UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1297 | Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement

Submission information

Submission Number: 1297

Submission ID: 21081

Submission UUID: 7aebc4d6-9a3f-4319-a42f-2e7e71455a30

Submission URI: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal

Submission Update: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=guntfpsbvi91_X8u4WAgwussV3y0psvfJ0uAN-S8Tbs

Created: Tue, 08/19/2025 - 01:42 PM

Completed: Tue, 08/19/2025 - 02:02 PM

Changed: Mon, 08/25/2025 - 11:30 AM

Remote IP address: 144.174.212.6

Submitted by: Anonymous

Language: English

Is draft: No

Webform: UROP Project Proposal Portal

Submitted to: UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal

Research Mentor Information

Primary Research Mentor Name Nao Suzuki

Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns Dr.

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Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) nao.suzuki@fsu.edu

Position Title Faculty

FSU College (if applicable) Arts and Sciences

FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Physics

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Additional Research Mentor(s)

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Overall Project Details

Title of the Project Exploring the Universe where No One has seen before

Project Keywords astronomy, astrophysics, star, galaxy, space telescope

Are you currently looking for research assistants? Yes

Number of Research Assistants Needed 2

Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Physics, Physics and Astrophysics, Computer Science

Project Location: On FSU Main Campus

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Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): In-person

Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 5

Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? During business hours

Overall Research Project Description Our research team works with cutting-edge space telescope data from the James Webb Space Telescope, the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission, and the Hubble Space Telescope. We search for exploding stars, known as supernovae, by comparing newly captured images with archival observations. Amid billions of pixels, identifying these tiny signals is a challenge that requires both human effort and advanced AI training. Along the way, we may uncover remarkable phenomena, gravitational lenses, stars with high proper motion, or even completely unknown objects.

Research Tasks We invite you to help visually inspect images taken by space telescopes and compare them across different epochs. With database expertise, you can contribute by organizing and sorting these large datasets. If you have a computing background, your skills will be valuable in classifying the data into meaningful categories. For those with training in physics or astronomy, there are opportunities to engage in spectral classification and more advanced analysis. Ultimately, after collecting and processing the data, our goal is to analyze the results and extract new scientific insights.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Proficiency in SQL and Python is recommended, and experience in database-driven website development is highly valuable.

Mentoring Philosophy Our goal is to develop the skills needed to read, extract, and interpret astronomical data in order to deepen our scientific understanding of the universe. We live in an era of big data, where the ability to evaluate large and complex datasets is increasingly essential. Real observational data often contain instrumental defects, noise, and errors, making the challenge of identifying “the one” meaningful signal among billions of pixels both exciting and broadly applicable across disciplines. This project will be tailored to each participant’s skills, with full respect for diversity and inclusion. Non-physics majors and minors are strongly encouraged to apply. As this is a collaborative effort, we are especially looking for individuals who are enthusiastic team players.

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Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? Yes

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Roundtable Info

Day: Wednesday, September 3
Start Time: 4:00
End Time: 4:30
Zoom Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/84627850994?pwd=Pq6L60PK3ojL1aeuKIjzfpHOtzhKXF.1

UROP Program Elements

Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes

UROP Performance Evaluation Yes

Materials Grant Yes

UROP Poster Presentation Yes

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Year 2025

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