Adriana Alvarez, a first-year PhD student and Miramontes Fellow in the Educational Equity & Cultural Diversity (EECD) program, completed two flights aboard NASA鈥檚 in June. SOFIA is a modified 747 with an infrared telescope that flies into the stratosphere to collect data for research projects such as the formation of molecules, stars, and planets, the effects of black holes, and the composition of comets, planetary atmospheres, and rings, to name just a few.
As an elementary teacher in El Paso, Texas, Ms. Alvarez was selected with middle school science teacher Mariela Mu帽oz to assist astronomers with research while on the missions and return to share their knowledge and experiences with their schools and communities. Ms. Alvarez and Ms. Mu帽oz are planning outreach projects this year with K-12 students in Texas, M茅xico, and Colorado.
Ms. Alvarez notes, 鈥淭o be able to bring this experience back to the schools is the most valuable piece of this opportunity.鈥�
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Related Faculty: Adriana Alvarez