<p>I had originally planned on twiddling my thumbs all summer, but a slight change of events has caused me to switch to Plan B - some sort of researchomological activity. I’ve decided that NC State would be a good university to try my luck with. I have looked at the astrofizix professors there and all of their specific topics of research interest me. </p>
<p>Firstly, I would like to know what some of the more popular topics in astrofizix research are. Are there any websites that you recommend? What mathematics background does it require?</p>
<p>Secondly arises the issue of contacting and convincing a professor to let a 14 year-old orangutan run around in his laboratory. Should I present some sort of resum</p>
<p>I would say the “it” topic right now in astrophysics is extra-solar planets. Scientists everywhere are trying to outdo each other with newer, fancier methods of detecting them. If you can hop on that bandwagon it’s pretty exciting and new stuff is coming out every day. (It’s close to what I’ll be doing this summer, actually) </p>
<p>Radio astronomy is also pretty happenin’ nowadays. Making higher resolution radio telescopes and reading in different frequency ranges and using them to find black holes or CMB radiation or looking at early galaxy formation seems to be what a lot of people in the field are doing.</p>
<p>Interferometry is a technique and not really a research area but its development and application to various fields of astrophysics (like LIGO, for example) is also a pretty hotly studied area. </p>
<p>In terms of what technical expertise is required I’d say the more skills you have the better, obviously. But unless you’re doing the really theory-heavy stuff you’ll always have SOMETHING within your capability to do. On the other hand, I wouldn’t expect to be a big deal on the research team being 14 and a chimpanzee- fully prepare to be a kind of workhorse- being the one to collect the data or debug code or something. Who knows, you might get lucky- but be aware so you are not disappointed.</p>
<p>That said, I would DEFINITELY send my resume in. Even if all you have on there is babysitting and Gap Clothing Store employee. It shows that you are serious and you are professional about it even though you don’t have much experience. Also, having some work experience is better than none as it shows that you are reliable and you understand what is expected of you. I got to work with the Man Vehicle Laboratory with the above-mentioned resume so you never know, some people are really keen on taking in youngsters :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Start calling it “physics” as it is referred to in proper circles. You’ll get further. ;)</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t be picky in any way whatsoever because at 14 you will be lucky to get something directly from a university professor. Whatever you get will likely be very menial too, as more interesting things will require a higher level of knowledge than you probably have- plus the professor will have an obligation to find work for his undergraduates first anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t know how many professors will be hiring for the summer now, as summer has begun and their research groups are probably set. That having been said, since you aren’t trying to get paid (I’m assuming- you really won’t get something at 14 if you want $ too) this might be overlooked depending on circumstances.</p></li>
<li><p>As for how to approach the professors, what you need to do first is send a nice email to the ones whose work sounds most interesting saying hi, I’m ChaosTheory, saying you’re interest in research and would appreciate it if the professor knows of anything you can do (or if he knows of some other opportunities). If you’re really good at something already this is the point to mention it (briefly!), and your whole email shouldn’t be more than a few lines. If the prof is interested he’ll write back asking for more info (which is the point where you send in the email), if not, well, pick someone else to write to. I wouldn’t recommend writing to too many people at once.</p></li>
<li><p>Good topics in astrophysics lately… well seeing as it covers everything in the universe, it’s pretty much all popular! No really, everyone finds what they’re currently working on to be most interesting, but for astrophysics I’d say dark matter, dark energy, cosmic rays, and CMB are where it’s at. (Extrasolar planets, though up there, are more astro in my mind.) It might sound odd, but one of the best ways to learn about what the forefront issues are to look at the “unanswered questions in physics” page on Wikipedia and branch out from there for a good overview.</p></li>
<li><p>As far as maths go, I don’t know how far you can get at 14 to be a lot better than anyone else who’d be working for the prof as even an undergraduate (if you’re serious about astrophysics, you will eventually need to master things like differential equations, linear algebra, and multivariable calculus). Rather than rush to get there, I’ll advise you that your time would be better spent making sure your algebra and trig is down cold: universities are filled with first year undergraduates who know calculus but falter and fail because of algebra!</p></li>
<li><p>Most important of all, good luck and don’t be too bummed out if it doesn’t work out! I will let you know, though, that there are a suprising number of research-oriented astronomy/physics programs out there for students your age (I was involved with one in high school where they gave us telescope time on 60" telescopes in Arizona for our own projects: soooo cool!), so drop me a line if you’re interested in stuff like that.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This part is really, really, important. Outline of how my research finding went:</p>
<p>E-mail two professors (a and b) -> (a) forwards me to other professor (c), (b) doesn’t reply -> (c) forwards me to other professor -> other professor (d) -> other professor (e) || a week later, (b) forwards me back to (c) || -> (e) forwards me to new professor (f) who has me talk to her postdoc (g), (g) approves and now I’m working with (f).</p>
<p>So, six professors and a postdoc, just to get a UROP. :p</p>
<p>You have to really, really impress the researcher. Whichever one you decide to pursue, read some of their recent publications and really understand them- as a 14 year old, it’s going to be a lot harder for you to get a mentor than an MIT student. :)</p>
<p>Also, here’s the general outline I followed when writing to a scientist earlier this year. (And echoing the persistance theme, it took 3 scientists before I got a spot).</p>
<p>P1:
-your name
-school’s name
