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

I am always so thankful for the applied lessons that are learned through the NITARP experience as they are golden elements for building a meaningful and impactful classroom for my students. Experiencing the process of the professional scientist pops up in the classroom ALL THE TIME as a part of the story inherent to a lesson, unit or course of instruction. It allows me to bring in a strong, realistic perspective on the human element of being a scientist to how I teach my students.
The reason that schools offer business, agriculture, engineering, etc. courses is to give students a sense of what that career is like. NITARP is one of the few opportunities that students get to experience what a *career* in science is like. For teachers, NITARP can showcase and teach the skills that are necessary for success in a scientific career and allow teachers to better educate their students on what that career path is like.
I had never looked at scientific research [from the literature] in this way—as in, I was invested in this research [from the literature] because I was using it as a foundation for my own team's research goals.
Experiences like NITARP allow teachers and students to engage in science as it is actually practiced. Participants learn that scientific knowledge is built through uncertainty, collaboration, and sustained inquiry rather than predetermined answers. Students gain confidence working with real data, communicating scientifically, and seeing themselves as legitimate contributors to science. Teachers develop deeper content knowledge and translate authentic research practices into classrooms, expanding access to high-quality STEM experiences, especially for students from underrepresented and rural communities.
The most important thing for anyone in charge of the investments we make so as to create a better future, is to know that NITARP is the most effective way to invest a dollar. I have had literally hundreds of professional development experiences at the local, regional and national level and none come even close to creating the rippling impact that NITARP produces in transforming the classroom experience of not just the teachers and students directly involved in the experience, but also every student that the teacher will ever have, ever colleague with whom they collaborate, and for the students involved every course, project and career decision that they ever make. NITARP is the best investment you will ever make.

AAS - 2026

Quotes

Related Teams