Chelen Johnson
This virtual team collects all independent research presented in 2012, and done by NITARP or Spitzer alumni with students outside of a formal NITARP team. Two different teams presented posters in 2012.
Words can't describe my delight and gratitude to NITARP for the "over the top" experience at AAS 217th convention in Seattle. The breadth of conveyed knowledge, the phenomenal networking, the latest science discoveries, the business and career opportunities and the educational options were astounding.
I was also surprised [after the summer visit] not to be more tired. Don't get me wrong, I certainly took a five hour nap on Saturday after coming home on the red-eye from LA, but overall the week left me invigorated rather than exhausted.
The most interesting thing [during this whole NITARP experience] I did was work with catalogs I had not seen before and those I had that I had not a clue what to do with all that data. I now have a much clearer picture and my understanding has grown beyond what I think I could have ever done before.