Month: January 2018

What do astronomers do?

Write blog posts!   And other stuff….

Here’s a good article called So you want to be an astronomer? It contains the results of a large-scale study of the many varied activities of professional astronomers.

A new study including 478 US astronomers provides a glimpse into the world of those who practice astronomy today. “What Do Astronomers Do: A Survey of U.S. Astronomers’ Attitudes, Tools and Techniques, and Social Interactions Engaged in Through Their Practice of Science” was completed by AUI’s STEM Education Development Officer, Tim Spuck.

Give it a read! One of the problems of studying at a university is that the astronomers you meet are mainly professors. This is only one path to take. The astronomical world is very large, and there are dozens of ways to contribute to the astronomical sciences.

Elementary school education opportunity

Here’s an email I received recently.  Note that the first orientation session is very soon.

Are you interested in helping elementary students understand science by engaging them in hands-on activities? Then Scientific Thinkers is for you! The Scientific Thinkers program is designed to bring OSU undergraduate and graduate scientists into the 1st – 5th grade classrooms at Innis Elementary, a Columbus public school. The Scientific Thinkers program sends scientist volunteers out to the school every other week during the school year to teach a hands-on lesson (the lessons will be available prior to going to the classroom).

Before going to the school, each volunteer must complete an orientation. The orientation for this program will be Tuesday, January 23, at 1:00 pm in 1080 Physics Research Building. Immediately following the orientation, we will also have a training session covering the visits in January and February.

It is important to note that the classroom visits are on Tuesdays and you are in the classroom teaching from 2:00-3:00pm, but you need to be ready to leave campus by no later than 1:00 pm in order to make it to the school and have time for set up. Also, the school is about twenty minutes away from campus. We help set up carpools for the volunteers.

Please let us know if you are unable to attend this orientation session, but are interested in volunteering for the program. Please RSVP to scientificthinkers@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

For more information about the program, please visit: https://u.osu.edu/cemscientificthinkers/

If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering, please reply to scientificthinkers@gmail.com.

Thanks and see you at orientation!

Michelle McCombs, Annika Diaz, and Erin Rinehart
Scientific Thinkers Coordinators

Scholarship and Award Opportunities

There are a couple of scholarship and award opportunities that have approaching deadlines.

  1. Arts and Sciences Merit and Need-Based Awards (deadline February 1).
  2. Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Scholarship and International Research Grant (deadline February 5).  Note that non-Honors students may apply for these.

Historically, Astronomy students have done very well in these competitions.  At the very least, applying is very good practice for future job searches or applications for graduate school.  And if you win, consider that it’s a tremendous payoff for the 8 or 10 hours you would spend writing a really compelling essay (when that’s required).

Astronaut Greg Johnson to visit OSU January 8

Here’s an email I received this morning.
Hello from the College of Nursing. We have an upcoming event that astronomy students (and their instructors as well) might be interested in: astronaut Greg Johnson will be coming to visit on January 8th. Johnson has served as an Air Force T-38 flight trainer, a space shuttle pilot/NASA engineer. He piloted Endeavor to the International Space Station twice, spent over 30 days on the International Space Station and orbited the earth almost 500 times. Currently, he’s the director of CASIS, which manages the International Space Station’s lab.
On January 8, Johnson will come to the College of Nursing’s Innovation Studio, our moveable maker space, which will be at the College of Engineering, in Dreese Hall. For more information, see this article on our website. CASIS is challenging OSU students, faculty and staff to dream up innovations that might be testable on the International Space Station.
 
All students, faculty and staff are welcome at the free reception at noon in Dreese Hall. (to register, click here.)
Would you please share this information at morning coffee—and anywhere else it might find interested listeners?
Thank you!