Summer "Visit" - 2020 - OIRMA

Quotes

• I was most surprised by the students’ ability to keep up (no offense to them). I really felt that students, instructors, and astronomer were all on the same footing and able to contribute and ask questions freely. I had worried about power dynamics in the group, since only one of us does astronomy research professionally, but I was pleasantly surprised at our ability to form a cohesive team so quickly.
• Real astronomy is the business of trying to answer previously unanswered questions about the cosmos using methods that use (or take into account, in the case of theory) actual data from actual measurements.
• Best thing was the collaboration with all involved and the students being more like peers.
• Real astronomy is DATA. It is having to think outside the box to turn the invisible visible by using multiple sets of information from potentially multiple sources. I expected this would be part of the research project but was surprised by the ability to successfully change methods for data collection during the project.
• [It's important for astronomers to have:] Curiosity. Patience. Tenacity. Ability to collaborate fruitfully. Willingness to ask for help. Willingness to work hard on something that may not turn out.

Related Teams

• OIRMA/Gorjian