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It has been recognized that jobs across different domains is becoming more data driven, and many aspects of the economy, society, and daily life depend more and more on data. Undergraduate education offers a critical link in providing more data science and engineering (DSE) exposure to students and expanding the supply of DSE talent. The National Academies have identified that effective DSE education requires both appropriate classwork and hands-on experience with real data and real applications. Currently significant progress has been made in classwork, while progress in hands-on research experience has been lacking. To fill this gap, we have proposed to create data-enabled engineering project (DEEP) modules based on real data and applications, which is currently funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program. To achieve project goal, we have developed two internet-of-things (IoT) enabled laboratory engineering testbeds (LETs) and generated real data under various application scenarios. In addition, we have designed and developed several sample DEEP modules in interactive Jupyter Notebook using the generated data. These sample DEEP modules will also be ported to other interactive DSE learning environments, including Matlab Live Script and R Markdown, for wide and easy adoption. Finally, we have conducted metacognitive awareness gain (MAG) assessments to establish a baseline for assessing the effectiveness of DEEP modules in enhancing students’ reflection and metacognition. The DEEP modules that are currently being developed target students in Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and MS program in Data Science at xxx University. The modules will be deployed in the Spring of 2021, and we expect to have immediate impact to the targeted classes and students. We also anticipate that the DEEP modules can be adopted without modification to other disciplines in Engineering such as Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering. They can also be easily extended to other disciplines in other colleges such as Liberal Arts by incorporating real data and applications from the respective disciplines. In this work, we will share our ideas, the rationale behind the proposed approach, the planned tasks for the project, the demonstration of modules developed, and potential dissemination venues. 

Abstract We report on the observations, analysis and interpretation of the microlensing event MOA-2019-BLG-008. The observed anomaly in the photometric light curve is best described through a binary lens model. In this model, the source did not cross caustics and no finite-source effects were observed. Therefore, the angular Einstein ring radius θ E cannot be measured from the light curve alone. However, the large event duration, t E ∼ 80 days, allows a precise measurement of the microlensing parallax π E . In addition to the constraints on the angular radius θ * and the apparent brightness I s of the source, we employ the Besançon and GalMod galactic models to estimate the physical properties of the lens. We find excellent agreement between the predictions of the two galactic models: the companion is likely a resident of the brown dwarf desert with a mass M p ∼ 30 M Jup , and the host is a main-sequence dwarf star. The lens lies along the line of sight to the Galactic bulge, at a distance of ≤4 kpc. We estimate that in about 10 yr the lens and source will be separated by ∼55 mas, and it will be possible to confirm the exact nature of the lensing system by using high-resolution imaging from ground- or space-based observatories. 

Context. Brown dwarfs are transition objects between stars and planets that are still poorly understood, for which several competing mechanisms have been proposed to describe their formation. Mass measurements are generally difficult to carry out for isolated objects as well as for brown dwarfs orbiting low-mass stars, which are often too faint for a spectroscopic follow-up. Aims. Microlensing provides an alternative tool for the discovery and investigation of such faint systems. Here, we present an analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2019-BLG-0033/MOA-2019-BLG-035, which is caused by a binary system composed of a brown dwarf orbiting a red dwarf. Methods. Thanks to extensive ground observations and the availability of space observations from Spitzer, it has been possible to obtain accurate estimates of all microlensing parameters, including the parallax, source radius, and orbital motion of the binary lens. Results. Following an accurate modeling process, we found that the lens is composed of a red dwarf with a mass of M 1 = 0.149 ± 0.010 M ⊙ and a brown dwarf with a mass of M 2 = 0.0463 ± 0.0031 M ⊙ at a projected separation of a ⊥ = 0.585 au. The system has a peculiar velocity that is typical of old metal-poor populations in the thick disk. A percent-level precision in the mass measurement of brown dwarfs has been achieved only in a few microlensing events up to now, but will likely become more common in the future thanks to the Roman space telescope. 

Gaia16aye was a binary microlensing event discovered in the direction towards the northern Galactic disc and was one of the first microlensing events detected and alerted to by the Gaia space mission. Its light curve exhibited five distinct brightening episodes, reaching up to I  = 12 mag, and it was covered in great detail with almost 25 000 data points gathered by a network of telescopes. We present the photometric and spectroscopic follow-up covering 500 days of the event evolution. We employed a full Keplerian binary orbit microlensing model combined with the motion of Earth and Gaia around the Sun to reproduce the complex light curve. The photometric data allowed us to solve the microlensing event entirely and to derive the complete and unique set of orbital parameters of the binary lensing system. We also report on the detection of the first-ever microlensing space-parallax between the Earth and Gaia located at L2. The properties of the binary system were derived from microlensing parameters, and we found that the system is composed of two main-sequence stars with masses 0.57 ± 0.05 M ⊙ and 0.36 ± 0.03 M ⊙ at 780 pc, with an orbital period of 2.88 years and an eccentricity of 0.30. We also predict the astrometric microlensing signal for this binary lens as it will be seen by Gaia as well as the radial velocity curve for the binary system. Events such as Gaia16aye indicate the potential for the microlensing method of probing the mass function of dark objects, including black holes, in directions other than that of the Galactic bulge. This case also emphasises the importance of long-term time-domain coordinated observations that can be made with a network of heterogeneous telescopes.