Conference: 23rd Annual Symposium of the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellows

The 23rd Annual Symposium of the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellows (AAPF) will be held on 11–12 January 2025 alongside the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in National Harbor, MD, near Washington, DC. The NSF AAPF program aims to prepare postdoctoral fellows for their future scientific careers by integrating research and teaching/outreach. The annual symposium provides: (1) a platform for fellows to discuss their research and broader impacts projects, (2) exposure for the fellows and the fellowship program within the astronomical community, and (3) an open discussion of issues that are important to astronomers as they begin their careers. The symposium will achieve broader impacts by facilitating collaborations between NSF AAPF fellows on both research and education, and by increasing the exposure of the fellows and the fellowship program within the astronomical community. The AAPF symposium will consist of (1) talks by current NSF AAPF fellows on their research and education projects, (2) a keynote science talk focused on the efforts to deal with the influx of big data from modern large surveys in astronomy, (3) a keynote outreach talk on starting and building a successful outreach program. (4) a workshop on navigating the academic job market, (5) a workshop on crafting an engaging story that communicates scientific results, and (6) opportunities for open discussion between current NSF AAPF fellows and the broader astronomical community to foster opportunities for mentoring and new collaborations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.