This Tuesday I finally got the chance to visit Steward for the first time. Waking up early in the morning was a bit of a challenge, as the last remnants of adapting to the school schedule have already managed to leave my daily routine. It didn't take long for me to find Dr. George Rieke as I entered Steward; he was practically in the front lobby, getting the printouts for the presentation he had that day for Senator John McCain.
After a quick tour around the building, Dr. Rieke had to head off to do his presentation, and I was left to my own facilities in a room conveniently close to the lobby.
Only 1 out of 3 monitors actually belong to me.
Tuesday was the very first day I physically visited the Steward building, and it was quite impressive. The hallways and office spaces were very similar to those found in many other departments in the U of A, like the Physics building for example. Each door, open or closed, seemed to have one or two people sitting behind computers, working on their respective projects. It was interesting to see the environment in which these people worked, something I've only experienced briefly in the past.
After the tour, I could confirm a few facts about the building which could have probably been done with a quick google search beforehand. The office complex actually did have a working telescope and dome which has since been refitted with a smaller mirror to work as a teaching tool for students. I also learned that the building was established in 1916, but had countless additions made to it throughout the years, forming it into the complex it is today.
When Dr. Rieke returned from his presentation, we briefly chatted about what I think the research project is and what direction I will be taking it into. A key topic we discussed was the schedule I set up on my syllabus and a few issues it could bring up in the future. It was clear that research, in a work environment, can sometimes exceed or deceed the allotted time for it. While everything has been going by schedule so far, an event like that is something I should be prepared for in the future.
Afterwards, I got a chance to meet Nick Ballering, a contact and adviser who volunteered to help me at times when Dr. Rieke isn't available. Nick Ballering is a graduate student who is doing research on debris disks in solar systems. He found that temperature readings taken by the Spitzer from the infrared radiation of debris disks correlated with other features of the star and it's system, like the star's age. It will be interesting to see in what ways my research and software could potentially interact with his research, but only time will tell.
Dr. Rieke is going off on a trip to Belize next week, as well as a James Webb Space Telescope conference afterwards. Week 4 will consist of me continuing to brush up on terms and processes used by stellar astronomers, as well as me playing around with the web interface I mentioned back during Week 1. In the future of this blog, I'll make sure to explain and talk about specific topics for weeks which not much of anything happened. Regardless, there should always be content each week except for those weeks when I am out of town.
I'll see everybody next week!
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