceta

Youngstown State University

Youngstown State University (2010)

Mason Carney

University of Maine

University of Maine (2010)

Li-Wi Hung

Ohio State University

Ohio State University (2010)

Melodie Kao

MIT

MIT (2010)

Amee Hennig (Salois)

University of Arkansas

English/Professional and Technical Writing student at Northern Arizona University (2015)

Conor Sayres

University of Washington

University of Washington (2010)

Eduardo Banados

Pontificia Universidad Católicade Chile

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (2010)

Yasna Ordones

Universidad de La Serena

Universidad de La Serena (2010)

top

2009

Tracy Becker

Lehigh University

Physics/Planteary Sciences Graduate Student, University of Central Florida (2014)

Shannon Dealaman

Clemson University

Rutgers University (2010)

Will Flanagan

University of Colorado - Boulder

University of Colorado - Boulder (2010)

Jordan Mirocha

Drake University

Astronomy Graduate Student, CU-Boulder (2010)

Benjamin Moore

Xavier University

Xavier University (2010)

Danielle Nielsen

Colby College Predoctoral research

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (2010)

Marcela Espinoza

Universidad de La Serena

Astrophysics Graduate Student,
Universidad de La Laguna /
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (2010)

Jacqueline Seron

Universidad de Concepcion

Astronomy Graduate Student
Universidad de La Serena (2014)

top

2008

Emma Crow-Willard

Occidental College

Occidental College (2010)

Emily Lynch

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College (2010)

Peter Mares

Cornell University

Cornell University (2010)

Amit Misra

Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University (2010)

Adele Plunkett

Middlebury College

Middlebury College (2010)

Matt Schenker

Dartmouth University

Astronomy Graduate Student, Caltech (2010)

Macarena Campos

Universidad de Concepción

Universidad de Concepcion (2010)

Regis Cartier

Universidad de Chile

Astronomy Graduate Student,
Universidad de Chile (2010)

top

2007

Rachel Anderson

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Astronomy Graduate Student,
McMaster University (2010)

Cassy Davison

Norfolk State University

Astronomy Graduate Student,
Georgia State University (2010)

Stephanie Golmon

Principia College Aerospace Engineering

Graduate Student, CU-Boulder (2010)

Daniel Harsono

University of California Los Angeles

Astronomy Graduate Student,
Leiden Universiteit-Sterrewacht (2010)

Scott Henderson

Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & Clark College (2010)

Aisha Mahmoud

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez (2010)

Rodrigo Hinojosa

Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta

Astrophysics Graduate Student,
Universidad de La Laguna /
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (2010)

Claudia Araya

Pontificia U. Católica de Chile

Pontificia U. Católica de Chile (2010)

top

2006

Matthew Klimek

Rutgers University

Physics Graduate Student,
University of Texas, Austin (2010)

Andrew Newman

Washington University in St. Louis

Astronomy Graduate Student, Caltech (2010)

Gwen Rudie

Dartmouth College (Goldwater fellow)

Astronomy Graduate Student, Caltech (2010)

Anne Sweet

Macalester College

Fullbright Scholar (Brazil) (2010)

Brad Tucker

Notre Dame

Research Fellow at The Australian National University and UC Berkeley (2014)

Allison Campbell (Widhalm)

University of Southern California

Energy Specialist at the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (2014)

María José Cordero

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Astronomy Graduate Student,
University of Indiana- Bloomington (2010)

Renée Mateluna

Universidad de Concepción

Physics Graduate Student,
Universidad de Concepción (2010)

Guillermo Damke

Universidad de La Serena

Astronomy Graduate Student,
University of Virginia (2010)

top

2005

Sonia Aggarwal

Haverford College

"Clean-Tech" public relations,
Antenna Group (2010)

Claire Bendersky

Mt. Holyoke College

Geology Fullbright Fellow,
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, France (2010)

Ben Brandvig

University of Washington

Business process analyst, Boeing (2010)

AJ Carver

University of Wisconsin-Madson

ESO (Chile)
(Director General Discretionary Fund Intern) (2010)

Betsy Mills

Indiana University

Astronomy Graduate Student, UCLA (2010)

Dylan Semler

Macalester College

Laura Pérez

Universidad de Chile

Astronomy Graduate Student, Caltech (2010)

Omar Valdivia

Universidad de Concepción

Physics Graduate Student, Universidad de Concepción (2010)

top

2004

Rebecca Barlow

Mt. Holyoke College

Graduate Student, Physics Department,
University of New Hampshire (2010)

Luke Galli

Colorado College

Science Teacher, Teach for America

Alice Globus

Wells College

System and Facilities Manager, Van Vleck Observatory, Wesleyan (2010)

Ethan Knox

Humboldt State University

Humboldt State University (2010)

Melissa Rice

Wellesley College

Astronomy Graduate Student,
Cornell University (2010)

Kyle Walker

Ohio State University

Astronomy Graduate Student,
U. Toledo (2010)

Javier Fuentes

Universidad de La Serena

Las Campanas Observatory,
Operator Irenee du Pont Telescope (2010)

