Julia Plummer

Washington State University

Majors: Physics
Minors: Mathematics, Astronomy, & Philosophy
Bachelor of Science, May 1997

e-mail: plummer@delta.math.wsu.edu
web page: http://www.wsu.edu:8000/`plummerj/

NASA Academy Research Project:
Virtual Universe: An Educational Tool

GSFC Principal Investigator: David Leisawitz, Code 631

WORK and RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

  • Astronomy Teaching Assistant, Washington State University (8/94 - 5/97)
    Assisted with undergraduate astronomy classes and gave planetarium and observatory shows.

  • Undergraduate Research Projects at WSU:
    Star forming regions of the tidal features of interacting galaxies; Dwarf elliptical galaxies as bound companions in the Coma cluster; Morphological study of diamond thin films using electron microscopy.

  • Astronomy Research Intern, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (6/96 - 8/96)
    Studied the cosmoslogical implications of ROSAT observations of distant galaxy clusters.

  • Astronomy Research Intern, Lowell Observatory, (6/95-8/95)
    Studied star formation and gas densities in dwarf irregular galaxy Sextans A.

  • Technical Assistant, Department of Physics, WSU (6/94 - 8/94).

    • SKILLS

    Unix systems, IRAF, SuperMongo, HTML, LaTex, C programming, basic Mathematica, 3.5m telescope operation (remotely and on-site), planetarium demonstration

    HONORS and AWARDS

    Sigma Xi Grant-In-Aid of Research, Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa Scholar, WSU Hacker Award in Astronomy, WSU College of Sciences Distinguished Student Award

    ORGANIZATIONS

    WSU Astronomy Club: President 1994-1997, WSU College of Science Student Advisory Board (9/95-5/97), American Astronomical Society (Junior Member since 8/95), Astronomical Society of the Pacific (Student Member since 9/92)

    INTERESTS

    Astronomy, philosophy, dance (modern, ballet, jazz, tap, etc.), art (drawing, painting), hiking.

    "For me, there is nothing more awe inspiring than astronomy. Just thinking about the incredible magnitude of the universe truely puts things in perspective. What I most enjoy about ’the vast cosmos’ is how it makes our own problems seem completely insignificant - our lives are a mere moment compared to the life our sun, our galaxy, the universe. I have been very fortunate in the opportunities I’ve had as an undergraduate. I’ve had the chance to do exciting research with many outstanding scientists and I look forward to future collaborations as I start graduate school this fall. I cannot imagine anything more fulfilling than the search for knowledge. Contributing to our understanding of the universe makes my existence worthwhile."

    Back to the 1997 GSFC Profiles