SSP 97

The Summer Science Program, offered by the Thacher School, is a six-week long program in which students learn the basics of astronomy and calculus, which they later use for calculating orbits of major asteroids. Although the materials covered can get difficult (spherical trigonometry, vector calculus, celestial mechanics and others) they are presented clearly by the staff. The teaching assistans also provide lots of help in doing the homeworks and the actual orbit determinations. At the same time the students have lots of fun, enjoying the weekly trips to the beach and to town (Ojai), taking field trips to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Mt. Wilson Observatory and in general staying up late at night & star gazing. You can read about the fun activities and events in the stories section.

Some of the alumni have provided their thoughts to the prospective students:

One of the greatest things about the program is the sense of community that develops. Everyone, including the staff and the TAs are always willing to help. The homework, and especially the Orbit Determination, is next to impossible to do by yourself, thus you develop many close friends, which you keep contact with long after SSP officially ends. In other words, APPLY!

-Serguei Vassilvitskii

I know that one of my great fears when going to SSP was that everyone would be smarter than me, have taken Calculus and Physics, know everything, etc. I thought I would be slaving over my homework alone for hours... but I was wrong. SSP was a great experience and sooo much fun!

We would get one assignment every three days or so usually, and they weren't too long. The lectures teach you everything you need, and so those who had Physics or Calculus got a review, while those of us who hadn't taken them learned everything. Doing the homework wasn't hard either... again, the juniors basically had the seniors who had taken everything to help whenever there were problems. Everyone does the homework in groups, so it's another social hour, talking and having a lot of fun, even fighting over the correct answer. And if all else fails, there's the TAs, who are paid to help out. So don't worry about your previous knowledge. That should be the last thing you worry about! Worry about having enough film....

-Rachel Thessin

For those of you thinking of attending SSP, I'd highly recommend it, so long as you aren't afraid to work hard and stay up late... If you already have a good amount of knowledge in Mathematics or Physics, SSP may interest you. Some people without prior knowledge of Calculus and Physics may have a tougher time, but many SSPers in '97 didn't come having such knowledge, did just fine, and left knowing some Calculus and Physics! Anyways, regardless of your level of Mathematics/Physics, if you are interested in those subjects, I'd highly recommend SSP as a choice for a summer program!

-Michael Wyman

Questions/Comments