Let's Go to Space: BLUE-SKY Learning

Today we meet with Maria Nickel, a Kinesiology and STEM specialist teacher for over27 years. Although she has taught a variety of subjects K- 12, Maria is currently the STEM innovation program specialist K- 12 for the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada where she focuses a lot on space.

Maria has sent two SSEP experiments to the ISS- including the first elementary school experiment in Canada on Cancer and Manitoba’s first Jr. High Experiment on double exposure of radiation on ungrown Tomatosphere seeds. She also has created a science instrument for Manitoba’s first Cube Sat, IRIS, and is working on a second Cube Satellite for Artic Ice flow research

In addition to all her great work as an educator, Maria is the winner of Science Teachers Association of Manitoba- Innovative Group STEM work for the RAMWC 202 and was Inducted into the Space Camp Alumni Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

Today Kevin meets with Takeisha Stokes. Takeisha has over a decade of government experience specializing in legislation and politics. With a masters in Government with a focus on International Politics, Takeshia is a born advocate, keeping people at the forefront of her mind in all she does. Currently, she works as a legislative analysts for the Florida House of Representative, which is how we met her during our most recent Space Day advocacy efforts. This episode will be a must listen for our policy lovers! As always, stay tuned after for the takeaway

Today we meet with Rebecca Vieyra, a physics educator who coordinates the American Association of Physics Teachers' NASA HEAT team, a group of educators and researchers committed to advancing heliophysics education in formal classrooms. She is originally from Illinois, where she taught high school physics for seven years. She is a 2013 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, and is an alumna of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, where she was placed at NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate for one year. Since then, she served as the first K-12 Program Manager of the American Association of Physics Teachers, program manager for the Inter-American Teacher Education Network, and is now Director of Global Initiatives at PhET Interactive Simulations for the University of Colorado Boulder.

Today, Kevin and I meet with two high school students from The Greene School in West Palm Beach Florida who have been making space one of their passion projects!  Kenan Sato-Hua, is a 14-year-old 9th grader who participates on both the debate and aerospace team.  He recentlypresented at the PocketQube conference in Glasgow, Scotland and joined advocacy efforts on behalf of space policy at the annual Space Day in Tallahassee. Kenan is trilingual, being fluent in Japanese, Chinese, and English which allows him to share his passions with many different audiences. Joining him today is 10th grader, Evan Barron. Evan is the team lead for the Greene Aerospace Team and is responsible for its website creation and design. Additionally, Evan spoke atthe International Space Development Conference in Texas. Both boys are presenting at American Institute of Aeronautics and AstronauticsSci Tech Conference in Orlando this coming week and have a very bright future ahead.
As always, stay tuned after for our takeaways.

Today Kevin and I meet with Dorina Girbovan has three Masters in Science and one Ph.D. in Physics. As the G100 Romania Country Chair for the Space Technology & Aviation Wing, she advocates the promotion of women in science and technology. She promotes space education for teachers worldwide as NASA’s International Ambassador.

She is the founder and CEO of Beyond The Stars Education, a NonGpvernemental Organization that aims to help Romanian students with disabilities access science and space educational resources, training, and space camps.

And Dorina has been a speaker and astronaut moderator in multiple science and space events worldwide. In 2023, she was the only Romanian speaker at the Space Exploration Educators Conference at Space Center Houston. As a certified trainer, she leads STEM teachers’ workshops, training events, and professional developments across Romania and the US. With over 23 years of experience teaching, in Romania, Canada, and the USA, her students won first prizes in multiple international science contests held by the Royal Society of Chemistry, COBIS, ESA, and NASA.

Dorina is a Physics Cambridge Assessment examiner, a Science curriculum developer, a Science and space curriculum expert, and a book author and she strongly believes that change needs to start with the teachers.

In this solo episode, Kevin shares about the successes of this year's SmallSat Education Conference!

