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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 realized the importance of group collaboration. You can never really do all of this alone, especially in scientific research.
  • I already had a pretty good idea of how astronomers do science, but NITARP helped me see more exactly how data is collected, processed, and analyzed. It helped me also see that I can do astronomy myself, and can make a contribution beyond my own classroom. Not only can I analyze astronomical data to find scientifically useful results, but I can publish my work as a poster and be part of this community. I did not feel like a stranger or usurper or even out of place – it felt like I belonged.
  • For highly motivated teachers and students, NITARP allows us to the experience science in action and be part of the community that we would otherwise not be a part of. Teachers can learn a lot of from scientists, and visa versa. NITARP opens doors for students who would otherwise not have the opportunity to do science research or attend a AAS, particularly due to their finances. NITARP brings science directly into the hands of teachers and students, and demonstrates how science is an active, collaborative, and evolving effort.
  • [student:] I remember telling my teacher how jealous I was that others got to do this for a living.
  • [student:] Be prepared for unexpected setbacks and changes to the project, for this is how real science works.

Related Teams

AAS - 2015