Monthly Guest Speaker Topic
March General Meeting At the
Holcomb Observatory
Butler University
March 13th, 2010 7:00 pm
"Globular Clusters from the Students' Eyepiece"
Meera Chander and Zach Conrad
Carmel High School
The Department of Astronomy at Indiana University hosted the I-Universe Competition in 2009, where teams of high school students wrote proposals to use the WIYN 0.9-m telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona for one night to make astronomical observations. Meera Chander and Zach Conrad, part of a team of three, won this opportunity, and they chose to image three globular clusters: M56, M71, and M72. Their presentation will include details of the competition, their proposal, the experience, and most importantly, the images resulting from their research and data processing.
In addition, Meera will share highlights from her 2009 summer experience, where she worked as an intern at NASA John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Meera Chander and Zach Conrad, two seniors from Carmel High School, have been members of the IAS since January 2009. They first demonstrated their enthusiasm for astronomy when they approached the CHS Planetarium Director, Mr. Keith Turner, early their freshman year. Since then, Meera and Zach have been extensively involved with the Carmel High School Planetarium by taking Astronomy as a course of study and assisting with all public planetarium shows. In addition, they have taken the opportunity to participate in research projects and learn about Planetarium Productions through university resources.
Meera Chander will be majoring in Aerospace Engineering with Information Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition to being a Planetarium Assistant, Meera is the Co-Team Captain of the CHS TechHOUNDS FIRST Robotics Team and conducts research regarding extrasolar planets at Ball State University. Her favorite subjects include engineering/electronics and physics.
Zach Conrad will be majoring in Theater Production and minoring Education with a Secondary Education License at a local Indiana university. In addition to being a Planetarium Assistant, Zach is involved in Technical Theatre for Carmel High School Performing Arts productions. His favorite subjects include science and information technology, and he enjoys working with telescopes and astrophotography.
Last Updated: 02/17/10
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