Chelen Johnson
SIRXS (SEIP IR Excess Survey) : looking for IR excesses around stars found within the Spitzer Enhanced Imaging Products (SEIP) source list.
Our students, over the past few years since I participated in NITARP, have directly benefited from my being accepted into the program. You are a great asset and I appreciate all that you do!
What was especially important to me as an educator was the way that the students planned their own schedule of listening to research presentations [at the AAS] and reviewing poster presentations. The students were very active participants in the conference and they took away an amazing amount of information and excitement. One parent told me that her normally quiet son spent the entire weekend relating stories of the experience to his family and friends.
My ideas about astronomy has changed significantly, thanks to NITARP. Quite simply, I didn't understand the role of archival data in modern astronomical research. Previously, I considered it an intellectual exercise, work suitable for a reference librarian, but not real research. I now know it to comprise the future of astronomy, and the very picture of MOST of tomorrow's scientific research.