Taylor Peterson is a third year PhD student studying aerospace engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Her current research looks at 1) osteoporosis in astronauts and 2) simulating cryogenic propellant boiling in microgravity. She is the recipient of a 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, in which she proposed the idea of simulating and tracking cryogenic boiling in liquid transfer systems on spacecraft and space stations. She holds a bachelors in physics and has an extensive background in microgravity fluid related research experiments, including various payloads that have flown on parabolic flight campaigns and sub-orbital flights with Blue Origin. Along with this, she also holds a role as a flight coach for the Zero Gravity Corporation and has flown on nearly 30 flights, including flights with real astronauts.

Chet Knoer has been a lifelong space enthusiast and it all started with a visit to Space Academy at the age of 12. Now understand that As a child, Chet thought that to work in space meant you must be an inventor. They found out later that meant being an engineer.

Over the last 8 years, Chet has been a part of the University at Buffalo Nanosatellite Lab (UBNL), starting with integration and testing for the GLaDoS mission. Later they helped build the short cycle lab, and is now in the role of Senior Program Manager at UBNL. Presently Chet is completing their doctoral studies in Aerospace, specializing in Controls and Estimation, with a Bachelors in Aerospace Engineering, and a Masters in Material Design Innovation. Outside the lab, Chet is actively involved in supporting UB undergrad. We love Chet’s story and think you will as well.

Holly Pascal is a driven Aerospace Software Engineer at L3Harris, a distinguished Fortune 500 company. She will be featured in WomLead Magazine and stands out as a member of the highly selective Engineering Leadership Development Program at L3Harris, showcasing her mission to create a positive impact through transparency, consistency, and paying it forward. Beyond her engineering prowess, Holly is an accomplished author with an upcoming book titled "The College to Dream Job Blueprint”. Her passion lies in guiding college students toward fulfilling career paths as she shares strategies and tactics for accelerated income and advancement. Holly's work encompasses public speaking engagements at colleges, mentoring, and her LinkedIn newsletter "Skyrocket to Success." As a professional, her journey is one of continuous learning, innovation, and empowerment. As a multifaceted technical engineer, she exemplifies the power of knowledge and passion in shaping one's own path to success.

Link to Oscar Curet's survey. Thttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgk98vNq5VDFX-Xi8mGT0GRpOjhD8WEdWUlTERUyxmgPrLGA/viewform

Today we meet with Catie Spivey, a Mechanical Engineer and graduate of Portland State University. Catie was the lead on PSU's first CubeSat which launched in 2022. During her senior capstone project, she worked on a prototype liquid fueled rocket airframe and found she really enjoyed that subject area. She then finished a Masters of Engineering at Portland State in a single year and was selected as a prestigious Brooke Owens Fellow at United Launch Alliance. She currently works at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. And of course there is a Kevin Simmons inspiration that I am sure he will share with us. Stay tuned after for the takeaways.

Today we meet withChristine Shayim, a Junior at the University at Buffalo studying computer engineering, with a minor in mathematics. Outside of the classroom, she dedicates her time to working at the UB Nanosatellite Laboratory, as the Project Manager and the Flight Software Lead for POLAR. She is also the vice president of UB STEMinism, a club that serves as a professional development community for women of color in STEM. Learn more about what motivates Christine and her team’s satellite work in this interview, and join as after for our takeaways.

This episode, we interview student Natasha Waldorf—she’s a senior majoring in physics and applied computer science at Whittier College, a small liberal arts college near Los Angeles. Due to the challenges of COVID lockdowns during her late high school and early college years, Natasha found online education made applying to internships and gaining research experience difficult; but Natasha made the best of her circumstances by working at a county park nature center in southeastern Pennsylvania learning about hiking trail maintenance and reptile husbandry. Though this may not seem relevant at first to Physics or computer science, the experience helped her to discover a love for the outdoors while developing her work ethic. Since then, she has gone on to intern at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Small Satellite Portfolio in Albuquerque, NM as well as Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, FL where she created tools for modeling sensor coverage and performance. Natasha reminds us that pursuing interests that may not always be specific “resume builders” can actually help set you apart in unexpected ways

