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Welcome 2024 Yerkes Research Interns!
Yerkes Observatory is proud to offer immersive, hands-on internship experiences for current or recently graduated undergraduate students. During their time in Williams Bay, interns will engage with research focused on digitizing the Yerkes glass plate collection and collecting data with our 24″ telescope, support observatory outreach, education, and public programs, and explore the amazing science and outreach being done across Wisconsin and Illinois through seminars and excursions. The interns will be joining us for 8 weeks this summer starting in June 2024.
Whether it is by participating in our public programming or making a donation, your support of the observatory is what makes our internship program possible. Thank you for your continued support, and congratulations to our three incoming interns!
Carlos Ayala
Hi, I’m Carlos! I grew up in West Allis, WI and have wanted to be an astronomer ever since I was little. I developed my interest during middle school, when I would often go to my local public library and read books about astronomy, and during high school, when I helped grow our Science Olympiad team while competing in the Astronomy event. Today, I continue to be involved in Science Olympiad and Astronomy Outreach at Caltech, while working on research in time-domain astronomy using large sky surveys at multiple wavelengths to search for transients!
Dylan Scott Caudill
I am graduating from Purdue University in May 2024 with a bachelor’s in Applied Physics concentrated in Astronomy. I did not grow up staring at the stars, with a deep yearning to explore the cosmos. The opportunity to learn about the incredible mysteries of space was not something that I had access to when I was younger. However, once I was exposed to this field, I sought to learn everything that I could, taking as many classes as I could, going to talks and conferences, and engaging in outreach. Currently I work as an undergraduate research assistant in the Purdue Stellar Astronomers’ Research Group, investigating low mass star flare rates. My plan for the future is to pursue my PhD in Astronomy and contribute research throughout my career.
Michelle Giovacchini
I am a senior in astronomy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with minors in Spanish and chemistry. I visited Yerkes Observatory when I was in middle school and was captivated by the telescope, the building, and the thought that something so important to science was so accessible to me. Throughout my undergraduate career, I have learned that sharing science with others is one of my main interests. My favorite part of being an astronomy major is the opportunity to participate in open houses and class observing sessions at the campus observatory, which was built in 1896 and can still be used by students.