南京大学的天文教育_英文_

南京大学的天文教育_英文_ 云 南 天 文 台 台 刊 年 2003 2003 Publications of Yunnan Observatory 第 1 期No11 Ξ 南京大学的天文教育 唐玉华 ( )南京大学天文系 , 南京 210093 摘要 : 全面介绍了南京大学天文系在各种教育水平 , 包括大学本科 ,硕士 , 博士和博士后教育的情况 。 关键词 : 教育体系 ; 设施 ; 主要研究领域 () 中图分类号 : G 40 - 01 文献标识码 : C 文章编号 : 1001 - 7526 200301 - 0113 - 06 Astronomy Education in Nanjing University TANG Yu - hua ()Department of Astronomy , Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093 , China . Eail : yhtang @nju. edu. cn Abstract : In the paper , a complete series of educational programs of undergraduate , master s , doctoral and post - doctoral levels in astronomy department of Nanjing University has been described. Key words : Education System ; Facilities ; Main Research Topics 1 GENERAL SITUATIO N () The Department of Astronomy of Nanjing University NJUwas founded in 1952 , and is the first astronomy department in Chinese universities. Up to date , nearly 1000 students have graduated from the department , and many of them are now world - famous scholars and experts in astronomy. The Department of Astronomy has a faculty staff of 28 . It offers undergraduate program in astronomy , and two master programs and two PhD programs in Astrophysics , Astrometry and Celestial Mechanics. The Department is one of China s class - 1 Doctoral Degree points and post - doctoral circulation station. Astrophysics , Astrometry and Celestial Mechanics are recognized as National key Disciplines respectively. The Department began to take in master students in 1978 , and doctor students in 1983 . Since August 1993 , the Department has become one of Chinese ( )ΞFoundation item : This work was funded by National Basic Research Priorities Poject G2000078404 收稿日期 : 2002 - 10 - 08 national training bases for teaching and research personnel in Astronomy. 2 FACITIES The Department has two Observatories , one was built on Gulou campus of Nanjing University ( ) in 1995 Figure 1, and the other was built recently on the Pukou campus , NJU new campus ( ) Figure 2. There are 4 optical telescopes and one radio telescope in the Department . ( )Fig. 1 Astronomy Department of Nanjing University Gulou Observatory Type of telescope Usage Remarks 15 cm Refractor for non - astronomy majors in Gulou campus in Gulou campus 13 cm Refractor for non - astronomy majors in Pukou campus Schmidt telescope for non - astronomy and astronomy majors in Pukou campus 65 cm Reflector for astronomy majors in Gulou campus radio telescope for astronomy majors The Department has two research laboratories : the Lab of Astronomical Data Analysis and ( ) Computational Physics and the Solar Tower Lab. Figure 3. The former was built from 1992 to 1996 . Till now , 7 million RMB has been invested. The solar Tower Lab was built in 1979 at the foot of Purple Mountain in the eastern suburb of Nanjing , and it is only one solar tower telescope in China so far . 第 1 期 唐玉华 : 南京大学的天文教育 115 3 ED UCATIO N SYSTEM 3 . 1 Undergraduate education Each year , about 30 students are admitted to the astronomy department . After then , four - year undergraduate education begins. During four years , students have to obtain 150 credits , among them 60 % should be for the important necessary courses. All students should mainly study mathematics and physics during the first two years. The main astronomy courses are as follows : 3 General Astronomy ; 3 Practical Astrophysics ; 3 Theoretical Astrophysics ; 3 Celestial Mechanism ; 3 Spherical Astronomy. Fig. 2 The 65cm reflector telescope installed in Pukou Observatory 3 . 2 Master degree specialties Students can be enrolled in the master degree specialty through recommendation , which is only for few excellent students , or by passing successfully the university examination. They have to spend 2 - 3 years to study courses of the master degree program. The main courses are as follows : 3 Radiation mechanism ; 3 Stellar interior structure and evolution ; 3 High energy astrophysics ; 3 Plasma physics ; 3 Introduction to non - linear dynamics ; 3 Motion theory of small bodies in the solar system ; 3 Physics of interstellar material . () The students should obtain certain credits 30 - 35and publish at least one scientific paper during the three - year period. Having passed successfully the defense of their thesis , students can get their MS degree . 第 1 期 唐玉华 : 南京大学的天文教育 117 3 . 3 PhD. program Based on the university examination and oral test , MS. degree students can be enrolled in PhD. programs. They have to spend 2 . 5 - 3 years studying a few special courses , such as : 3 Physics of compact stars ; 3 Physics of active galactic nuclei ; 3 Stellar formation ; 3 Nuclear astrophysics ; γ 3 Physics of ray bursts ; 3 Pulsar Physics etc . However , the main requirement in the PhD. program is to do research work. Students have to publish between one and three scientific papers in the main astronomical journals. By the end of the study , a student must write a comprehensive thesis , which has to be evaluated by about ten scientists , and well pass the defense of the thesis , in order to obtain the PhD. degree . 3 . 4 Post - doctoral program Based on application and competition , only a few PhD. students can be accepted in the post - doctoral program. Generally , it takes 1 . 5 - 2 years and the university provides special funds and accommodations for them. The person in the post - doctoral program can do any research work they like , but they must provide a report by the end of the period of the study. 4 INSTITUTES AND MAIN RESEARC H TOPICS Two institutes are located in the department . The Astronomy and Astrophysics Center of East China is co - established by Nanjing University , Purple Mountain Observatory , Shanghai Astronomical Observatory , and the University of Science and Technology. It has offices in both Nanjing University and Purple Mountain Observatory. Members of the center are mainly composed of young astronomers under the age of 45 . Another institute is Non - linear Science Center of Nanjing University. It was established in 1986 , and is the first center of this kind in China . The core memnbers of the Center are from the Department of Astronomy , the Department of Mathematics , the Department of Physics and the School of Life Science in the University. Our research focuses on the following fields : Astrophysics : 3 High energy astrophysics ; 3 Physics of solar active region ; 3 Star formation and evolution ; 3 Galaxy physics. Celestial mechanics and astrometry : 3 Motion theory of small bodies in the solar system ; 3 Non - linear celestial mechanics ; 3 High precision astronomical reference system. 5 PROBL EMS AND PROSPECTS In recent years astronomy education in Nanjing University has been greatly improved based on the support by the National projects“211”, “985”and National training bases. However , one problem is the loss of good quality young people , after getting MS degrees , many excellent young students go abroad , especially to the United States. Unfortunately , after obtaining their PhD. degrees , many of them do not work in Astronomy. It is hoped that this situation will be improved in the future . Now we place great emphasis on basic scientific research and teaching , and consolidate the theoretical foundation and astronomical surveying skills for students. The special training is offered to those students of greater creativity in an attempt to turn them into good quality personnel . While continually reforming the graduate - degree courses , we have adopted the modes of running consecutive undergraduate and master degree , the master and the doctoral degree , or the undergraduate , the master and the doctoral programs. Interdepartmental , inter - institutional , and international joint training programs have been also offered to students.