Six graduate students in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics have been awarded mini-grants from the Donald and Irene Osterbrock Leadership Program.
The Osterbrock Leadership Program provides experiences and opportunities for astronomy graduate students to develop leadership and management skills. The program offers unique training opportunities through a wide variety of educational activities, mentorships with outstanding leaders, and leadership experiences conceived and executed by students themselves.
Donald Osterbrock was an eminent astronomer and director of UC's Lick Observatory from 1973 to 1981. His wife, Irene, helped establish the UCSC Library's Mary Lea Shane Archives of the Lick Observatory as a world-renowned repository of U.S. astronomical history. The Osterbrock Leadership Program was established in 2010 with a gift from Irene Osterbrock, later supplemented by a gift from program director Sandra Faber, professor emerita of astronomy and astrophysics, and her husband, Andrew Faber.
The 2017-18 recipients of the Osterbrock mini-grants and their projects are:
Felipe Ardila, "Reviving the SIERRA Conference: a Collaborative Meeting for UC Astronomy Graduate Students" (Katherine Alatalo, mentor)
Brittany Miles, "Supporting Underrepresented Womxn-Identified Students on Their Path to Graduate School (MINT)" (Christine Rosales and Esther Wallace, mentors)
Diana Powell, "UCSC AstroPhysics Research Council (UAPRC)" (Ruth Murray-Clay, mentor)
Amanda Quirk, "Accessible Astronomy" (Rick Gubash, mentor)
Alexa Villaume, "Training and Support for Conflict Resolution in the Professional Setting" (Genevieve Graves, mentor)
Kevin McKinnon, "UCSC Astro Monthly Newsletter: The Approachable Astronomer" (Steve Mandel and Carol Foote, mentors)
