Ciarra Coston

My story

Research opportunities have allowed me to delve deeper into specific subjects, ask questions, make mistakes, and learn from them. These opportunities culminated when I was able to present my work at the end of the summer. The most rewarding part has been the chance to work with a team of dedicated individuals with various levels of education and experience, and meeting other undergraduate researchers.

As a senior, I am looking into graduate schools in the hopes of continuing my education and research in astronomy and data analysis. I am particularly drawn to how machine learning and numerical modeling can be used in research. This past summer, I worked as a student researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I worked to characterize and age-date nearby and bright stellar candidates that could host Earth-like planets as precursor science for the future Habitable Worlds Observatory. This was done by analyzing the time-series photometry using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

The funds provided by this scholarship directly address my financial needs, alleviating some of the financial pressure that I currently face. Reducing the financial burden of my studies allows me to focus more on my coursework and research projects.