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BERC 2024:

St. Cloud State University’s Participation in NEBP

Rachel Humphrey

Caity Andersh, Amanda Banyas, Azara Boschee, Regina Fleischman, Annette Lujan, Sophie Tice

St. Cloud State University

Between Eclipses Remote Conference – 20 January 2024

Image courtesy https://ownyourweather.com/what-is-a-weather-balloon/

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Introduction to NEBP

Partnered with local/regional institutions and personnel for knowledge and funding/organizing (thank you, Minnesota SGC, Montana SGC, and SCU)

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The SCSU team

All-women team of undergraduates

Multi-faceted academic backgrounds, academic years, etc.

Faculty lead	Concentration / background
Rachel Humphrey, faculty lead	Atmospheric science, science education
Student name (Academic Year at sign-on)	Major program of study (minor, if applicable)
Caity Andersh (Junior)	Meteorology
Amanda Banyas (Freshman)	Meteorology
Azara Boschee (Junior)	Meteorology (Hydrology)
Regina Fleischman (Sophomore)	Meteorology
Annette Lujan (Senior)	Elementary Education
Sophie Tice (Senior)	Hydrology (Meteorology)

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Learning together

All had some previous knowledge...but quite varied
Advantages:

“I really liked the fact that no one knew everything. I could relate because there was stuff I knew that others didn’t, but then I learned from them, too.” – Annette

“Everyone was learning together, so it was a common thing we all worked toward...that made it more fun and less intimidating.” – Sophie

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Preparing for fieldwork

Lots of training, including

Semester-long course (thank you, Montana State!)
Multiple practice launches with multi-institution teams
Many sessions focused on hands-on practice with equipment
Emphasis on data management and collection
Added in lessons on First Aid / CPR

Students ready a balloon for launch

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The 2023 Eclipse: Socorro, NM

Thirty distinct launches, minor hiccups during some

Atmospheric conditions captured via the 13 October 18Z sounding, launched by SCSU

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The 2023 Eclipse: Socorro, NM

Launch and outreach experiences

From l-r: Reggie, Amanda, Sophie, Caity, Azara, and Annette

Thanks to the launch and housing arrangements organized by Erick Agrimson, the MN team performed 30-hours of balloon launches. ��And while I’m sure we’ll all be seeing lots of other data as well as cool eclipse and launch pics today, I’ve included these pics because a big part of us being out there was to give students the opportunity to launch balloons, but also participate in outreach activities and use hands-on equipment in the field.��The outreach after Socorro has really been phenomenal for us; we’ve delivered numerous presentations to over five hundred visitors to our campus planetarium, other student organizations and classes, and we’ve given away over three thousand eclipse glasses to educators all over the state. ��The SCSU students have also been able to share their experiences to visitors to the planetarium (in conjunction with a movie centered on eclipses called “Totality!”, and we’re intending to launch our “road tour” later this semester, where we’ll be going to regional K-12 classrooms bringing sample equipment and stories with us.

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The 2023 Eclipse: Socorro, NM

Lessons learned/what we’ll be taking to 2024 deployment:

Stagger shifts (shifts of 12+ hrs = bad idea; sleep very important)
Students are extremely resilient (heroes of entire deployment)
Training beforehand helped immensely and will continue

From l-r: Reggie, Sophie, Annette, Azara, and Amanda

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Acknowledgements

The SCSU team would like to acknowledge the following PIs and students from our partnering NEBP institutions for their tireless hard work during the deployment

St. Catherine University	Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College
Erick Agrimson (Faculty lead)	Stephen Highland (Faculty lead)
Abby Conrad	Aurora Salzer
Bronwyn Hicks	Danielle Iatic
Kadiatu Kaya	Cheryl Caribou
Susan Odewale

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Final thoughts...

“Being part of the NEBP is such an amazing experience for me. I learned so much from the hands on with the balloons and watching the data come in...It is an experience I will never forget!” - Reggie

Azara and Sophie give each other a high-five after a successful launch in Socorro, NM.