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AAS - 2015

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.

The 2014 and 2015 NITARP teams attended the 2015 January AAS meeting in Seattle, WA. The 2014 class was presenting results and the 2015 class was starting up. We had many alumni raise money to come back as well. We sent about 50 people to the AAS and had a grand time. Please see the special article on NITARP at the AAS. All of the posters we presented are here:

Quotes

  • [student:] Everyone always practiced the attitude of "It's okay to ask questions, be stupid, and be wrong," and this really kept everyone unified and energized.
  • [student:] My favorite part of NITARP was to get an insight into the process of real research, where the results are not known and the procedure to be determined by us.
  • [student:] [I would tell Congress that:] This is a once in a lifetime experience for everyone, whether they are interested in a career in astronomy or not. The skills and discipline this program teaches not only enforces goals but gives students and teachers the rare opportunity to make an authentic and significant accomplishment in the real world. Participating in the real world is something that students and the United States' education system REALLY needs. As a student, I know first hand the frustrations of feeling like slaves to a letter grade and to an education system that tries to help us succeed but mostly succeeds in suffocating us. A lot of us feel like we are stuck in the world of school, homework, and deadlines, which isolates us and makes us lose sight of our long-term life goals, besides earning a letter grade that tries to define who you are and what you can accomplish. What students really need is the opportunity to look outside the cages of school and realize that all this education is necessary for us to grow elsewhere.
  • [student:] I didn’t anticipate being surrounded by other smart high schoolers. I was pleasantly surprised to meet the other students and converse with them about topics we were passionate about.
  • [student:] This program made me realize that I genuinely love scientific research.

Related Teams

AAS - 2015