This and that: A star turn edition

See a Purdue astronomer’s moment on an out-of-this-world ‘60 Minutes.’ TSC names teachers of the year. Free tomatoes, free science.

Special thanks to Purdue Convocations, presenting ATLYS. The string quartet’s repertoire consists of unique covers of pop and rock hits, striking original compositions, and a dose of classics. The group’s upcoming Convocations residency will be a homecoming for violinist Jinty McTavish, who made her solo debut with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra at age 10. She will help lead ATLYS through several FREE performances at Purdue and Downtown  Lafayette. FREE, April 12-13, Learn More.

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And thanks to sponsor Stuart & Branigin for ongoing support to help make this edition of the Based in Lafayette reporting project possible.

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A few notes heading into a new week …

STAR TURN: Research on fresh data pumping back to Earth from the new James Webb Space Telescope landed Purdue astronomer Danny Milisavljevic among the researchers working with the deep space revelations in a “60 Minutes” segment Sunday. Let’s just say he was pretty excited, along the lines of this look-at-this excerpt clipped by the CBS newsmagazine:

Milisavljevic is part of a team studying Cassiopeia A, a supernova remnant 11,000 light years away. He’s among the first researchers in line for data from the revolutionary Webb Space Telescope, launched in late 2021 and already pumping out views of until-now unseen galaxies.

• Here’s a bit more about his research, including links with tools to zoom in on the latest images generated with Webb’s data, in a piece from this weekend:

Catch Purdue prof’s Webb Space Telescope work on ’60 Minutes’

• For more, here’s the full “60 Minutes” segment from Sunday night:

• For closer look, here’s an interactive view of Cassiopeia A, as shown via Webb Space Telescope data release last week.

It’s all pretty cool.

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SPEAKING OF SPACE …: NASA will be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 8, 2024, when parts of Indiana will be in the path of the total solar eclipse. The eclipse happens in Indianapolis a bit after 3 p.m. that day. (Greater Lafayette is just outside the path, but will get a good shot at it that day, too.) To sign up to check things out as NASA broadcasts live at IMS that day, here’s your link.

(Photo: Bryan Goff/Unsplash)

TODAY’S A GOOD DAY TO SIGN UP FOR A FREE OR FULL-RIDE SUBSCRIPTION TO BASED IN LAFAYETTE.

TSC TEACHERS OF THE YEAR: Tippecanoe School Corp. last week named Anne Peters and Rahul Menon as elementary and secondary teachers of the year in the district. Peters is a Title 1 teacher at Woodland Elementary School. Menon has been a math teacher for 23 years at McCutcheon High School. The pair will represent TSC in the Indiana 2024 Teacher of the Year program.

They were selected from teachers of the year at TSC’s elementary, middle and high schools. Here’s a look:

• Battle Ground Elementary: Amy Ahnert, second grade

• Burnett Creek Elementary: Bridgett Sharp, special education

• Cole Elementary: Kelly Curtis, first grade

• Dayton Elementary: Mindy Stader, first grade

• Hershey Elementary: Kaley Thompson, special education

• Klondike Elementary: Olivia Winstead, kindergarten

• Mayflower Mill Elementary: Ashley Royer, fourth grade

• Mintonye Elementary: Sheryl Davis, second grade

• Wea Ridge Elementary: Kristen Burger, second grade

• Woodland Elementary: Anne Peters, Title I

• Wyandotte Elementary: Vicki Pounds, second grade

• Battle Ground Middle School: Gabriele Appenzeller, art

• East Tipp Middle School: Destiny Peters, English

• Klondike Middle School: Darcy Slade, special education

• Southwestern Middle School: Jennifer Pike, science

• Wainwright Middle School: Megan Gordon, special education

• Wea Ridge Middle School: Aubrey Clayton, art

• Harrison High School: Scott Powell, science

• McCutcheon High School: Rahul Menon, math

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CITIZEN SCIENCE, READY TO SLICE: Purdue Extension researchers, working with colleagues in Tennessee and Iowa, are looking for participants willing to grow varieties of small tomato plants bred to grow in small spaces its “Citi-Sci: Growing Food for Science,” now through August. Participants will grow six compact tomato plants, provided at different stages of maturity to gauge gardener preferences and challenges. “Our research is more than about gardening,” Michael Fidler, a Purdue horticulture and landscape architecture master’s student and graduate research assistant, said in a university release. “We are showing there are smaller vegetable plants that you can grow on your windowsill, balcony or indoors. It’s a way to experience nature, learn about healthy eating, connect with others and be self-sufficient.” Those interested in Lafayette, West Lafayette or Indianapolis can sign up by April 13 online. The experiment is open to anyone, but participants will need a small sunny place to grow their plants, according to the university. For more details, email citi-sci@purdue.edu or check the links below.

Thanks, again, to Purdue Convocations, presenting ATLYS, and to  Stuart & Branigin for sponsoring today’s edition. For more about ATLYS’ free shows April 12-13, here’s your link.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING BASED IN LAFAYETTE, AN INDEPENDENT, LOCAL REPORTING PROJECT. FREE AND FULL-RIDE SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS ARE READY FOR YOU HERE.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com. Like and follow Based in Lafayette on Facebook: Based in Lafayette