Keystone Professor Obtains National Science Foundation Grant for Astronomy Research

09/23/2011

Dr. O’Neal and colleague Dr. James E. Neff, of the College of Charleston, will each use NSF funding to continue their work studying the magnetic activity of “cool stars.”  A cool star is one whose surface temperature is about 7,000 degrees Kelvin or cooler.

“They are significant because their magnetic activity, such as starspots and solar flares, is of the same type found on the Sun but sometimes scaled up tremendously in magnitude. Understanding highly active cool stars helps us better characterize the sun’s activity and how it affects the Earth’s past, present and future,” Dr. O’Neal said.

Dr. O’Neal and Dr. Neff have been conducting cool star research together since 1993. They have obtained data from McDonald Observatory in Texas, Kitt Peak and McMath-Pierce Observatories in Arizona, and the International Ultraviolet Explorer and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer space telescopes. They have published 13 articles in major national and international astronomy journals. The funding for the NSF grant, which totals $64,780 for Keystone College, will enable Dr. O’Neal to travel to observatories, gather data, involve students in research, publish articles, and travel to national and international conferences to present results.  

NSF funding is very competitive and difficult to obtain. The NSF is an independent federal agency created in 1950 to promote scientific progress in the nation.  NSF is the funding source for about 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted at America’s colleges and universities.