Summer "Visit" - 2020 - OIRMA

Quotes

• I was most surprised by the students’ ability to keep up (no offense to them). I really felt that students, instructors, and astronomer were all on the same footing and able to contribute and ask questions freely. I had worried about power dynamics in the group, since only one of us does astronomy research professionally, but I was pleasantly surprised at our ability to form a cohesive team so quickly.
• [student:] what the group provided was a system of rapid feedback which I could assist with my own insights and receive help from in times of confusion. At parts in the workflow where I might be banging my head against the wall, I could work through the issue with someone else, which was helped greatly by screen sharing. By the end of the week, the group felt like more than a formal convocation of academics to conduct research, and more of a group of enthusiasts who could also joke and engage in tangent discussion, not just work.
• [student:] The best thing about this week was the sensation of work and progress. Learning about the relevant astronomy was definitely fun and valuable, but when we analyzed light curves, pored through databases, and created spreadsheets of candidates, I felt that I had taken tangible steps towards my goal. At that point, I had actually done astronomy, not just learned about it.
• Best thing was the collaboration with all involved and the students being more like peers.
• Real astronomy is the business of trying to answer previously unanswered questions about the cosmos using methods that use (or take into account, in the case of theory) actual data from actual measurements.

Related Teams

• OIRMA/Gorjian