This $366,995 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program will enable the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) to develop and test new wavefront sensing technologies at the Lick Observatory in California. The "REDWOODS" project will implement a Fast Atmospheric Self-Coherent Camera Technique (FAST) wavefront sensor on the observatory's adaptive optics system to overcome speckle noise and enable more sensitive direct imaging of exoplanets, including those that could potentially harbor life. In addition, the project will engage undergraduate students from underrepresented groups and develop educational outreach programs with local high schools. This award, with a performance period from February 2025 to August 2026, reflects NSF's mission to advance scientific knowledge and support innovative technologies with potential societal impact.
Generated 3/4/25, 7:10 AM