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AAS - 2019

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 2018 and 2019 NITARP teams attended the 2019 January AAS meeting in Seattle, WA. The 2018 class was presenting results and the 2019 class was starting up. We had 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:

2018 Teams:

NITARP Management:

Returning Alumni Teams:

 

Quotes

  • [student:] [...] plenary lecture on gravitational wave detection. I expected something completely different from what I learned and realized there. I had no clue how much of an effort over such a long time has gone into it. For some of them, it was their life’s work and they never got to even see the day that we had accomplished only a single detection. That realization is good and all, but the biggest thing that interested me was the way it got me thinking. It is an entirely new way to do astronomy. A new way to look at the universe. Who knows what this could bring? What other ways will we discover? Will I be a part of that? It sprung an endless wave of questions, and settled a completely unrealistic and unfounded fear of mine that science is approaching a ceiling.
  • NITARP has impacted my own development of and participation in professional learning experiences because I’ve seen first hand how important it is to be “in” the experience. You truly learn best by doing and NITARP provides that in a way most other programs I’ve participated in do not.
  • This will be a tough professional development to beat. Not only did I make a great network with other educators, but it reinforced the importance of inquiry-based learning and the importance of there not always being an answer.
  • I gained a new respect for astronomers and the patience required to do work in that field. My job as a teacher resets every year and is in constant flux, whereas there are astronomers who may spend their entire life working toward one discovery. Then, they may not even still be alive when the discovery is officially made. They were just one step in the process. That kind of persistence is impressive.
  • What an amazing experience (head is still swimming).

Related Teams

AAS - 2019