Vanessa Harvey, a senior majoring in physics at UNLV, will be traveling to Washington, D.C., next month to present her astronomy research at a conference on Capitol Hill.
Sponsored by the Council for Undergraduate Research, the event will involve 100 students from 38 states. Harvey, 25, is one of only two students from Nevada invited to participate in the event.
On April 21, Harvey will present a poster on the research she has been doing in conjunction with UNLV physics professor Donna Weistrop. The research concerns the structure of galaxies in some of the lower density regions of the universe.
"This research will help those astronomers who are developing a model of the evolution of the universe," Harvey said. "It's a piece of the larger puzzle of how the universe came to be.
"I'm excited," she said. "I'd very much like to go to talk to Congress about the importance of undergraduate research opportunities and how such opportunities have helped me develop as a future scientist."
Having the chance to talk to members of Congress is not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, encouraging members of Congress to support various programs that provide money for undergraduate participation in scientific research is one of the purposes of the conference. Last year, many members of Congress and their staff representatives attended.
"Having the chance to do research alongside such established astronomers as Dr. Weistrop helped me to decide that I want a career in research," Harvey said. "I know other students would become interested in research if they had the same kind of opportunities."
Harvey, who plans to graduate from UNLV in May 1999 and then pursue a doctoral degree in astronomy, hasn't always wanted to be a scientist. For years, she planned to be a dancer and perhaps an actress as well.
But then, when studying at Connecticut College, Harvey took an astronomy course and began helping a professor with public astronomy nights. She found astronomy fascinating.
"That's when it hit me that I was supposed to be an astronomer," Harvey said.
She enrolled at UNLV in 1995 and by the following year was working with Weistrop, who is an astronomer investigating galaxies with NASA's Hubble Telescope.
Weistrop said, "I'm so pleased that Vanessa has been chosen to participate in the conference in Washington. She's a talented student who deserves recognition for her work. And I know she will be a persuasive voice in encouraging members of Congress to continue funding for undergraduate scientific research.
"For students considering careers in science, there is no substitute for having the chance to participate in hands-on research at the undergraduate level," Weistrop said. "Traditionally, students have had to wait until they are in graduate school to participate in meaningful research, but I believe the sooner they are able to do research, the sooner they can decide whether a scientific career is for them."
For additional information, contact Weistrop or Harvey at 895-3507.
