• On Tu Oct 2/2012, there will an in-class assignment on Emacs. It will be based on the material covered in your lectures and your tutorial. You *can* access your Linux and Emacs tutorials during this in-class assignment, so please bring these two tutorials along if you think you might need them. We will meet in the lab RLM 15.201 at the start of class for the assignment.

• Check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day!

• Class and Office Hours: This class, Astro 376 (Unique 47825), meets Tuesday and Thursdays from 2.00 to 3.30 pm in RLM 15.216B. We will also perform in-class exercises in the newly equipped computer lab (RLM 15.201) and if needed, in the undergraduate lounge (RLM 15.306). The instructor is Professor Shardha Jogee and the teaching assistant (TA) is Timothy Weinzirl. Please consult us during the office hours listed below if you have any questions and we will be glad to help.

Hours: Office: Phone: Email:

Prof. Shardha Jogee Th 10 to 11 am or by appointment RLM 16.224 (512) 471-1395 sj@astro.as.utexas.edu

Tim Weinzirl Wed 1 to 2 pm or by appointment RLM 17.308 (512) 471-3415 timw@astro.as.utexas.edu

• Course Description: Astronomy 376, "A Practical Introduction to Research" aims at equipping undergraduates with some of the skills relevant for research projects in astronomy and astrophysics, in order to facilitate their involvement in the College of Natural Science Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), as well as in more advanced individual research projects supervised by research faculty or staff during their sophomore to senior years. Many of the skills you will learn are pre-requisites for currently offered research projects in Astronomy and some wills be useful well beyond research in your undergraduate years, during graduate school in astronomy or astrophysics, or jobs in industry, national observatories, space science centers, etc. The course will involve an overview of research practices, such as
  • What is scientific research and the scientific method?
  • Different ways to communicate scientific results (posters, unrefereed conference papers, refereed papers, oral presentstions). Tips for effective posters and oral presentations.
  • What is a Research University? How is research funded and how does it impact you? Ethical concerns and responsibilities of research.
  • Why Participate in Undergraduate Research at UT? How to Get Involved in UG Research at UT?
  • Introduction to the UT Career Design Center

  and a wide array of hands-on practical exercises in a computer lab, including,

  • Introduction to the Linux/Mac OSX operating system
  • Text macro editing with Emacs
  • The IRAF software for analysis of astronomical data
  • Basic programming with IDL (interactive data language) including array manipulation, reading catalogs, plotting, statistical analyses
  • Reduction and visualization of astronomical data (e.g., CCD images) using IRAF and IDL
  • LaTeX and AASTeX package for written publications

  This course counts as an upper division course It is designed primarily for majors in astronomy or anyone who plans to get involved in a research project in astronomy and astrophysics. While the course can be taken by advanced students, we will give first priority to undergraduate majors in Astronomy and Physics, who are in their Freshman and Sophomore years so that such students are well prepared to tackle challenging research projects during their next two to three years at UT.

• Pre-Requisites Prerequisite: Mathematics 305G or the equivalent or consent of instructor; high school trigonometry and physics are recommended. Prior computing experience and an introductory astronomy course, such as AST 307, are recommended, but not required. However it is your responsibility to develop the required background knowledge for each lecture by studying the background pre-requisite reading, which we will provide.

• Textbook and Reading There is no single textbook that covers the wide variety of topics, which this course will span. We strongly recommend that you get "Practical IDL programming" by Liam E. Gumley (available at the Co-op bookshop): this will be a key reference guide for you on IDL exercises during this class and well beyond. In addition, we will provide our own tailor-made tutorials and online background reading material, which will be posted on this website under "Selected Material from Lectures & Assignments "

• Course Calendar The course calendar provides an approximate sequencing of topics to be covered in class. The online calendar will be regularly updated, as needed. Note that as outlined in the Memo to Undergraduate Astronomy Students regarding Astronomy Courses , the professor is a professional astronomer who has research responsibilities and may be occasionally on travel in order to conduct research, present colloquia, and attend scientific meetings. In such cases, there may be a schedule change and an appropriate replacement lecture or other assignment will be scheduled.

• Course Grade It is essential that you attend class as there will be a large number of in-class assignments. Course grades are posted on Blackboard The final grade will consist of
  70% Homeworks and Projects
  30% In-class activities
  
  There will be no exams. When converting your final numerical scores to letter grades, I will use the scheme below or one that is slightly more lenient.

  Letter Grade A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F

  Grade Points 4.00 3.67 3.33 3.00 2.67 2.33 2.00 1.67 1.33 1.00 0.67 0.00

  Numerical Score 96% to 100% 91% to 95% 86% to 90% 81% to 85% 76% to 80% 71% to 75% 66% to 70% 61% to 65% 56% to 60% 51% to 55% 46% to 50% 0% to 45%

• Class Policies 1) You will be given access to the computer lab on the 15th floor for this class. Due to previous crime-related incidents in the RLM building the doors to the lab should remain closed when you are working in them. Under no circumstances, should the door be left open, even if someone is "just running out for a moment."
  2) You will be given after hours access to the RLM building for this class. However, due to previous crime-related incidents in the RLM building, we strongly recommend that you try to use RLM only during the official open hours (6:30 am to 11:00 pm on Monday to Thursday; 6:00 am to 10:00 pm on Friday; 6:30 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday; 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm on Sunday). If you have to use RLM after hours, please make sure to be in a group of two or more.
  (3) Late homeworks will be accepted only if you have been granted an extension prior to the due date and will receive only partial credit.
  (4) We will accept requests for correction or re-grade of an assignment (homework, exam or quiz), at latest two weeks after it is handed back to you.
  (5) Cheating: You are encouraged to study with other students, but you must write up your own homework, exams, and quizzes. Cheating will be severely punished: if you copy someone's homework/quiz/exam or let someone copy yours, both of you will receive zero credit, and I will consider filing a report to the Dean of Students.
  (6) Plagiarism: Scholastic dishonesty, in particular any plagiarism, will be prosecuted in accordance with the university guidelines. In simplest terms, plagiarism occurs if you represent as your own work any material that was obtained from another source, regardless how or where you acquired it. Please read the description from the Dean of Students office on what constitutes plagiarism in its various forms. In particular, have a careful look at "paraphrasing".
  (7) Disabilities: Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities (phone = 512-471-6259).