DEV Community: Karen Kathryn

Combining SQL and Astronomy

Karen Kathryn — Sun, 17 May 2020 16:51:23 +0000

Hi friends - I've been writing a series of blog tutorials on SQL using examples from the field of astronomy. If you are new to learning SQL -- take a look!

Black Holes, Planets, and SQL [link here]
Touring the Solar System with SQL [link here]
Searching for Moons with SQL [link here]

What topics would you like me to cover in future posts?

Nevertheless, she questioned

Karen Kathryn — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 17:54:59 +0000

Hi all! Have you ever sat in class, learned math principles and then weeks later learned all the technical stuff? Ever wondered how the tech stuff ties back to the math?

I've wondered that too. Why spend so much time learning statistics and probability principles and then, afterward, learn about confusion matrices and classification metrics without any references to the math principles learned earlier?

Let's chat in the comments - I want to know if you've ever thought about this.

Nevertheless, Karen Coded

Karen Kathryn — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 21:22:24 +0000

I am late to the coding scene. I didn't get started until my last year as an undergrad. I studied Astrophysics and Math for four long years. For my final thesis in both subjects, I wanted to learn more about galaxies in the universe colliding and merging.

Moreover, I wanted to simulate two galaxies colliding.

And, I wanted to make a video for the planetarium to display.

This was not an easy task, because I didn't know how to code. So - I taught myself to code in FORTRAN (the language I used for the simulation). I also needed to learn the specific languages to port the output of the simulation (the position of each part of the galaxy collision) to the computers in the planetarium. At the end of the project, I gained skills that I had never even considered before.

Fast forward a few years later and I was using PERL and a mix of other languages in my job. The department that I worked in had a few trainings on the tools and techniques that I used, but I mostly self-learned the technical aspects that the work required.

Even a few months ago, I started learning Python and SQL. Again, most this is self-taught.

Advice for girls who want to learn

If you have a curiosity for programming -- pay attention to that! Use your interest and passion to learn a new skill. Some places to learn are:

Your new skill might lead to a lifelong journey in a career you never considered!