Home /

Dunlap Institute ISEE Chapter

The Dunlap Institute ISEE Chapter began in 2012 with six participants funded directly by the Dunlap Institute at the University of Toronto. This Chapter focuses on science, technology, and theory related to astronomy, and now includes the Dunlap Institute and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, at the University of Toronto. In 2013, they supported two teaching teams that taught in separate venues, and hosted a small Design Institute (one of the two major PDP intensives) in Toronto. In 2014 and 2015, they hosted full Design Institutes that included teams from the New York City, Michigan State University, and University of Colorado. Two postdocs have participated in the PDP Instructor Apprenticeship Program.

The Dunlap Institute ISEE Chapter is continuing to grow and will once again host a Design Institute for ISEE Chapter participants in the region. The Dunlap-Toronto ISEE Chapter has brought an exciting new international angle to ISEE, through their own involvement, and by initiating a new teaching venue in Nigeria.

Past participation and teaching activities of chapter:

  • Deriving uncertainties from random sampling, and designing investigations (2014). Taught at the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), May 2014. Tuan Do (Lead), Maria Montero-Castaño, Yevgeni Kissin, and Paola Rodriguez Hidalgo.
  • Imaging with lenses, and defining requirements (2014). Taught in Dunlap Institute Summer School, “Introduction to Astronomical Instrumentation”. Quinn Konopacky (Lead), Lisa Esteves, Dui Nguyen, and Stephen Ro.
  • Gaussian Errors; and designing investigations. SURP, May 2013. Tuan Do (Lead), Etsuko Mieda, and Jeffrey Fung.
  • Measuring brightness and distance scales in astronomy; and supporting choice of methodology (2013). West African International Summer School for Young Astronomers, October, 2013. Linda Strubbe (Lead), Kelly Lepo, Heidi White, and Jielai Zhang. See: IAU Commission 46 Newsletter 80.
  • Using Newtonian gravity to infer the presence of objects not visible via photons; and using evidence to support an explanation (2012). Taught at the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), May 2012. Quinn Konopacky (Lead), Adrienne Erickcek, Kelly Lepo, Etsuko Mieda, Matt Russo, and Anne-Marie Weijmans.
  • Reduced chi-square distribution and fitting, and optimizing solutions (2015). Taught at the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP). Lisa Esteves (Lead), Ryan Cloutier, Jeffrey Chilcote, and Aleksandar Rachkov.
  • Radioactive half-life and activity, and explaining results (2015). Nicolas Crouzet participated on a team (led by Saul Beceiro Novo, MSU) that designed and taught this activity for an undergraduate physics course and Michigan State University.
Graduate students and postdocs from the Dunlap Institute, CITA, and the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics are invited to apply for PDP participation through this Chapter. Funding should be requested from Dunlap, CITA, or other sources that could support participants from Canadian institutions. Participants attend the Design Institute held in Toronto.

Individuals from the astronomy community at University of Toronto who are interested in applying to the PDP should contact Dunlap ISEE Liaison: Michael Reid (mike.reid@utoronto.ca).

Others in the region interested in applying to the PDP, or seeking general information about ISEE, should contact ISEE headquarters: isee@ucsc.edu.