Sam DiRenzo ’24 earns honorable mention for prestigious astronomy award

Astronomy major earns honorable mention for poster competition at national conference

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) annual meeting attracts over 3000 participants from around the nation and around the globe.

DiRenzo explain her research to experts in the field

The venue offers undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, and faculty opportunities to interact with experts in a variety of formats. This year, several Elon students and Faculty attended the 243rd AAS meeting in New Orleans, including Elon undergraduate Sam DiRenzo ’24, an astronomy major, who presented an iPoster.

DiRenzo entered the prestigious Chambliss Award competition where undergraduates and graduate students present their research to judges. A record number of iPosters were submitted this year, totaling over 400. DiRenzo made it through an early elimination round before the conference by recording audio that walked judges through her iPoster. At the conference, a second round of judging took place for only select participants.

Ultimately, DiRenzo’s research on intermediate mass black holes earned her an honorable mention in the Chambliss Award competition along with a certificate to commemorate the achievement.