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

[student: In NITARP, ] You learn a TON of astronomy, and what scientific research can be like. You learn a lot about yourself, like perseverance. I learned to be confident with my knowledge, even when talking to high-up, PhD level astronomers who were so much more experienced and knowledgeable than me. I learned to be okay with saying “I don’t know” about something, and share all that I did know. I learned how to read a scientific paper and poster, and got to see how they were written and created as well. I had the opportunity to be in a program that allowed me to meet many leaders–women, people of color–who are doing great work not only in the field of astronomy but also opening doors for the next generation of scientists. This program got me excited about science, especially astronomy, as a future career.
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.
What I already knew about astronomers/astronomy that was confirmed was that you need to work really hard to do research and that often there are things you see in the data that you can’t necessarily explain right then and there. There is still a lot we don’t know and so much archival data still to go through.
[student:] I underestimated how vast the astronomy field truly is. There are so many aspects and levels of careers.
[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.

AAS - 2023

Quotes

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