Chelen Johnson
Detecting Brown Dwarfs in Interacting Cataclysmic Binaries: Using Spitzer Space Telescope infrared images to determine whether the companion of the remnant star EE Eri (a white dwarf) is in fact a very low-mass object (sometimes called 'failed star') known as a brown dwarf.
Being there with my students was the most amazingly cool experience. I saw my two guys explode in their willingness to ask questions and express an opinion.
[I did not anticipate] meeting a Nobel Prize Winner – Saul Perlmutter – and getting a picture with him.
I can't wait to get started, and neither can my students!