Girls Engaged in Mathematics and Science (GEMS) workshop will take place at NCSA on April 21, 2009, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm.
The primary focus of the GEMS astronomy program is an exploration of the content and large-scale structure of the Universe using electronic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and NASA. Over the course of the program, the girls acquire a number of computational data tools, which enable them to make their own multi-color images of galaxies and supernovae, measure the colors of stars and quasars, identify a large range of objects in the astronomical zoo, detect asteroids and black holes, and even measure the expansion of the Universe!
Each day during the summer session, the program hosts a professional female scientist for a short talk and Q&A session. The list of previously invited speakers included highly accomplished female astronomers and physicists from the University of Illinois, as well as others who joined us via video from as far away as Australia!
The GEMS Digital Astronomy program is designed and led by Illinois PhD student Britt Lundgren, Illinois postdoctoral researcher Brian Wilhite, and past and present Illinois undergraduates Kate Grier and Jenny Ginter. Funding is provided by NASA as part of a research grant to Robert Brunner, Illinois Department of Astronomy. Additional support from the NCSA staff was provided by GEMS founder Edee Wiziecki, and Pam Joop and Gowri Kannan.
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News and Events (Workshop Event)
GEMS Workshop
