North Greene High School's Stellar Journey: Teacher and Students Present at Prestigious Astronomy Meeting
On January 7, Olivia Kuper, a science teacher at North Greene High School, along with her students, Kenley Graham and Bennett McLain, traveled to New Orleans, LA to present their research at the American Astronomical Society Winter Meeting. Kuper was selected as a mentor educator for the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP) in 2022 and along with her students, four other teachers from across the U.S. and their students, worked under the guidance of mentor astrophysicist, Dr. Luisa Rebull of Caltech. The 13-month authentic research project, “Looking for Young Stars in Obscure Sharpless Regions,” involved weekly Zoom meetings and a week-long, in-person work session at Caltech in Pasadena, California during the summer. The research project at the conference involved two days of sharing findings with the professional astronomical community. In addition, Graham and McLain presented their research and journey in the NITARP program to local high school students.