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AAS - 2013

The Winter American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting is the largest meeting of professional astronomers in the world. NITARP educators attend an AAS first to meet their team, then they go home and work remotely for much of the year, and then attend an AAS to present their results.  At any given AAS, then, we could have two NITARP classes attending - those finishing up, and those getting started. Reload to see a different set of quotes.

We were out in force at the AAS 2013 meeting in Long Beach, CA! A record number of NITARP-affiliated people attended, including the 2012 class finishing up and the 2013 class getting going. The 80 or so NITARP-affiliated folks made up about 3% of the AAS attendees.

Special article on AAS attendees!  And don't miss Danielle Miller's blog!

Quotes

  • I learned a lot, and I had a great time.
  • The NITARP experience was terrific from start to finish -- well organized, informative, and unique. I have experienced a number of well-done programs in having HS teachers and/or students participate in research, and NITARP particularly stands out. I think it is the mix of prep work done in advance by teachers and students, the collaborative format of teachers/students/scientists from different locals, the onsite time at Caltech, and the attendance and presentation of posters at an AAS . Each of these elements was important.
  • I wasn't expecting just how nice everyone was, especially to my high school-aged group. The astronomers I talked to all seemed very interested and impressed with what I was doing at the AAS and asked a lot of questions about NITARP. It made me feel that I had contributed something valuable to the astronomy community.
  • Mentoring adults in these capacities improves my ability to act more as a mentor to my classroom students, allowing them to become more self-sufficient learners. I feel this has improved my ability to mentor my colleagues as well.
  • There is much more to astronomical research than I anticipated. My view of astronomers hasn't changed, except I have gained MUCH more respect for them and the work that they do.

Related Teams

AAS - 2013