-little background about your school
-career plans, how a mentor relationship would further those</p>
<p>P2
-educational history- how you’ve always been interested in science/math, how it led to astrophysics
-how cool you are (without sounding like an arrogant 14-year-old orangutan)</p>
<p>P3
-show that you’ve done your research on this guy
-you’ve read these articles by him, these abstracts, you’re interested in this work by him
-maybe throw in a “I’d love to read ______, as I was unable to obtain a copy.” Show that you’re really interested and dedicated.</p>
<p>P4
-show him that you wouldn’t be a burden in his the lab
-this is where you brag without bragging
-standardized tests scores, relevant courses taken, GPA, rank, etc. go here</p>
<p>P5
-nice closing
-tell them how to contact you at their “earliest convenience”</p>
<p>Sincerely,
Chaos Theory</p>
<p>Hope this helps- I’ll PM you one of my letters that landed me my position this summer. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.</p>
<p>Thank you all very much for your prompt replies. </p>
<p>
Should I tell the professor that I am interested in a particular subject, or should I just go along with what s\he is doing? Here are the astrofizix [I wish to type it correctly, but my hand refuses to do so] professors at NC State and their respective fields of study:</p>
<hr>
<p>Professor One
</p>
<p>Dr. Blondin’s research seems very interesting. </p>
<p>Professor Two
</p>
<p>Dr. Brown’s research seems very interesting as well. </p>
<p>Professor Three</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Dr. Ellison’s research seems very interesting. I am familiar with all of the topics he has listed.</p>
<p>Professor Four</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Dr. McLaughlin’s research seems very interesting as well. I am familiar with all of the topics she has listed.</p>
<p>Professor Five</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Once again, Dr. Reynolds’ research seems very interesting.</p>
<p>As you can probably see, I am quite intrigued by all of these topics, thus I believe I would work very well with any of these professors [if one of them ends up being my mentor]. </p>
<hr>
<p>
</p>
<p>I do not have any work experience whatsoever. However, I will try to demonstrate through my letter that I have the qualities required to conduct research and work with a professor. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A topic that I am particularly interested in is Quantum Mechanics. I am currently reading “Quantum” by Jim Al-Khalili and “The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe” by Roger Penrose. Hopefully, I will be more experienced in this subject after completing these two books.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I will be taking Linear Algebra at NC State this summer. If approved, I will also take Multivariable Calculus; otherwise, I will take it online from CTY and self-study from MIT’s OCW. Hopefully that will be enough for me to do some basic stuff. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wont be disappointed, don’t worry. I will PM you regarding the summer programs. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sweet. Thanks for this outline. I’ve read your letter, and it is very good. I will try to model the structure of my letter around yours.</p>
<hr>
<p>I am quite grateful for your help. Thank you.</p>
I would do a little of both. I mean, you can feel free to talk about your interests a little generally – it’s hard to be taken seriously saying “I am interested in sub-sub-sub-subfield X” until you’re a PhD or a beginning professor.</p>
<p>I would also email all of the professors you listed in your post above, rather than just one or two.</p>
<p>Regarding the math- fair enough, have fun with that. Just don’t forget what I mentioned about making certain you know your basics. And I haven’t read the two books you’re reading for quantum, but a good way to gauge effectiveness in QM is to see how well you understand it- if you do, then you really don’t understand what’s going on. ;)</p>
<p>As for the profs you listed, yep, they all sound pretty good. Ignoring the generic descriptions of the third and fourth one (who might be purely theorists bassed on lack of description, meaning few lab jobs on hand), one thing I will note is I’m not sure how successful you’d be finding a job with the first one, as anyone doing primarily superconductor work usually doesn’t have much to be done in a lab. By a similar manner of thinking, I’d say that the second one is probably the best shot as there are several multi-collaboration projects mentioned: typically professors working with projects like these have little tasks that need to be done.</p>
<p>Of course, I might be completely, utterly wrong because it might just so happen that supercomputer prof needs a data monkey just now or something. Still it’s something to keep in mind as you read these descriptions, as professors who have lots of detail usually have lots going on as an extension.</p>
<p>Today, a professor replied. It was the first professor I e-mailed, too. I am very, very lucky.
Here is his message:</p>
<p>Dear Lil’ John,</p>
<p>I would be happy to help you get started in astrophysics research, but I’m not sure
what is possible given your math preparation at this point (impressive as it is for
someone 14 years old). The best way to get started would be to meet and talk
about your interests and skills, and see if we can find a suitable research topic.</p>
<p>How about, “Great! When can we meet? I am available on these days at these times. Could you suggest some papers or other background reading so that I may prepare for our meeting?”</p>
<p>Leave the location up to him- like, "I would be available to meet at any time on Thursday through Saturday this week. Please just let me know what time and location will work for you.'</p>
</p>
No really, everyone finds what they’re currently working on to be most interesting, but for astrophysics I’d say dark matter, dark energy, cosmic rays, and CMB are where it’s at. (Extrasolar planets, though up there, are more astro in my mind.) It might sound odd, but one of the best ways to learn about what the forefront issues are to look at the “unanswered questions in physics” page on Wikipedia and branch out from there for a good overview.</p></li>
I will let you know, though, that there are a suprising number of research-oriented astronomy/physics programs out there for students your age (I was involved with one in high school where they gave us telescope time on 60" telescopes in Arizona for our own projects: soooo cool!), so drop me a line if you’re interested in stuff like that.</p></li>
I am familiar with all of the topics she has listed.</p>