• NASA
  • IPAC

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:] I’ve seen people coming from different schools and realized that many times the school they come from doesn’t really matter. It’s the passion that comes from inside that really makes a person successful.
  • Seeing the NITARP posters and talking with the NITARP teachers and students made me realize that 1) it is a very intense program and 2) there will be support there to help you.
  • [student:] I did not anticipate to have to deal with a lot of software issues over summer. However, it is the unpredictability of the project that makes it so exciting. I decided to take AP computer science this year and learn to code.
  • [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.
  • [Through NITARP, I've made contacts such that even though my NITARP year is ending], I feel I am just beginning what will be a great adventure.

Related Teams

AAS - 2015