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:] Something that I did not anticipate was the better understanding of different people. I really enjoyed working with a team of people with diverse backgrounds.
I have always felt that astronomers were able to make sense of things not always tangible, but now I realize what deep visions they have and their great dedication.
Students at my rural high school have few opportunities available to them and this program positively affected both the students and the school culture. With a student population at just over 300 students, everyone in the school knew what we were doing and wanted to know about the project, both after the summer visit and after the AAS.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve already referenced the content of our NITARP project in class as we talk about various topics, I’d have well north of a couple bucks. Even more important than the content, however, is the process. I’ve been teaching the scientific method for over 20 years, but have never formally done it in the form of scientific research. Well, that changed with NITARP. As I move forward, I plan on incorporating more authentic scientific research into my class, not always in formal research, but simply in regular labs and activities: I’ll try to get the students to ask questions, decide what data they need, good ways to collect and analyze that data, think about their results and come to conclusions, and then report their findings to others, just as we did in our project.
I think even more important than my learning, was the impact it had on the student I worked with. I think the entire experience showed him what it really means to collaborate and work hard and persevere. You just can’t give students an authentic real world experience in a classroom. Participating in NITARP was as “real-world” as it gets, and I think he came away from this experience with a new appreciation for what it takes to do real science and work in a group.

AAS - 2023

Quotes

Related Teams