Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at Argonne National Laboratory
Python Workshop (January 2023)
Developed and led two python workshops during the conference; taught students Python basics, introduced them to the concept of galaxy redshift surveys and galaxy clustering, and helped them work through a Python notebook in which they loaded, plotted, and analyzed real data from SDSS
Vanderbilt University
Astronomy 1010, Introductory Astronomy: Stars and Galaxies
Introductory Nighttime Astronomy Lab Instructor (Fall 2016, Spring 2017)
Introductory Daytime Astronomy Lab Instructor (Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019)
Led a weekly 3 hour lab during which I taught a brief lesson and then helped students complete the lab assignment; taught students to use 8 inch telescopes, clarified important concepts from both the lab and the lecture, graded labs and lecture exams, and guided students on a mini research project and poster session; helped develop and improve lab course materials (10 hours per week)
Astronomy Tutor (Fall 2016)
Private tutor for Introductory Astronomy; helped students with homework assignments and exam preparation (2 hours per week)
Summer Academy at Vanderbilt for the Young (Summer 2017)
Computational Astrophysics: Coding the Universe
Helped develop material for a week-long course for middle school students to learn VPython and build their own solar system simulation
Wellesley College
Physics 107, Principles and Applications of Mechanics with Laboratory
Supplemental Instruction Leader (Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016)
Assisted in lectures and lab, created additional course material, and held supplemental lessons twice per week to go over material from lecture, clarify concepts, answer questions, and work on practice problems with students (10 hours per week)
Physics Tutor (Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016)
Introductory Physics courses: Fundamentals of Mechanics; Fundamentals of Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics; Principles and Applications of Mechanics; Principles and Applications of Electricity and Magnetism
Held weekly office hours and met with students individually to answer questions and help with homework or exam preparation (4 hours per week)
Whitin Observatory Night Assistant (Fall 2012 - Spring 2016)
Led weekly observing sessions (weather permitting) for students in introductory astronomy courses; taught students the names of constellations and stars, demonstrated the use of Whitin Observatory’s 12 and 6-inch refracting telescopes, and showed students any nebulae, clusters, or planets that could be seen through the telescopes on a particular night (1-2 hours per week)
Mentoring
DESI Mentorship Program (Fall 2023 - Present)
GEM Fellowship Program, Argonne National Laboratory (Summer 2023)
Mentored a visiting graduate student in the GEM Fellowship program for 13 weeks; helped the student develop a gradient descent pipeline in Jax for forward modeling galaxy SEDs
Harpeth Hall High School STEM Research Program, Nashville, TN (Fall 2017 – Spring 2019)
Mentored a high school student for two years on an individual research project measuring the rotation of galaxy groups in SDSS; taught her the basics of galaxy redshift surveys, galaxy clusters and group, and statistical analysis, as well as how to analyze data and make plots in Python; student was the 1st place winner at the Middle Tennessee Science & Engineering Fair in 2018 and 2019.
Selected Student Comments
“Gillian was a fantastic TA and really took the time to explain things when we didn’t understand them. She was so willing to help us both during class and outside of class and never got frustrated when we didn’t understand something. She was able to work with students with a really wide range of skills/interest/knowledge in the subject and made lab a lot more fun!” [Introductory Nighttime Astronomy Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Fall 2016]
“Gillian was a wonderful instructor! She really cared about our success and understanding of the material. She was helpful with answering questions in a way that made us think it through and understand the concepts fully.” [Introductory Nighttime Astronomy Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Spring 2017]
“Throughout the semester, when I’ve had difficulty following some of the written instructions of the lab, Gillian kindly helped me catch up and understand any difficult concept of Astronomy. I took Astronomy lecture 2 years ago and I had hard time remembering some concepts when doing the lab, Gillian has been helping me so I am not left behind. She has been a really great, helpful instructor throughout the semester.” [Introductory Daytime Astronomy Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Fall 2017]
“Gillian has been my favorite TA in my time at Vanderbilt. She truly cares.” [Introductory Daytime Astronomy Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Fall 2017]
“Gillian is a great instructor. She is very interactive and involved with students. Her feedback is always helpful, and she never seemed disinterested in either the students or the course content. Very good educator.” [Introductory Daytime Astronomy Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Spring 2018]
“Gillian Beltz-Mohrman is the best TA in the world. She always made me feel comfortable asking questions which is something I usually feel uncomfortable doing. She absolutely made the course worthwhile for me.” [Introductory Daytime Astronomy Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Fall 2018]
“Gillian was an excellent instructor! She made astronomy lab much more enjoyable because she would sit down with each student and help them whenever they encountered a problem. The fact that she cared a lot about each student’s success was refreshing. I would recommend Gillian for any future academic teaching position.” [Introductory Daytime Astronomy Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, Spring 2019]
