June 13, 2024
Are we alone in the universe? Ferris State students and faculty collaborate on summer research exploring potential for life on exoplanets and other topics
Is there life on other planets? A research project by Ferris State University faculty members and students is taking a closer look at planets outside our own solar system.
The project is one of several that are part of the 13th Summer Student Fellowship program, administered by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
ORSP Director Thomas Dowling said with 14 student fellows taking up these experiential learning opportunities, this summer’s cohort is the largest and most diverse in program history.
Since the program’s inception, nearly 140 students have participated.
“We are pleased by the wide-ranging array of experimentation, study and exploration and the synergy of these mentor-student efforts,” Dowling said.
Research topics include the connection between fashion and architecture, stress management in esports, using game-based learning in health education, and resiliency and resistance skills for LGBTQ+ community college students.
Dinesh Shetty, an assistant professor in Physical Sciences, teaching Physics and Astronomy courses is entering his first summer as a faculty member. Shetty’s student fellow is Francisco Vásquez, a native of Quilpue, Chile slated to graduate in December with a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing Technology.
Shetty and Vásquez are studying exoplanets, “Light Curve Analysis of Exoplanet Using Transit Photometry.”
They will explore planets outside the solar system that could be habitable and potentially harbor some life form using the “transit method” to detect a slight dip in light intensity (light curve) when a planet transits in front of its host star.
Ferris State University student Francisco Vásquez.
“That light curve can tell us a lot about a planet orbiting its host star, just lik
e our earth orbiting the sun,” Shetty said. “It can define the size of the planet, its orbit, and its distance from the host star. For life to exist on another planet, it must be orbiting at the right distance from the host star, so the planet’s surface temperature is ideal for water to exist in its liquid form.”
Ferris State is home to Rawlinson Observatory, which houses a six-inch Unitron Model 620 refractor primarily used for public outreach programs.
“To carry out research and in specific exoplanet research, the facility would need a significant upgrade,” Shetty said. “For the summer project, we will use data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Mt. Wison Observatory in Pasadena, California.”
Vásquez is using the fellowship to further his interest in astronomy, which has taken him to observatories and astronomical symposiums in Poland, studies at the Tololo Observatory in Chile, participation in the ALMA Radiotelescope project in Chile, and visits to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
“I founded a registered student organization called Space and Sciences Engineering, dedicated to creating and studying space sciences,” Vásquez said. “Currently, we are working on a robotics project, but one of our greatest challenges is helping rehabilitate the Rawlinson Observatory.”
Gaining first-hand knowledge of the research process is at the heart of this student-faculty work.
“During these activities with this organization, I learned about the opportunity to conduct research related to the search for exoplanets using the light curve method with Dr. Shetty,” Vásquez said. “I will be visiting the Mt. Wilson Observatory in California in late June. Collaborating with experts at such a highly regarded research facility will be exciting, where famous researchers like Albert Einstein have worked.”
Results from all the fellowship projects will be offered at the 2024 Celebration of Student Research and Creative Activities Symposium, set for Friday, Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the David L. Eisler Center.