Abstract: Does the star and planet forming environment matter for protoplanetary disks and stellar properties? What are the observational signatures and theoretical implications? UV radiation from massive stars and stellar density may affect the protoplanetary disk properties including disk mass, disk size, accretion rate, and disk lifetime. The final mass of young stellar objects (YSOs) in high UV radiation and rich cluster environment may also be influenced due to early loss of circumstellar materials. In this talk I will present our on-going multi-wavelength studies of the Orion A region to probe these questions. I will focus on protoplanetary disks in three star forming regions within the Orion A cloud to probe the role of UV radiation and stellar density. The Orion Nebula Cluster, NGC 1977, and Lynds 1641 are all located in the Orion A cloud having similar ages, yet their environments are different. I will discuss our findings from our current surveys of these three regions in Orion A, and compare our findings to some low density, weak radiation environments, such as Taurus star forming region. This study is also a part of one of the NExSS program, Earth in Solar System (EOS, PI Apai).

   Dr. J. Serena Kim, associate astronomer at Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, obtained her Ph. D. from State University of New York at Stony Brook under the advice of Prof. Fred Walter. She worked as a postdoc with the FEPS Spitzer Legacy project with Michael Meyer (PI of FEPS. FEPS: Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems). She is a faculty now (as an associate astronomer) at Steward.