why is outreach important?

involvement in scientific outreach is an incredibily important aspect of being a scientist. outreach is the process of connecting with the general public (i.e., mostly non-scientists) and educating them about scientific practice, research, and more. connecting with a more general audience like this provides wonderful opportunities for people to learn about the coolness of science, gain a better understanding of the world they live in, and maybe even inspire people to become scientists themselves. i love participating in outreach and view it as one of my core responsibilities that come with being a scientist. if you're interested in discussing specific opportunities or just want to chat about science communication, please reach out to me from my contact page!

outreach i am/was involved in

• astrobites (ongoing)
• i am currently a writer for / member of astrobites! astrobites is an international collaboration of graduate students in astronomy/related sciences who aim to communicate new astrophysical science through bite-sized articles covering the latest and greatest results in astrophysics.
• astronomy monthly @ wcc (2023-2024)
• during my time as an undergraduate i held a part time math/physics/comp. sci. tutoring position at washtenaw community college (wcc). in my last year i started a program called `astronomy monthly' which aimed to get more community college students involved in astronomy and educate people about pursuing careers as professional astronomers. the program ran for a full academic year with variable results, but the people involved loved it! we stargazed, did programming activities, and more!
• sas public observing nights (2022-2024)
• the student astronomical society astronomical society (`sas' for short) at the university of michigan hosted regular public observing nights. using the telescopes owned by the university (including a pretty hefty 0.4m aperture cassegrain which was situated in a motorized dome) we encouraged members of the public to come and look through the telescopes, ask questions, and even partake in a little astrophotography! i was one of the 0.4m telescope operators for these events, running the telescope system and talking to folks about the objects we observed.