AAS - 2017

The Winter American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting is the largest meeting of professional astronomers in the world. NITARP educators attend an AAS first to meet their team, then they go home and work remotely for much of the year, and then attend an AAS to present their results. At any given AAS, then, we could have two NITARP classes attending - those finishing up, and those getting started. Reload to see a different set of quotes.

The 2016 and 2017 NITARP teams attended the 2017 January AAS meeting in Dallas, TX. The 2016 class was presenting results and the 2017 class was starting up. We had many alumni raise money to come back as well. We sent about 50 people to the AAS and had a grand time. Please see the special article on NITARP at the AAS. All of the posters we presented are here:

2016 teams:
- Science Poster - Orr et al., "Finding High Quality Young Star Candidates in Ceph C Using X-ray, Optical, and IR Data"
- Education Poster - Orr et al., "STEM Education is Missing This ..."
- Science Poster - Kilts et al., "Searching for Short-Term Variable Active Galactic Nuclei: A Vital Step Towards Using AGN as Standard Candles"
- Education Poster - Kohrs et al., "NITARP: Changing Perceptions of Science Among Secondary Students and Teachers"
Returning Alumni teams:
- Education Poster - Bensel & Cool, "Are We Alone? GAVRT Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Project"
- Education Poster - Tran et al., "Analysis of Visual Double Stars"
- Science Poster - Johnson et al., "An Infrared Search for Young Stellar Objects in IC 1396"
- Science Poster - Wilson et al., "Searching for Infrared Excesses around White Dwarf Stars"
- Education Poster - Linder et al., "Confirming and Improving Ross Variable Star RV Del"
- Science Poster - Linder et al., "Rotational Study of Ambiguous Taxonomic Classified Asteroids"
NITARP Management:
- Evaluations And Impact (presented as education poster): Rebull et al., "The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP): Lessons Learned"

Quotes

[student:] I did not anticipate having to speak with and meet so many new people but that was fine. I did not expect to learn so much and get so interested at the actual AAS meeting.
I was challenged to stay on top of my understanding and ask more questions than I’m used to asking. Usually things are pretty easy for me, but not this.
As for its impact on the next generation of American scientists, NITARP is the Johnny Appleseed of STEM.
While it is widely reported that students entering STEM fields in college feel like they hit a brick wall when science and engineering courses shift from the typically conceptual level of high school to the quantitative modelling of college, NITARP students arrive on campus having already seen firsthand that “doing” science means doing math – and that as intricate and occasionally tedious as this may be, it makes sense. NITARP students learn in their bones that math and the tools of math comprise the most natural way to talk substantively about science. NITARP students are ready for science in college.
My NITARP experiences have changed how I work in the classroom—my research class is a direct outcome of my participation in the program. I also incorporate some of the methods of the NITARP program into this class—the students are required to produce posters, display them, and use them as part of a presentation that they give at the regional science fair and other venues.

AAS - 2017

Quotes

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