Last Thursday, September 26, IU Astronomy graduate students kicked off their third year of Python events with the Python Crash Course. The event provided a functional and applied introduction to Python designed for novice or new users of the programming language. Attendees first learned about programming basics as well as the benefits and drawbacks of Python and why it has become so popular across STEM disciplines today. After some basic background, they dove straight into it by following a live coding demo on Google Colaboratory. During the demo, attendees made progress on creating blackbody emission models for stars and were progressively introduced to more advanced but fundamental features of Python. The demo culminated with plotting several blackbody models against actual stellar spectra, which allowed attendees to also try their hand at astronomy by identifying the spectral type of a real star!
This Python Crash Course will be followed by an Advanced Python Workshop later on October 22 from 5:30-6:45 pm in Swain West 208. This workshop has a more interactive pod-based format and is intended for Python programmers across all levels of expertise, covering topics from Python installation/environment set-up to advanced statistical analyses and plotting. Broadly, these Python event series serve to spark interest in STEM and provide students with the skills necessary to succeed in research (or even advanced coursework).
Questions or requests for future events? Please get in contact with Brandon Radzom at bradzom@iu.edu!
Fall 2024 Python Crash Course Attendees
The College of Arts