AAS - 2026

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 2025 and 2026 NITARP teams are attending the 2026 January AAS meeting in Phoenix, AZ. The 2025 class is presenting results and the 2026 all-volunteer self-funded alumni class is starting up. We sent about 35 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 2025 teams' posters were up at the IPAC booth all day Tuesday.)

2025 teams:

220.01 Edwards et al., “Stellar Rotation Within the Beta Pictoris Moving Group Using TESS Lightcurves”
403.01 Molohon et al., “Student and Teachers as Scientists: The Impact of Authentic Astronomy Research Experiences”
403.05 Pfahler et al., “From NITARP Experience to Community Practice”
406.04 Cullen et al., “Using Spitzer Space Telescope data to catalog short-term variable AGN for determining the size of accretion disks”

Alumni

104.08 Sperling et al., "Evaluating Educational Outcomes of the HERA Secondary–Higher Education High-Altitude Ballooning Research Program Across Pilot Sites"
136.08 Cohen & Sperling, "METEOR: A Low-Cost, APRS-Based Flight Computer for High-Altitude Balloon Missions"
217.04 Schwarz et al., “Star Finders: Assembling a Multi-Wavelength Catalog of Young Stellar Objects in Serpens Main”
403.02 Kuper et al., “From young stars to active galaxies: Development of foundational lessons for authentic astronomy research”
403.04 Newland et al., “Photometric Catalog Integration in a Python Framework for Spectral Energy Distribution Construction and Young Stellar Object Classification” - possibly better formatted version here
403.06 Bechtel, “NITARP Influences Multiple Generations, Communities, and Careers”
403.07 Blackwell et al., “Stellar Life Cycles: Improved Methods of Education”

Quotes

The research itself was exciting and inspiring. I felt like I was given the chance to actually apply much of what I know about astronomy to actual things in the cosmos.
I think I [now] will be able to illustrate the process of collecting data, analyzing data, and presenting results much better for my students. I may even encourage them to engage with scientific research papers and real graphs and plots from current research in class. I realize that I never really reference current astronomy research in the classroom. Instead, I stick more to popular science articles, canned labs, or old timey research from the early days of astronomy (like Kepler & Newton). My students are interested in more current topics. I feel like through this I'll be able to connect what I teach to more real-world applications in astronomy.
[in response to 'impact of NITARP':] Obviously, the dedication to making astronomy research applicable is in the forefront. Yet, NITARP has reinforced the importance of understanding metacognition, building self-efficacy, and relishing in the “excitement of the unknown”. My [pre-service teacher] students have experiences that change their future lives, and careers, as they are more willing to engage in experiences that are initially uncomfortable. They in turn bring these aspects into their classrooms and communities. The NITARP ripple effect is immeasurable because each of these first-hand learners create second- and third-degree learning experiences. I have no idea how the total effects of NITARP can be easily calculated because of all the connections that are made in small rural communities hidden in lessons, discussions, and connections. I know the experience has positively changed the trajectory of my life and the impact of my interests at a global level.
[NITARP] only has continued to grow and solidify my understanding of what I think about astronomers and astronomy; it is a community of welcoming people who all are achieving similar goals and want to help each other effectively and ultimately don't want anyone to fail!
Sometimes classroom curriculum can be really divorced from what doing science actually is. Through NITARP, I feel like I've been able to better align what I teach with what it means to be a scientist outside of the classroom.

AAS - 2026

Quotes

Related Teams