Sunday, December 24, 2017 35 Hawaii Tribune-Herald UH undergrads share telescope time with astronomers Agraduate degree is no longer required to use some of the best telescopes in the world. In 2016, the University of Hawaii agreed to share some of its viewing time on the Maunakea telescopes with undergraduate students in Hilo. Pierre Martin, astronomy associate professor at UH-Hilo, said in an email that the program started in February 2017, noting it is working well except for some lost time due to bad weather on the mountain. Research proposals are submitted by UH-Hilo faculty members but they include an educational component. “To my knowledge, no other undergraduate program has access to such a large panoply of observatories,” Martin said. “The opportunities to conduct research here and learn about modern techniques of astronomy are rather amazing, really.” UH-Hilo’s astronomy program includes five tenured or tenured track professors and about 40 students. Another 15 were in the physics program in fall 2017. UH-Manoa, which hosts the Institute for Astronomy, receives between 10 percent and 15 percent of the viewing time at telescopes on Maunakea. Through the program, up to 16 nights a year will eventually go to UH-Hilo faculty and students, with six nights a year during the first five years. Martin said UH-Hilo’s focus is on observational astronomy. The undergraduate program has seen some setbacks. The site of its Hoku Kea teaching telescope has been selected for decommissioning. As of October 2017, UH-Hilo was still searching for a new site for a replacement 28-inch telescope and dome. Email Tom Callis at tcallis@ hawaiitribune-herald.com. By TOM CALLIS Hawaii Tribune-Herald HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald Hoku Kea director Pierre Martin takes the manual mirror cover off of the new telescope in February at University of Hawaii at Hilo.
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