This January, seven students from CIERA’s summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program presented posters on their research projects at the 231st meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in National Harbor, Maryland. Directed by Assistant Research Professor Aaron Geller, the REU program focuses on connections between astrophysics and other disciplines within CIERA. Students learn computer programming, develop skills in science communication, take field trips, and benefit from career panels in addition to collaborating with faculty on research projects.
The winter meeting of the AAS is the largest gathering of American astronomers each year and includes many opportunities for networking. The students presented the following posters:
 |
José Flores (adviser: Claude-André Faucher-Giguère) “Time Scales of Different Star Formation Rate Indicators Using FIRE Galaxy Simulations” |
 |
Nakul Gangoli (adviser: André de Gouvêa) “Finding Mass Constraints Through Third Neutrino Mass Eigenstate Decay” |
 |
Keith Hermanek (adviser: Fred Rasio) “Blue Stragglers and their Relationship to Black Holes in Globular Clusters” |
 |
Natalia Obrzut (adviser: Magdalena Osburn) “Cultivation of the Deep Subsurface Microbial Communities” |
 |
Monica Rizzo (advisers: Chris Pankow and Vicky Kalogera) “Equation of State Effects on BHNS Merger Ejecta” |
 |
Jennifer Ruda (adviser: Daniel Abrams) “Using Synchrony to Describe the Formation of Astrophysical Systems” |
 |
Candice Stauffer (adviser: Raffaella Margutti) “Deep limits on the X-ray and radio emission from the nearby Type Iax SN 2014dt2” |