The Annular and Total Eclipse NEBP Experience: Faculty Perspectives on Student Engagement and Research

SUNY Oswego participated in the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) as an atmospheric team for the 2023 annular eclipse and the 2024 total eclipse. The team was comprised of 17 undergraduate students from meteorology, physics, human resource management, and broadcasting. Of the 17 students, six traveled to Moriarty, New Mexico for the annular eclipse and all 17 students remained on SUNY Oswego’s campus during the total eclipse. Four faculty members were responsible for educating the SUNY Oswego NEBP team on eclipses, meteorology, helio-physics, observing systems, and data analysis through a special topics course and a lab, along with preparing students for their active roles during the eclipses. Faculty and students participated in 21 individual outreach events including numerous eclipse related activities on campus on the day of the total eclipse. Faculty members also gave more than 15 interviews to local media outlets about the project and helped coordinate SUNY Oswego’s eclipse viewing plan. Lastly, faculty coordinated NASA internships for two undergraduate students, oversaw paid summer research for four students, hired students to create planetarium shows centered around eclipses, and collaborated with the computer science department on student designed gravity wave identification products. While eclipses will not occur for many years to come in the U.S., faculty consider ways to continue this renewed energy surrounding student STEM engagement and how to involve a large number of students in a similar program more regularly.