AAS - 2023

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 2022 and 2023 NITARP teams attended the 2023 January AAS meeting in Seattle, WA. The 2022 class was presenting results and the 2023 class was starting up. We had alumni raise money to come back as well. We sent about 30 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:

2022 Teams:

Ciambra et al., A More Complete List of YSO Candidates in AFGL 490
Benter et al., Survey of the Spitzer Enhanced Imaging Products (SEIP) Catalog for Potential Debris Disks Around Main Sequence M Class Stars
Bonham et al., NGSS Science and Engineering Practices in Secondary Education through Real Astronomical Research
Swigert et al., Teacher Roles within NITARP: a 13-month Research Collaboration

Alumni:

Granucci, "Does a Solar Telescope generate more interest in astronomy than Night Observing Telescope?" (talk)
Kniezewski, "To Rain or Not to Rain: Correlating GOES Flare Class and Coronal Rain Statistics" (poster and press release; student alumna!)

Quotes

It was great to work with such dedicated and fun people, including teachers, students, and two certain Caltech astronomers. In fact, everyone in the astronomy community seemed very welcoming, friendly, and eager to share what they knew, especially if you needed help. I never expected to make such friends in this (or any) program.
[student:] This experience exceeded all of my expectations. Going into the program, I had no conception of all the amazing opportunities and experiences that I would get to be a part of. It was amazing getting to attend the AAS and be surrounded by so many famous and up-and-coming astronomers doing exciting research. Their passion for their work and the field of astronomy was super infectious and inspirational to witness.
I did not anticipate that my students would develop such a strong bond with Varoujan. They learned quickly that they could ask him questions on the videoconferences and the summer meetings and he would patiently explain, sometimes more than once. I saw a huge amount of growth of my students, especially in their identities as scientists.
I thought I understood how very focused a research project was, but it is even more so than I thought. Each published paper has a ton of info on a narrow topic (with lots of data). I just thought research was more like a textbook - lots of connections to other knowledge and sciences. "Big picture" stuff might get lost sometimes.
Teachers are more effective and inspirational when they engage in the learning process just like their students. NITARP is invaluable for teachers and is far superior than any professional development that a school district could or would offer.

AAS - 2023

Quotes

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