AAS - 2021

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. This year, the pandemic forced the Jan 2021 meeting online, and meant that we didn't select a new class for 2021, so only one class is attending the online AAS.

The 2020 NITARP teams attended the 2021 January AAS. We sent about 30 people to the AAS. All of the posters we presented are here:

2020 Teams:

Science Poster - McElroy et al., "OIRMA: Optical Infrared Reverberation Mapping of AGN"
Science Poster - Anderson, et al., "Identifying Candidate Young Stellar Objects in the Spider Nebula (IC 417) Using Archival Visible and Infrared Data"
Education Poster - Rodriguez et al., "Methods for Retention and Promoting Self-Efficacy in Secondary Students in Astronomical Research"
Education Poster - Sharif et al., "Rich Experiential Education in a Remote Setting by NITARP"

Also see video "turbo talks" from ORMA team : science and education.

Quotes

[student:] Now I feel more comfortable in both communication and comprehension of topics in astronomy as compared to the mindset I held before taking part in the program.
The whole year was as much, and more, than I could have expected… the story arc of a real research project means that we faced off with unforeseen forces, confusing data, limits in our knowledge, and other demands on our time. And, as real as it gets, we had to step up, step in, and take all of these on in order to move the work forward.
[student:] I wish my classes were taught with more focus on understanding and retention than just throwing spaghetti at students’ brains and hoping it sticks. With NITARP, I enjoyed the focus on retention and understanding taught through practical application as opposed to the pasta-flinging method familiar in school classrooms.
Young people need to be exposed not to just the body of knowledge that science has produced. In the modern world most of that can be looked up anyway. The essential experience that is needed is to see the way in which science works.
[student:] NITARP, more than anything, has taught me how to deal with being truly lost in information. It has been[...]the hardest “class” I’ve ever taken. But if I want to pursue a career in this field, I’m sure it won’t be the last time I get in over my head. NITARP does a great job preparing me for how to take notes, and what to do when I just don’t “get it.” In past years, I might be inclined to bury my head in the sand when I get lost. Now I know to keep my head up, and look for bits of info I recognize. Find a lifeline.

We're back from the Jan 2023 AAS and we had a grand time!

AAS - 2021

Quotes

Related Teams