Vianne Stanford
Physics
Grad: May 2027
Outreach Team Member
Why did you join the UMBC Observatory Group?
“I joined the observatory to get hands on experience working with and operating a telescope. My favorite thing about working with the observatory is the ability to talk to other people about space and everything related to it.”
Bhanu Sharma
Cybersecurity
Grad: May 2025
Outreach Team Member
Why did you join the UMBC Observatory Group?
“I joined the UMBC Observatory Group to reconnect with my passion for science and space. It’s a step in the right direction toward my goal of being a lifelong student, constantly learning and exploring.”
What was the coolest thing you learned by working at the Observatory?
“Light from distant stars might be carrying a cosmic fingerprint, twisting through chiral molecules to create a polarization signature that could reveal life on far-off planets!”