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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:

Returning Alumni Teams:

 

Quotes

  • For astronomy, I underestimated the amount of data analysis and programming required compared to observation skills. It seems like introductory high school and college courses cover a good amount of content but not the relevant research skills.
  • The NGSS writers knew we, as a country, needed to re-focus our science standards to include all science disciplines, specifically astronomy. In order to keep the momentum, we must support the pK-12 educators to entice and excite their students. It is experiences exactly like NITARP that fuels and spreads the love for astronomy
  • [student:] There is no way that I could have even imagined doing a project like this without the guidance that I had. Now, after the fact I believe that with some fluency in python that I could do our project in a mere fraction of the time that we spent collaboratively. The fact that others had to depend on me getting my work done was a big motivation. Another was my passion for learning, especially when I had the opportunity to apply it. I could not have learned or applied anything of this project without guidance, I would simply be wandering blindly.
  • [student:] [NITARP is] truly a once in a lifetime experience. The friendships and connects that I made throughout this program would have never happened without it. It truly opens students to new experiences and helps them figure out what they want to do later in life. Along with that, AAS was a massive learning experience for anyone with an interest in astronomy. It’s just at a level of knowledge that you can’t get while in high school without this opportunity.
  • [student:] I now know that I want to continue to pursue astronomy, but as a hobby instead of a full career. The amount of time astronomers dedicate to their work is astounding and I don’t think that I could do that.

Related Teams

AAS - 2019