I hope the week is off to a great start so far. Below are some announcements to keep in mind and a recap of last week's meeting.
Astro Lunch: Tomorrow at 12:30pm in Phys/Astr B356A we are holding a department computing meeting rather than the traditional lunch talk. You're welcome to attend if you have an interest in hearing where the department is heading with our computing resources.
Colloquium: Philip Hopkins (UC Berkeley) will be here on Thursday to give a talk on "Galaxy Collisions: A Factory for Quasars, Feedback, Ellipticals and even Disks?". The talk begins at 4pm in Phys/Astr A102, but join us at 3:45pm in the foyer for coffee, tea and cookies. This is a great time to mingle with other members of the Astronomy Department and I have been very impressed by the number of undergrads that attend, so please keep it up!
Meet a Grad: Today was the grad/undergrad pizza lunch, but if you weren't able to make it you can still join a new program designed to connect you with graduate students. The grad students would like to start a new program called "Meet a Grad". Interested in advice on classes, research, graduate school, life in
science, or just life in general? Ever want to tell a graduate student what makes a good (or bad) TA? Do you want to get to know other people in the department in a friendly, non-classroom environment?
The Astro-grads are proud to announce that their Meet-A-Grad program for the 2008-2009 school year is open to all undergrads interested in the physical sciences. If you are interested in taking part please contact Ferah Munshi (fdm@astro.washington.edu).
What is the Meet-A-Grad program (in a nutshell)? Undergraduates majoring (or considering majoring) in a field in the physical sciences will be paired up with a current Astronomy or Physics graduate student. Pairs (or triplets) meet or chat several times throughout the semester to take a lab tour, hang out, meet at a cafe to talk, or do anything else that the both of you would find useful. This is your chance to get advice on classes, research, graduate school, etc., and to pass on some of your knowledge in a comfortable and informal context.
Meeting Recap: Thank you to everyone that was able to attend the meeting last week. Here is a recap of things we discussed. Please let us know if you have any questions about the meeting.
Welcome/IYA: Suzanne Hawley, department chair welcomed everyone and wanted to let everyone know that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). Our department will be participating in the IYA and we would appreciate all of your help as we hold events throughout the year.
Palen Radio Observatory: Frank Garcia is actively recruiting any interested undergrads to work on the radio telescope (which is on the top of the Atmospheric Sciences building). There are several projects in need of people to work on them. Research credit can be given depending on the project. Please contact Frank if you're interested frankgarcia@gmail.com.
Meet-A-Grad: Ferah Munshi gave us an overview of the Meet-A-Grad program (read above for details).
A-wing Telescope and TJO: Ana Larson gave us a great overview of the new a-wing telescope (this is used in Astronomy 480 in the spring) and discussed volunteer opportunities at the Theodore Jacobsen Observatory (in north campus). While the Jacobsen Observatory season is coming to an end, you are still welcome to volunteer by answering questions or consider taking Astronomy 270 this spring which will cover events at TJO and how to use the planetarium.
Advising Info: Paula started the advising section off with an overview of how advising works in our department. If you have questions about careers, research, and graduate school students should speak with Paula. If you have questions about registration, class scheduling, and other University policies you can talk with Sarah. Then, if you're unsure you can talk with either one of us and we can point you in the right direction.
Many of you are applying to graduate schools this fall. Paula recommends that you sit down with faculty with your list of schools and review these. You can also review this list with Paula.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) are excellent research opportunities for during the summers. There are a variety of REUs available and applications are usually accepted December - February.
Next, Sarah covered the annual course schedule (found here: http://staff.washington.edu/sterrs/YearTS.htm). If you have questions about your schedule or want to sit down to plan your next 1-4 years, please stop in and I would be happy to do this anytime.
There is an undergraduate WIKI, which allows you to make edits and updates for information relevant to you. The wiki can be found here: http://librarian.phys.washington.edu/astro/index.php/Academics:Undergraduates. If you would like an account (to edit the wiki) please let Sarah know.
Photos: Several photos were taken of the undergrads to post on the mug shot board in the hallway. If you would like to be added to the board, please stop by to see Sarah.
Announcements: http://pageoannouncements.blogspot.com/
Whew.. I think that covers it all. Let Paula or I know if you have any questions.
Have a great week,
Sarah
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