Chelen Johnson
The goal of SHIPs (Searching Herschel Images for Protostars) is to find and identify stars in the earliest phases of formation in NGC 281, a.k.a. "the pac-man nebula". These stars will help us understand the history of the star formation process in that region.
[Because of a poster I saw at the AAS and] my participation in the NITARP program, I will be raising the standards for my students in the future.
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.
I knew nothing about the online archives before this experience. Now I am quite familiar with them, and I have even used them a few times for reasons unrelated to NITARP. I am certain I’ll continue to use this resource going forward.