C ONNE CT I ON
John Hurley
Principal Gathering On July 11, more than 25 Abbot Academy alumnae gathered in Davis Hall in McKeen Hall to welcome Don Gordon ’52 back to campus. It was a moving reunion, as Gordon, Abbot principal from 1968 to 1973, hadn’t seen most of the graduates since 1973, when Abbot’s final class graduated and Gordon left the Andover area for new adventures. All shared stories over lunch; watched The Girls of Abbot: A Memoir, the new Abbot Academy oral history film by Charlie Stuart ’62; and reminisced about taking gym class and gathering for “town hall” meetings in Davis Hall many years before. Gordon was delighted to be back on the Abbot campus with the
girls—now women—who attended the beloved school. “Be assured of my immense gratitude,” he said, “overwhelmingly for Abbot and its alumnae.”
Don Gordon ’52 (center) pictured with ( from left) Jane Christie ’58, Amanda Cobb ’73, Jenifer McLean Cooke ’73, Dianne DeLucia ’73, Kim Grecoe Sherwood ’73, Lucinda Hannon ’63, Nancy Sullivan ’63, Leslie Hendrix ’73, Faith Howland, Elizabeth Coward Miller ’73, Marilyn Dow ’69, Debra Heifetz Stein ’73, Elizabeth Padjen ’72, and Barbara Corwin Timken ’66
Astronomical Opportunity
instructor, director of the PA Observatory, and a mentor teacher for Caltech’s NITARP* program.
Andover students are making the most of a unique opportunity to work with professional astronomers and primary data from current astronomical experiments, thanks to a special relationship cultivated with the California Institute of Technology by Caroline Odden, physics
This past summer, Odden and four Andover students joined several other teacher-student groups in Pasadena, Calif. With the help of Dr. Varoujan Gorjian, Odden’s group analyzed data collected by the Spitzer Space Telescope to identify sources exhibiting extreme infrared excess—typically young stars, active galactic nuclei, and interacting galaxies. However, the group identified several sources with such extreme characteristics that they may not fit into these traditional categories. Analysis will continue throughout the fall, and the PA group will present results at the American Astronomical Society meeting in January 2015. Odden and her students rounded out the week by attending a reception hosted by the Southern California Alumni Association. The students (see photo) were called upon to describe a variety of on-campus projects, including the discovery of new variable stars, spectroscopy, and exoplanet analysis. They also shared their excitement about a new imaging device, generously funded by the Abbot Academy Association, that is expected to come online early this fall. Alumni scientists attending the event encouraged current and incoming students to cherish their memories of “first light” scientific inspiration and to appreciate the value of their basic science expertise in addressing earthly problems and opportunities. *NASA/IPAC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Infrared Processing and Analysis Center) Teacher Archive Research Program
Pictured at Caltech’s faculty club at the SCAA reception are Johnson Lightfoote ’69 and Sayuri Hanna ’88 (seated) and, from left, Laurent Joli-Coeur ’15, Emily Zhu ’15, Sarp Orgul ’16, Isabel Taylor ’15, and physics instructor Caroline Odden. New Andover parents, incoming students, and recent graduates attending the event enjoyed learning about teaching and high-level research being conducted in astronomy at the Academy.
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Andover | Fall 2014