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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:] I am unsure of what I want to do with my future, but this experience has solidified the fact that I want to do something with science.
  • [student:] The most interesting thing was the AAS Conference as a whole. In my life, I have never felt so satisfied, never been around so many bursting and brilliant minds. As a young boy with a passion for learning (and a newfound passion for astronomy), that trip has seriously impacted my life in ways I never would have imagined.
  • In both of my NITARP experiences, we have run into major difficulties that triggered a complete reworking of the project. At this point, I think I would expect things not to go as planned on a given science project. This is not a bad thing -- it is just the way things tend to go. We did reach a nice result in both cases, but there were some bumps along the way.
  • Do what your scientist asks you to do, but don’t be afraid to make your own suggestions if you have ideas about what to do next. This is a collaborative process. The scientists are very smart and knowledgeable, but they are not the only ones with answers and they value your opinion. Don’t be afraid to go above and beyond.
  • [What did I learn about] Astronomers… well let’s just say the personalities of the Big Bang crew can be found throughout. I was shocked when I heard one astronomer present something and the next start off by saying everything you just heard, I am about to debunk.

Related Teams

AAS - 2015