• NASA
  • IPAC

AAS - 2024

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 2023 and 2024 NITARP teams are attending the 2024 January AAS meeting in New Orleans, LA. The 2023 class was presenting results and the 2024 class was starting up. We had alumni raise money to come back as well. We sent about 50 people to the AAS and had a grand time. Please see the press release on NITARP from the AAS, and the special online article about NITARP at the AAS. All of the posters we presented are here. (In addition to the iPoster sessions as listed here, the physical versions of the 2023 teams' posters were up at the IPAC booth all day Tuesday.)

2023 teams:

Alumni:

  • 167.01 Sperling et al., Student-Led High Altitude Ballooning into Solar Eclipses (Monday 5:30-6:30)
  • 171.03 Rebull et al., NITARP Lesson Plans: Bite-Size Pieces of Authentic Science Research Experiences (Monday 5:30-6:30)
  • 171.06 Newland, Using Google Colab to Teach Hubble-Lemaitre's Law with BOSS Data (Monday 5:30-6:30)
  • 176.02 Rebull et al., Young Stellar Object Candidates in IC 417 (Monday 5:30-6:30)
  • 203.03 Wojciak et al., Exploring Color-Magnitude Relationships Among Quasars with z between 1.5-1.75 (Tuesday 9-10)
  • 458.21 Jones & Rutherford, The Three-Dimensional Structure of IC 2391 (Thursday 1-2)

Quotes

  • For me, the uncertainty associated with some of the data was surprising. In a chemistry context, where the researcher has control of the sample the data is much more direct, associating peaks in spectra with structure in the molecules is very direct. The idea that we are starting a project with a catalog of AGN, but are only 90% sure that the objects are AGN (R90) surprised me as I usually think of astronomy as much more mathematical and underestimate the differences in how data is collected compared to chemistry.
  • NITARP has changed my professional goals in that I’m now looking: 1) farther afield and with greater aspirations of what I could maybe do/accomplish, and 2) for things to do with my students. On the first count, NITARP has given me greater confidence to try things out, even if it just means applying for a program that I may have deemed too ambitious or beyond my capabilities prior to this experience. And on the second count, I enjoyed learning and working with my students and exposing them to something they never would have seen, much less considered, from their home, and would like to do it with others.
  • Most of the time from Jan – Oct ’23, I would just say incorrect stuff when trying to talk through the project. It was frustrating thinking I had gotten a handle on one aspect of the project only to be misunderstanding some other aspect. The gentle but constant correcting of [our mentor scientist] was absolutely necessary and useful to the group as we all made these mistakes. Also meeting every single week meant that we all got very comfortable talking to each other and saying the wrong and not bristling at being corrected. Also [our mentor scientist] took a lot (a lot…) of questions from us and the students which again just made the whole group feel comfortable and able to press forward confidently.
  • Giving highly motivated teachers a community to build their skills is a critical component of professional development that isn’t always an option, especially in small districts or specialized areas. NITARP gives an opportunity for teachers from smaller or more rural communities to find colleagues to collaborate and provide opportunities for students they would not otherwise have.
  • I am already going back to graduate school at least partly as a result of participating in NITARP. I have felt encouraged to look to other opportunities for professional development projects. I’d like to continue and build on the learning I’m experiencing as part of NITARP.

Related Teams

AAS - 2024