Bridget Kayitesi ’18 was one of 19 students from across the country selected to spend nine weeks this summer as a National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) intern at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Va. Kayitesi is an Opportunity Programs student from Uganda. Her mentor was Amanda Heiderman of the NRAO headquarters.
NAC interns were paired with astronomy, engineering and physics professionals at universities, observatories and NASA facilities to conduct research projects. As part of the NAC program, they also received training and skills development to prepare them for future success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.
Kayitesi presented her research project, “Star Formation Rate in the Solar Neighborhood and Beyond,” at the NAC III annual meeting held Aug. 29-30 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
As a result of her research, Kayitesi was also invited to present her project in January at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, a national scientific conference of more than 1,000 professional astronomers.
