AAS - 2019

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 2018 and 2019 NITARP teams attended the 2019 January AAS meeting in Seattle, WA. The 2018 class was presenting results and the 2019 class was starting up. We had 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:

2018 Teams:

NITARP Management:

Education Poster - Rebull, "A Way to Categorize Programs that Bring Data to the Classroom"

Returning Alumni Teams:

Quotes

I can't believe how many amazingly smart people there are in this field. I was also very impressed by the undergrads and the research they were doing. And I was pleased to see continued progress in the diversity in the field.
My thoughts about astronomy in general, and NITARP in particular, have changed throughout the [several years] with which I have been involved with NITARP. When I first started, I was only vaguely aware that astronomers used large archival databases with which to do their research—I was sort of the mind-set that most of them still collected their own data in some fashion, either with a telescope or some sort of orbiting observatory. I now know that that is definitely not the case. Also, I always felt that I had a good working knowledge of astronomy and how things were done—after my time in NITARP I know that that was not always true— my NITARP experience has expanded both my knowledge and my capabilities by a tremendous amount. I’m now able to undertake projects, both personally and with my students, that I would have been unable to do just a few years ago.
[student:] [NITARP] has helped me see that the science isn’t just for a class or a science project but, can actually be used in real life. So this will help me focus more and find other ways to apply the things I learn.
[student:] This experience taught me to be more patient and accept that I won’t know everything right away. It has also showed me that making mistakes and not understanding something are essential parts of science.
[student:] Don’t be afraid to ask a dumb question. Ask it 10 times if you must. It’s better to look like an idiot and get the answer you need than to go in blind. I would not have been able to do this by myself. Guidance helped me get back on track when I was completely lost. What kept me going was my passion for astrophysics.

AAS - 2019

Quotes

Related Teams