Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2016 - (Page 32)

ISTOCK.COM/BALDAS1950 Finding Light in the Darkness Astrophysics at UCSC SIP by Anoushka Bose I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED TO LOOK AT THE STARS. EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD, MY DAD AND I HAVE WATCHED THE ANNUAL PERSEID METEOR SHOWER IN THE DESERT, AND I STILL REMEMBER BEING AMAZED WHEN HE EXPLAINED THAT SOME OF THE LIGHT WE SAW WAS EMITTED DURING THE AGE OF THE DINOSAURS. TO ME, THE SKY WAS A PAINTED TAPESTRY REVEALING THE LIGHT OF AGES PAST. I only became more fascinated by astronomy as I got older. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to do hands-on research. In the summer after ninth grade, trying to apply my computer science skills to a topic in astronomy, I conducted an independent research project on the application of color recognition algorithms to the newly released Planck satellite data. This experience hooked me on research. Then, about a year and a half later, I read online about the Science Internship Program (SIP) at UC Santa Cruz, which offers high school students an opportunity to conduct real research in a range of disciplines-including astrophysics. I applied immediately. Getting ROOTed Last June, I packed everything I would need for the next eight weeks and started with my dad on the seven-hour car ride to Santa Cruz. On the way, we listened to old episodes of StarTalk, a podcast by Neil deGrasse Tyson about the science of the universe, which only further fueled my excitement about what I would be studying. On the first day of the program, my research partner, Julia, and I made our way to the Natural Sciences building to meet our mentor, Dr. Jonathan Biteau, a postdoctoral researcher at the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP). He assigned us our first task: to learn how to use ROOT, a data analysis framework developed by physicists at CERN that allows physicists to create statistical models of huge data sets. We spent our first couple of weeks getting to know ROOT by creating various models using both the existing libraries 32 imagine within ROOT and randomly generated data. Dr. Biteau met with us almost every day to ensure we were making progress and to teach us the significance of the tests we ran. Between the Stars I expected my research to focus on stars, but it turns out that the spaces between stars are just as fascinating. These spaces are actually filled with light, but light from bands of the electromagnetic spec- Jan/Feb 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2016

Big Picture
In My Own Words CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
My Summer of Medicine Three ways of exploring healthcare
Teens Target: Public Health How high school students are solving real-world public health problems
Slowing the Race Addressing antibiotic resistance
For the Greater Good Majoring in public health
Epic Epidemics Studying History of Disease at CTY
Teen Health is Public Health Interview with Beth Marshall, Associate Director, Center for Adolescent Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Building Bridges Addressing health disparities through service
Becoming a Disease Detective Behind the scenes at the CDC
Finding Light in the Darkness Astrophysics at UCSC SIP
Girls Who Code Paving the way to careers in tech
Selected Opportunities and Resources
Off the Shelf Review of Iris Chang’s The Chinese in America
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options Interview with epidemiologist Christine Scott-Waldron, M.S.P.H.
One Step Ahead Summer in limbo
Planning Ahead for College Is medical school in your future?
Students Review: Tufts University
Creative Minds Imagine Essay contest winners
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2016