Trautvetter to Help Probe the Universe’s Deepest Mysteries
School of Education and Social Policy Professor Lois Trautvetter is part of a new cross-disciplinary fellowship program that brings together astrophysicists and social scientists to tackle data from a massive sky survey, according to Northwestern News.
"Including social scientists will help researchers develop best practices for recruiting and retaining a diverse scientific workforce while playing a role in cross-disciplinary research and charting the course for the next decade,” says Trautvetter, professor of education and social policy and director of the Master of Science in Higher Education Administration and Policy program.
The LSST Corporation, a non-profit consortium of approximately 30 research institutions, has received $7 million to establish the LSSTC Catalyst Fellowship Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, which will support early-career researchers in astrophysics and in social sciences as they study big data generated from the soon-to-be-completed Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile.
The program is the first fellowship of its kind. Researchers from disparate fields — including those from traditionally underrepresented groups and institutions — will converge to pursue an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to science.
Northwestern University astrophysicist Vicky Kalogera co-chaired the new program’s steering committee. In addition to Trautvetter, Northwestern faculty member Adam Miller is also involved in the program.
Read the full story by Amanda Morris.