Thessaloniki: Menelaos Raptis, a student at a US astrophysics college, will participate in a NASA research team

He won a full scholarship to the top astrophysics college Franklin & Marshall. As a student, from the first semester he excelled and was even selected to join a NASA research team. Menelaos Raptis from Thessaloniki, speaking to the Athens/Macedonian News Agency, describes his new tasks in analyzing the millions of data of the James Webb Space Telescope.

“I am honored and delighted to now be part of the NASA research team that will analyze the millions of data from the James Webb Space Telescope,” he enthuses, explaining that this is the most impressive and one of the greatest modern achievements in space sector, a space telescope, which launched in December 2021, giving humanity the most beautiful window into the magic of space.

Franklin & Marshall College, as he points out, offered him already from the first academic semester a wealth of skills, cultivating at the same time to a very high degree his abilities, preparing him for something truly awesome, an adventure that he will have the honor to live in a very few days.

“In collaboration with a professor of the college’s Astronomy and Physics department, I prepared for quite difficult and at the same time demanding challenges, mainly in programming but also in astrophysics”, he notes and explains that “the pre-existing basic knowledge I had in programming and specifically in the language of Python programming, were greatly enhanced by directing my field of knowledge to improve and enrich it. After this hard “training”, the professor in charge deemed me capable but also thought that I am the ideal student who will have the opportunity to analyze the space data, with the professor as the head. I will not hide that during my first academic semester I showed perseverance, patience, but above all passion! I’m convinced that this love of research, innovation and science is what set me apart, that gave me the ticket to a dream come true.”

“My research at NASA will focus on galaxy evolution”

Referring to the research field he will be involved with at NASA, he said: “It is one of the most difficult in the field of astrophysics as it combines many elements of science, but also the imagination of the researcher. How I will analyze the particular data is left to my own ideas and ability, which will of course be accompanied by the guidance of my professor. This particular telescope allows for a widening of research and analysis, in terms of astronomy and cosmology, while my research will focus on the evolution of galaxies, how the life and end of a star affects them and perhaps exploring some identifying features potentially habitable planets’.

For Menelaos Raptis, the path he is charting is a lifelong dream. As he explains, it is a course that did not only contain the cultivation of the spirit through demanding work, but at the same time the drawing of a unique path that can easily be likened to a labyrinth. His recent successes, he says, include not only goal-setting, but also the constant struggle for social, cultural and linguistic adaptation.

It is a difficult and challenging journey

He also emphasizes that the journey he chose is not easy. “The research and the courses were particularly difficult. The biggest challenge for me, however, was to properly develop the ability to adapt, so that I could cope with a new condition, living thousands of kilometers away from Greece”, he notes.

“It is difficult,” he adds, “to be able to communicate competently in a foreign language and express your thoughts fully, it is difficult to read many hours every day, it is difficult to cope with competition but it is almost impossible to convey your heart , in another place. I have never been able to do this nor do I wish for it to happen. Throughout my academic career so far, however, I managed to control strong emotions and I believe that achieving emotional balance and maturity were the elements that ultimately helped me stand out.”

Life in America is brilliant but at the same time, eventful

Life in America is quite difficult, he explains, but it undoubtedly rewards him both academically and socially. It is the challenge to make new friends, it is the need to adapt, it is the provision of countless resources, the path to happiness and therefore to success.

“True success comes only through happiness! It is also the struggle and the courage, life in America is brilliant but at the same time, varied. One of the most difficult challenges I was called to face was being away from the family I love so much for long periods of time, separating from the people I connect with spiritually, mentally and emotionally. With optimism I will declare that the intangible, sweet connection that exists in our hearts accompanied me during the whole semester, adding to the alphabet of my soul the A and Z, love”, he confides.

With exemplary maturity, the honors student explains that his next plans include enjoying this great achievement. “I am convinced that the greatest achievement of a person is to be able to enjoy what he has achieved up to a given moment, to resist the fast pace of life by slowing down time, with the realization of his achievement. Also, the next plans concern my better preparation in terms of research, my absolute concentration and dedication to it, while maintaining the balance, with other pursuits such as sports”, he concludes.

RES-EMP

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