The Thessaloniki excellent student who became a NASA researcher (PHOTO)
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 data from the James Webb Space Telescope,” he enthuses, explaining that this is the most impressive and one of the greatest modern achievements in the field. of space, 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, already from the first academic semester offered him 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 has the honor to live. in very few days.
“In collaboration with the professor of the Astronomy and Physics department of the college, he prepared himself 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 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 persistence, patience, but above all passion! I’m convinced that it’s my love for research, innovation and science that set me apart, that gave me the ticket to a dream come true.”
“My research in 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. The way I will analyze the specific data in my ideas and ability, which of course comes with the guidance of my professor. This particular telescope allows for the expansion of investigations and analyses, 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 features that will be identified . 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’s hard,” he adds, “you can’t get along with a foreign language and fully express your thoughts, it’s reading for many hours every day, it’s hard to keep up with the competition but it’s 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 it was the correct emotional balance and maturity, the elements that finally helped me to stand out”.
Life in America is brilliant but at the same time, eventful
But life in America is quite difficult, he explains, undoubtedly rewarding 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 the cause 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 state that the matter, sweet connection that exists in our hearts, accompanied me during the semester, adding A and O, love, to the alphabet of my soul”, 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 man is not being 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 for my better preparation in terms of research, my absolute concentration and dedication to it, with maintaining balance, with other pursuits such as sports”, he concludes.