Bárbara Rojas Alaya

Universidad de Chile

Astronomy Graduate Student,
Cornell University (2010)

top

2003

Carey Borghi

University of Wyoming

Systems Engineer,
Lockheed Martin Space Systems (2010)

Katherine Guenthner

University of Texas at Austin

Graduate Student, U. Texas
& Predoc, Harvard-Smithsonian (2010)

Ryan Peterson

Lawrence University

Astronomy PhD., Lawrence University (2010)

Lara Pierpoint

University of California at Los Angeles

PhD Student,
Energy Systems Engineering, MIT (2010)

Rebecca Wilcox

University of Washington

Masters of Architecture Student,
University of Washington (2010)

Rodrigo Fernandez

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

Astronomy PhD student,
U. Toronto (2010)

Abner Zapata

Universidad de Concepción

Astronomy Graduate Student,
Universidad de Concepción (2010)

top

2002

Pamela Baca

University of Colorado, Denver

OCIW (2010)

Jeffrey Carlin

San Francisco State University

Graduate Student,
University of Virginia (2010)

Thomas (Tucker) Freismuth

College of Charleston

Instructor, City College of Charleston (2010)

Colette Salyk

Mass. Institute of Technology

Graduate Student,
Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech (2010)

Marcelo Mora

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

Graduate Student, International Max-Plank Research School on Astrophysics, Munich (2010)

Sergio Vera

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

Telescope Operator, Magellan (2010)

Miguel Verdugo

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

Postdoc, Goettingen (2010)

Amber Young

Middlebury College, Vermont

Graduate Student, Optical Science,
University of Arizona (2010)

top

2001

Gabriel Bramme

Williams College, Massachusetts

Astronomy Graduate Student, Yale (2010)

Kathy Cooksey

Valparaiso University, Indiana

Astronomy Graduate Student, UC Santa Cruz (2010)

Shadrian Strong

College of Charleston, South Carolina

Astronomy Graduate Student, U. Texas Austin

Rodolfo Montez

University of Texas, Austin

Graduate Student, Center for Imaging Science, University of Rochester (2010)

Jorge Cuadra

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

Astrophysics Postdoc, MPA Garching (2010)

Erika Labbe

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

Astronomy Professor,
Universidad del Desarrollo (Part-time) (2010)

Constanza Araujo

Universidad Católica de Valparaiso

Research Scientist, ESO Garching (2010)

top

2000

Melanie Blackburn

West Virginia University

Programmer Analyst, NASA Goddard (2010)

John Bright

Mesa State College, Colorado

Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (2010)

Ben Johnson

University of California, Los Angeles

Postdoc, Institute for Astronomy, Cambridge (2010)

Tanya Tavenner

University of Washington

Graduate Student, New Mexico State University (2010)

Axel Bonacic

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

Astronomy Graduate Student, Utrecht (2010)

Juan Seguel

Universidad de Concepción

Assistant Engineer,
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (2014)

Felipe Daruich

Universidad Católica de Valparaiso

Mario Caceres

Universidad Técnica de Federico Santa María, Valparaiso

top

1999

Jeremy Buss

University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

Industry (computers) (2010)

Jenny Greene

Yale University

Princeton: Annie Jump Cannon Award 2008 (2010)

Jessica Kim-Quijano

Towson University

Science Mission Office, StScI (2010)

Alicia Soderberg

Bates College

Princeton (Hubble fellow),
Annie Jump Cannon Award 2009 (2010)

Ricardo Demarco

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago

European Southern Observatory (2010)

Cecil Acevedo

Universidad Técnica de Federico Santa María, Valparaiso

Mario Caceres

Universidad Técnica de Federico Santa María, Valparaiso

top

1998

Jomel Atienza-Rosel

California State University, Los Angeles

Amanda Jefferson

University of Maryland, College Park

Director, Executive Programs
at the Wharton School, Pennsylvania (2010)

Aaron Steffen

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Astronomy Postdoc, Spitzer Science Center, Caltech (2010)

Patrick Welti

Mankato State University

Juan Cortes

University of Chile, Santiag

Joint ALMA Observatory (2010)

top

1996

Alex Athey

Pomona College

Applied Phyics Labs, UT-Austin (2010)

Jodi Schneider

St. John's College

Web Librarian & Assistant Professor,
Appalachian State University, Boone, NC (2010)

Alejandro Soto

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College (2010)

Elizabeth Turner

Georgia Inst. of Technology

UCLA/Fermilab/UChicago (2010)

Martin Osorio

University of Chile, Santiago

top

1995

Howard Beckley

New Mexico Inst. of Mining & Technology

Research Physicist, Los Alamos, NM (2010)

Marc Kassis

Willamette University

Support Astronomer,
W.M. Keck Observatory (2010)

Maritza Tavarez

Hunter College of CUNY

Science Teacher,
Forest Ridge School, Bellevue Wa (2014)

Sarah Tuttle

San Jose State University

Research Associate, HETDEX Project Staff
McDonald Observatory (2014)