Chelen Johnson
This virtual team collects all independent research presented in 2008, and done by Spitzer alumni with students outside of a formal Spitzer team. Mr. Spuck's students worked on classifying galaxies in the Spitzer observations of the Taurus Molecular Cloud.
By far, the most interesting part of my entire NITARP experience is the scientific method applied to the discovery process.
High school students are hungry for authentic research experiences, and both high school teachers and students benefit immensely from having contact with a professional astronomer. This may seem inefficient (because it costs a lot of money to connect individuals with professionals), but it can change lives, and there are wonderful ripple effects.
[I have] an example of a student who, previous to the summer trip did not have a focused direction for his future after high school, but now does. [He wants to be a scientist.]
