Space Engagement, Entrepreneurship, & Research
The Space Engagement, Entrepreneurship, & Research (SEER) program is a cohort-driven student education model combining peer mentoring, teamwork and leadership training, presentation and communication skills, and, most importantly, significant research at the cutting edge of astronomy and space technology.
Originally founded in 2006 as the Arecibo Remote Command Center (ARCC), this program brought the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope to South Texas - the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center’s Arecibo radio telescope. ARCC students went on to control many of the world’s major radio telescopes in addition to Arecibo, including the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank radio telescope, the Long Wavelength Array, and the Effelsberg Radio Telescope. This program proved remarkably effective in recruiting and retaining students in STEM fields: the ARCC program by itself was one of the top 10 producers of Hispacic Bachelors recipients in the US.
Research supported by this program has expanded beyond the traditional field of big-dish radio astronomy to include development of phased-array systems (both for astronomical observation and telecommunication), other remote sensing systems, Earth imaging, cubesat development, and other areas of space technology. The program has since been re-branded as the Space Engagement, Entrepreneurship, & Research (SEER) program.
For the first two years, SEER students participate group research activities, such as searching radio observatory data for signals for radio pulsars, or classifying and geolocating Earth imagery from the International Space Station. In their 3rd year, SEER students are expected to begin working on individual research projects, ultimately leading to the presentation and defense of an undergraduate thesis; senior students also act as team leaders and mentors for other students within their team. Throughout their undergraduate career, students give regular presentations on their research and other topics in astronomy or space science, to build their communication skills. Upon graduation, the SEER students pursue doctoral programs in physics, astronomy, or related STEM fields, or obtain jobs in STEM professions.
The success of the ARCC/SEER program has led to its replication in several other institutions in the US and Mexico, forming the ARCC Network.