SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador Program

Written by Nathan Smith on December 18, 2014. Posted in STEM and STEAM.

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is a 747SP aircraft carrying a 2.5 meter-diameter telescope. The SOFIA project is now accepting applications for the Cycle 3 — 2015 Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors, or AAA, program. The AAA program is an exciting and unique opportunity for teams of two educators to receive online astronomy instruction and a trip to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California to participate in two SOFIA science flights. The science flights offer educators interaction with astronomers, engineers and technicians aboard the aircraft and a view to the collaboration that leads to astronomical data collection and the research papers that follow.

One team member must be a science teacher; the other team member may be a teacher, informal educator or amateur astronomer. The eligibility and program requirements are detailed at http://www.seti.org/sofia. The program pays all costs.

Applications are due Dec. 22, 2014.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Pamela Harman at pharman@seti.org.

Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith is Director of Technology for the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. In that role, he also directs The Adele & Dale Young Education Technology Center (The YETC) located in room 170 of the Education Building on Utah State University's Logan campus. The YETC is a combination student openaccess computer facility, a K12 curriculum materials library, a NASA Educator Resource Center for Utah, and a technology training center. Nathan served eight years (20042012) on the Board of Directors for the Utah Coalition for Education Technology (UCET) He was reelected in 2014 to serve another two year term on the board. A former elementary school teacher, Nathan has taught students every age from young children to senior citizens. He has had the opportunity beginning in 2011 to train international high school teachers from all over the world about technology in education, through the U.S. State