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Curry grant funds telescope time
Deep space just got a little closer for Clemson University astrophysics
students. A Curry Foundation grant for $100,000 has made it possible
for Clemson faculty and students to have time on the Kitt Peak National
Observatory’s 4-meter Mayall telescope in Arizona that will
allow them to peer into deep space.
The amount provides for approximately one-third of the $290,000
cost for 33 nights. The agreement was made for three years through
the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which is funded
through the National Science Foundation (NSF). It also allows Clemson
to trade its Mayall 4-meter time for access to other telescopes
in the U.S. system around the world.
“We could never have done this without Charles Curry,”
said physics and astronomy department chairman Peter Barnes. “This
is a terrific opportunity for our faculty and students to get observing
time on this phenomenal collection of telescopes that are among
the best in the world.”
With this observation time, Clemson astrophysicists plan to study
gamma ray bursts, supernovae, and planet formation in deep space,
where distances are measured in light years.
Through the Seneca-based Curry Foundation, more than $300,000 has
been donated to the astrophysics program at Clemson since 2001.
“I have come to have a keen interest in the Clemson physics
program and the telescope availabilities it offers,” said
Curry. “The great appeal of a wider understanding of human
life and our place in the universe continues to be a key subject
among many who seek to broaden and increase their knowledge. The
years and decades just ahead will inevitably see great excitement
in the science of astronomy and related specialties of study.”
The Clemson University physics and astronomy department is an undergraduate,
graduate, and post-doctorate program with 26 faculty members.
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Associate professor Jeremy
King and other faculty plan to take undergraduate and graduate
students to Kitt Peak throughout the year. “These telescopes
are not your typical backyard variety. They’re several
stories tall and are operated through a tremendous bank of
computers. To get 33 nights a year on these instruments is
more time than some astronomers get in a lifetime,”
said King. |
Charles Curry has endowed
three fellowships for outstanding graduate student researchers
in astrophysics over the past three years. The Keowee Key
resident and Kansas native sees his donations as an investment
in the future. |
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