Geha Research Group

ASTR 330 focuses on high level Python computing in the context of astrophysics research. The course goal is to provide students with the fundamentals of building astronomical pipelines and the general use of cutting edge tools and techniques currently used in the astronomical community. The course was originally developed by Imad Pasha and Prof Marla Geha. It is now taught by Prof Earl Bellinger.

The orginal course materials, including lectures, assignments, and solutions can be found here .

Astro-RPS is a graduate-student led workshop series designed for students with little to no exposure to coding or astronomy research with the goal of providing an introduction to the Python programming language in the context of physics and astrophysics applications. All research carried in these scientific fields requires the use of extensive programming, making it a bedrock skill of any scientist. In this series, we start from square one, covering how to install and navigate the programming ecosystem such as the terminal/shell, before moving into how to create scientific programs in python to carry out calculations one might use in a research project. After taking this series, students should be prepared to tackle programming-based courses (e.g., ASTR 255/330) as well as feel comfortable applying to summer research positions.

All of the course materials developed for Astro-RPS are publicly available at this website.

The Research Experience for Veteran Undergraduates (REVU) is a 9-week summer research experience for enlisted U.S. veteran undergraduate students. REVU is run by Professor Geha with a grant from HHMI.

This is a free online class created by Prof Geha as an intuitive introduction to rocket science.  Modern life increasingly depends on technology provided by Earth-orbiting satellites, from detailed weather predictions to broad-band internet and GPS. How are satellites launched into orbit and how do they work once they get there? Why are rockets used to get into orbit and how are they different from airplanes? The material is aimed at a wide non-technical audience.  

The class is free, but requires a Coursera sign-up.   A preview is available here.

The Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) is a non-profit organization empowering enlisted veterans and transitioning service members to succeed in higher education. WSP was founded at Yale in 2012 by several undergraduate students and recent alumni.  WSP’s main program activity is running one- and two-week academic bootcamps led by enlisted veterans who have already successfully transitioned into college, in collaboration with professors and graduate students from each host institution.    Prof Geha serves on WSP’s Board of Directors and many Geha group students and postdocs have taught during a WSP bootcamp.  

WPS is free of charge to student veterans, more information can be found here