Chelen Johnson
This virtual team collects all independent research presented in 2013, and done by NITARP or Spitzer alumni with students outside of a formal NITARP team. In 2013, we have one article in The Physics Teacher, and one poster on young stars.
It was very rewarding to be able to talk with astronomers who were willing to answer my (many) questions. Educators rarely have an opportunity to talk to professionals to hone their knowledge base once they finish school. I’m afraid I grabbed them every chance I got!
There was a connection for me, and I hope my students, between what at times can be very tedious number crunching and theoretical concepts to practical application of data towards discovery.
I thought the talks and posters were great. Watching scientists talk to each other and question each other was interesting.
