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STARTastro is a regional partnership between UC San Diego, San Diego State University, and Southern California's minority-serving community colleges that aims to support transfer student success for Astronomy and physical science majors through a Transfer Receptive Culture Model. STARTastro provides academic and research preparation so that transfer students are ready to excel as upper division majors.
STARTastro is a regional partnership between UC San Diego, San Diego State University, and Southern California's minority-serving community colleges that aims to support transfer student success for Astronomy and physical science majors through a Transfer Receptive Culture Model. STARTastro provides academic and research preparation so that transfer students are ready to excel as upper division majors.
News and Updates
News and Updates
Stay informed & involved by joining our google group at https://groups.google.com/g/startastro
(January 2026) STARTastro scholar Justin Mascari received an Honorable Mention for the January 2025 American Astronomical Society Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award. The award is based on his conference presentation "Mapping CO-Dark H2 in Local Group Galaxies", under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Busch and Prof. Karin Sandstrom.
Congratulations Justin! (see the AAS press release)
(January 2026) STARTastro Co-Director Adam Burgasser has been named a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. The AAS Fellows program was established in 2020 to recognize AAS members for original research and publications, innovative contributions to astronomical techniques or instrumentation, significant contributions to education and public outreach, and noteworthy service to astronomy and to the Society itself. Prof. Burgasser's citation noted his "foundational contributions to our understanding of the nature of the lowest-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and exoplanet host stars using space and ground-based facilities; for longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion; and for extensive leadership roles in the astronomy community." Congratulations Prof. Burgasser! (see the AAS press release)
(January 2026) STARTasto faculty mentor Kyle Kremer was awarded the American Astronomocal Society Helen B. Warner Prize. This prize recognizes exceptional observational or theoretical research by a young astronomer. Prof. Kremer was cited "for innovative theoretical work illuminating the dynamics of compact objects in dense stellar systems" Congratulations Prof. Kremer! (see the AAS press release)
STARTastro at AAS 247
STARTastro at AAS 247
(January 2026) STARTastro scholars, affiliates and mentors were out in force at the 247th American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in Phoenix, AZ. Ten students from STARTastro's first two cohorts presented their research, part of a contingent of over 20 UCSD and SDSU students, researchers, and faculty presenting results.
Some key highlights from the meeting:
Steven Cromwell & Tyler Peters gave a press conference reporting their discovery of a "Previously Unknown Binary Star System in the Eagle Nebulae"
Justin Mascari earned an Honorable Mention in the AAS Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award Competition.
STARTastro Co-director Adam Burgasser gave a plenary talk about the studying the Mliky Way with brown dwarfs.
Mentor Kyle Kremer was awarded the AAS Helen B. Warner Prize "for innovative theoretical work illuminating the dynamics of compact objects in dense stellar systems"
Here are the student presentations from the conference:
Ethan Baker: "Simulating Electric Fields on the Edge of Germanium Detectors" (iposter)
Steven Cromwell & Tyler Peters: "Previously Unknown Binary Star System in the Eagle Nebulae" (iposter, AAS Press Conference)
Tyler Donahue: "Feedback-Driven Shells in Dwarf Galaxies: Cataloging Hα and Mid-Infrared Morphology of HI Holes" (iposter)
Jack Green: "Mapping the Emission from Aromatic and Aliphatic Hydrocarbons in a Low Metallicity Photodissociation Region in the Small Magellanic Cloud" (iposter)
Marylin Loritsch: "Identifying and Characterizing Low-Temperature Stars and Brown Dwarfs in Deep JWST Spectroscopic Surveys" (iposter)
Justin Mascari: "Mapping CO-dark H2 in Local Group Galaxies" (iposter, Chambliss Award Honorable Mention)
Suoi-Ngoun Pham: "Gravitational Wave Paleontology: Primordial Binary Black Holes as the Fossil Records of our Universe" (talk)
Evan Pritchard: "Classification and Characterization of Thick Disk and Halo Low Mass Stars in Deep JWST Surveys" (iposter)
Olivia Wu: "Using Ringed Disks to Determine Fundamental Parameters of Planet Formation" (iposter)
And here are the mentor presentations:
Adam Burgasser: "The Brown Dwarf-Milky Way Connection: How Failed Stars Play a Unique Role in Galactic Archaeology" (plenary talk) and "ucdmcmc: A Fast Fitting Algorithm for Cool Star, Brown Dwarf, and Exoplanet Atmospheres" (iposter)
Michael Busch: "A GBT Survey of the Northern Molecular Ring of Andromeda in OH: Insights on Dark Molecular Gas in the Local Group" (talk)
Emma Softich: "Should I Stay or Should I Go: Comparing MCMC vs. RFR For Modeling Low Temperature Brown Dwarf Spectra from JWST" (iposter)
Check out some photos of the STARTastro crew at AAS here.
What is STARTastro? April 2025 Information Session
What is STARTastro? April 2025 Information Session
Learn about the goals and design of the STARTastro program from our information session held in April 2025. This presentation includes information for California Community College students preparing to transfer as an Astronomy & Astrophysics or related major at any UC or CSU. The session included a Q&A with current STARTastro scholars who are now pursuing their degrees at UCSD.
What is a Transfer Receptive Culture Model?
What is a Transfer Receptive Culture Model?
The Transfer Receptive Culture model focuses on addressing the barriers faced by the diverse transfer students in the public California Community College system, and the role UC and CSU institutions plays in ensuring these students successfully advance from transfer enrollment to completion of a Bachelor's degree. We use the principles of the Transfer Receptive Culture model to design our Transfer Academy program.
Read more
Read more
The Transfer Receptive Culture model identifies five core elements for ensuring transfer student success:
Establishing transfer success as an institutional priority of excellence;
Providing information and resources that collaboratively support Community College programs;
Providing financial and academic support for transfers, with the latter approached from a perspective of excellence rather than deficiency;
Valuing transfer students' lived experiences, including connection to community and family; and
Conducting reflective assessment on metrics of transfer success that account for diverse experiences and goals.
Studies have shown that the Transfer Receptive Culture model addresses students’ fears and misconceptions about transferring, and increases their sense of financial and academic support and validation in their transfer-to institution.
Key references
Herrera, A., & Jain, D. (2013). Building a transfer-receptive culture at four-year institutions. New Directions for Higher Education, 162, 51–59. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/he.20056
Jain, D., Herrera, A. Bernal, S., & Solorzano, D. (2011). Critical Race Theory and the Transfer Function: Introducing a Transfer Receptive Culture. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 35(3), 252-266. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10668926.2011.526525
Jain, D., et al. (2016) Toward a Critical Race Perspective of Transfer: An Exploration of a Transfer Receptive Culture, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 40(12), 1013-1024. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10668926.2016.1213674
Meet our Regional Community College Partners
Meet our Regional Community College Partners
Funding Support
Funding Support
Our program is generously funded by the Heising Simons Foundation and the National Science Foundation, and supported by staff, faculty, and students in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at UCSD and the Department of Astronomy at SDSU.
CA Proposition 209 Compliance
CA Proposition 209 Compliance
In accordance with applicable Federal and State law and University policy, the University of California does not discriminate, or grant preferences, on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and/or other protected categories.
More information about California Proposition 209 can be found here.
More information about the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy can be found here.
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