Support the Astronomy Department & DiRAC Students on April 6th, UW Husky Giving Day

On April 6th, 2023, join us on Husky Giving Day, an annual philanthropy event at the University of Washington!

Photo by Bruno C. Quint

Your support will fuel two student-focused programs

created by the UW Astronomy Department and DiRAC!

We’re on the brink of a new age of survey-driven discovery in astronomy. The flagship of this era will be the Rubin Observatory, set to open in Chile in late 2024. DiRAC researchers, students, and citizen scientists will use data from the Rubin Observatory to:

  • Scan the Solar System for hazardous asteroids
  • Discover interstellar comets
  • Search for new planets in our Solar System
  • Map the Milky Way
  • Detect the most energetic explosions in the universe
  • Help understand Dark Energy

Our students will learn about astronomy by participating in a once-in-a-generation wave of discovery, and you can help make this possible by supporting our summer programs.

James Davenport (standing), Associate director of the DiRAC Institute, meeting with the 2022 DiRAC Summer Research Prize recipients. Photo by Juan Rodriguez.

DiRAC Summer Research Prize recipients Josue Torres-Valdovinos (left) and Ishan Ghosh-Coutinho. Photo by Juan Rodriguez. 

Program for UW Undergraduate Students

Successfully piloted in 2022, the “Undergraduate Summer Research Prize” for UW undergrads will continue in 2023.

The program will award $3500 to UW undergraduate students working on summer research projects with faculty and staff at UW Astronomy. We are excited to continue this program – Thank you to our ongoing supporters!

Program for UW Graduate Students

Getting engaged with research early in graduate school can fundamentally change a graduate student’s career direction.

This year we are launching a new initiative called the  “Jumpstart Research Fellowship”. This program will award $3500 to incoming UW graduate students to enable them to start their research the summer before they arrive at UW – allowing students to focus on research prior to taking classes in the fall.

Such programs have been shown to accelerate and deepen students’ engagement in research, particularly for students from non-traditional pathways.

Our work, from outreach to education to fundamental research, is made possible in no small part by contributions from supporters like you. Thank you for your support; it truly makes a difference!

Rubin Observatory network technician Guido Maulen installs fiber optic cables on the Top End Assembly of the telescope mount.