UH Hilo astronomy student and professor attend 2025 Submillimeter Array Interferometry School

Astronomy student Angela Clairbourn was the only undergraduate attendee among graduate students from all over the world including the United States, China, and Europe.

Large group of students are standing and listening to an official. About half the attendees are wearing orange jackets.
Attendees gather at the 2025 Submillimeter Array (SMA) Interferometry School in January. UH Hilo’s Angela Clairbourn (seated at center back) was the only undergraduate attendee among graduate students from all over the world including the United States, China, and Europe. (Courtesy photo)

By Susan Enright.

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo astronomy student Angela Clairbourn and astronomy professor Marianne Takamiya attended the 2025 Submillimeter Array (SMA) Interferometry School Jan. 6-10 in Hilo, finishing up with a trip to Maunakea.

The school used the Submillimeter Array and its new capabilities to create a hands-on experience for participants to actively perform observations and data reduction for their own proposed projects. The workshop also provided a series of lectures on the fundamentals of radio interferometry with a special emphasis on observations at (sub)millimeter wavelengths.

Takamiya is a UH Hilo professor of physics and astronomy, and co-chair of the department. She notes that Clairbourn was the only undergraduate attendee among graduate students from all over the world including the United States, China, and Europe.

“Angela was able to use SMA data and generate an image in radio frequencies of an interacting galaxy and study the motion of the gas in the galaxy,” says Prof. Takamiya.

Marianne Takamiya at computer with the observatory array showing through a large plate glass window.
Marianne Takamiya on field trip atop Maunakea during the 2025 Submillimeter Array Interferometry School. (Courtesy photo)

Organized by the Center for Astrophysics (a collaboration of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory), in conjunction with the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the University of Hawaiʻi, the goal of the Submillimeter Array Interferometry School is to provide a broad knowledge of interferometry and data reduction techniques at (sub)millimeter wavelengths for graduate students, postdocs, and scientists outside the field of sub-mm interferometry.

Here are a few more photos of the field trip to the Submillimeter Array atop Maunakea. (Courtesy photos, click to enlarge.)

Award for excellence

Last year, Clairbourn won UH Hilo’s College of Natural and Health Sciences‘ Excellence in Physics and Astronomy award that honors the college’s highest achieving students who have demonstrated an all-round outstanding record of academic performance, extracurricular activities, and service to the university or local community.

Group of students and professor stand for photo. Students are holding their award certificates.
Above, at the UH Hilo College of Natural and Health Sciences’ 2024 Student Awards Celebration held on April 26, Angela Clairbourn (second from right) won the Excellence in Physics and Astronomy Award. From the astronomy and physics department, from left, professors Heather Kaluna, Kathy Malone, Daniel O’Connor, and Nicole Drakos; and students Atlas Syncatto, Trinity Parascandola, James Zisk, and Angela Clairbourn. At far right is the college’s dean, Simon Kattenhorn. (Courtesy photo from CNHS/UH Hilo)

Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories.

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