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Catriona McDonald's Reflections on NAM, 2022

We speak to Catriona McDonald, a PhD student in our Astronomy and Astrophysics group and also part of the National Astronomy Meeting (NAM) Local Organising Committee (LOC).

What was it like to host the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting at Warwick?

It was honestly a pleasure. It was the first NAM I have ever been able to attend in person, so being part of its organising was extra special. Getting to spend time with astronomers from all over the country (and even the world) was a real treat.

What was your favourite highlight of the week?

My highlight of the week was without a doubt the outreach activities we held Wednesday evening. The outreach festival, art gallery, JWST panel and Arrival film screening were all events which took a large amount of organising and seeing everything come together and so many people enjoying themselves was truly incredible.

What left you feeling inspired?

Seeing the excitement of public visitors seeing the SUN or participating in outreach activities was amazing. But also, seeing the reaction of astronomers to the collective artworks put together by me and the SciArt team and their willingness to contribute to our impromptu mass JWST deep field drawing was beautiful!

A big thank you to...

So many people including those on the LOC, but especially to all the volunteers who gave up their time to help run the outreach activities and inspire so many member of the public.

Find out more about Catriona's research.Link opens in a new window