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.
This experience has forced me to look at something new and has inspired me to enrich and improve my classes.
The best thing [of the Caltech trip] was working with the other participants and making progress as a team. My students were engaged and willing to be challenged.
I wanted to share this with you about one of the students I had on our team that explored star formation in Lynds dark nebulae (LDNs) [in 2008]. [He has since become involved with a big Air Force program at Michigan Tech in 2012.] [He] has often thanked me for getting him involved in NITARP research, having used that experience, in part, to get access to programs such as MTU's Aerospace Enterprise.
