Chelen Johnson
IC417 : using WISE, 2MASS, Spitzer/Warm IRAC, UKIDSS, IPHAS, and literature optical data to look for young stars in the IC417 region.
I will say that I think part of every good astronomy (or any science) research project is asking a question you don't know the answer to, and I hope that as a teacher I can bring that back to my class. Along with asking questions, both collaboration and organization are important parts of working together for science.
It was delight to watch the students explain the poster – usually followed by shock as the person listening noticed they were middle and high school students! Here is to the next generation – they are amazing.
[about some of the students from the 2012 class] They knew their stuff and fielded questions well. Most of all, you could tell they had grown as students and were passionate about their topics and what they had found. To me, that was awesome. I hope my students will show the same poise...