Examining Galaxies and Goals
| dc.contributor.author | Keller, Erica | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-08-24T15:22:25Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-08-24T15:22:25Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2014-10-17 | |
| dc.date.gradyear | 2015 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 2015-08-24 | |
| dc.description.abstract | “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As a Five College Astronomy Research Intern, I hoped my research experience would lead me to solidifying my path of becoming a professional astrophysicist. In my daily research, I used data obtained at the Large Millimeter Telescope located in the state of Puebla, Mexico. I planned to find the mechanism driving large amounts of gas being expelled from different galaxies. At the conclusion of my project I found I needed more data to make conclusions, both in research related to galaxies and my personal path after graduation. This has allowed me to examine different possible paths and reflect on how my astronomy major can help me in different possible careers. During this presentation, I will share my journey in research and how I found value and stayed present while questioning my own goals and future. | en_US |
| dc.description.panabstract | The goal of research is to try and answer a specific question, but the reality of our summer experiences showed us that one often leaves with more questions than one starts with. Across the fields of psychology, neuroscience, biophysics, anthropology, and astronomy, our summer research raised questions for us about our career path: Is a career in research what we want to pursue? Is our major compatible with our future goals? We all had expectations about what our research experiences would be like, and were surprised to find ourselves in very different situations from what we had imagined. Everything may go poorly and you may want to quit. Everything may go perfectly but you may still want to quit. Sometimes your boss quits. These challenges provided us with an excellent opportunity for personal and professional growth, even if we ended our research with a question mark. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10166/3718 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.rights.restricted | public | en_US |
| dc.title | Examining Galaxies and Goals | en_US |
| dc.title.alternative | Ending Your Research with a Question Mark: Expectations vs. Reality in the Research World | en_US |