Astronomical Instrumentation Education

The abilities of system engineering and project management (PM) are essential in the development of large instrumentations in modern astronomy. We propose a novel undergraduate educational program that allows students to gain experience in system engineering and PM by making a practical small spectrograph along with its test observation. A pilot program titled “Creative Astronomical Instrument Development and Observation” was conducted in Chungnam National University, as a part of the Space Expert Training Program of Ministry of Science and ICT during the Fall semester of 2023. After five teams were organized from 24 participating students, each team manufactured a spectrograph and observed spectra of the Sun, Moon, or planets with it. The development process was guided by several reviews, and students were evaluated based on the outcomes of their development processes and documentation. Through this program, students acquired fundamental principles of systems engineering and PM, as well as optical and mechanical engineering skills. (See more: https://doi.org/10.52912/jsta.2024.4.2.105 )