Today we meet with educator and engineer, Claudia Cortez. Claudia has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management Technology from the University of Arkansas Grantham, a Master of Business Administration from University of Texas at Brownsville, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Texas at Brownsville. She currently teaches CTE Engineering classes at Porter Early College High School for the Brownsville Independent School District in Texas. Her professional experience includes teaching, estimation and contract accounting, project accounting, bookkeeping, and academic advising. She has participated in various professional development programs with NASA Liftoff, Limitless Space Institute, the US Naval Academy, University of Texas Austin, MIT, Project Lead the Way (PLTW), and the Texas State Teachers Association. As impressive as her background is ,you may be more impressed to hear how she never gave up on her dream to pursue space.

As always, stay tuned after for our takeaways

Today, we meet with Frank Soboczenski --an Assistant Professor in Artificial Intelligence at the University of York, an affiliate computer scientist at King's College London with links to Northeastern University. He is also the lead scientist for the NASA TechLeap Quantum Earth Observation high altitude balloon mission, a member of the NASA GeneLab Artificial Intelligence working group, a STEM scientist for NASA & NOAA's GLOBE program and member of the IBM Quantum Researchers Program. His research interests are in Machine Learning for earth and space science with a particular interest in explainable AI. Over the years Frank worked with multiple NASA centers and research groups such as Ames Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Armstrong and Langley as well as having positions in law enforcement and other government agencies around the world. Science is Frank’s passion and he enjoys tackling challenging problems. In addition to loving his two-year old son, Frank has a passion for coffee—and chocolate, for which he will warn you to make sure you don’t leave anywhere near him. Stay tuned after for our takeaways.

In this final installment lesson, Kevin teaches me about the steps to go from CubeSat idea to space using the CubeSat 101 handbook. Check out the lesson on Youtube Aerospace and Innovation Academy vodcast playlist!

In this lesson, Kevin talks about the various kinds of subsystems that make up a CubeSat! If you are going to build one, you have to know the parts. Our students learn real-world aerospace in teams that meet as after school clubs. Your student can stand out today on resumes and college applications while getting experience in aerospace. Join Aerospace and Innovation Academy today. www. aerospacehigh.org

In this second in our series, Kevin tells us more about the history of CubeSats by addressing early and interesting missions and helps explains their payloads!

In this first of our minisode series, Kevin gives us a brief overview of the history of a CubeSat!

Today, we meet with Kristine Poptanich, the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Launchpad23, an online education opportunity for families seeking to build the future-ready skills so often missed in traditional curricula. She previously served as vice president at an ed-tech startup, on the Maryland State Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education, and in the national security sphere in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. Government. She is a proud homeschooling mother of two, and spends her free time watching her girls rock climb. If you ever needed inspiration as a parent about how to kickstart your student’s passions, today is the day. Stay tuned after for our takeaways.

Launchpad 23 website: https://www.launchpad23.org

AIA website: www. aerospacehigh.org

Kevin and I look forward to talking with a great role model in aerospace: Rachel Garza. After receiving her degree in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Rachel started her engineering career at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she worked as an astronaut instructor for the International Space Station program and served as a flight controller in the Mission Control Center. After 9 years in that role, she left TX to work as a systems engineer at GE Aviation in her home state of MI. She spent a year in that role before being hired into her dream job at Sikorsky Aircraft, working as a helicopter flight test engineer. Rachel is now a propulsion flight test engineering manager with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, in West Palm Beach, FL. She leads the team responsible for all aspects of propulsion system flight testing conducted on helicopters designed by Sikorsky Aircraft. Stay tuned after for our takeaways.

Today we meet with avid space enthusiast Emily Carney. In 2010, Emily Carney started a spaceflight blog called This Space Available via https://space.nss.org/category/this- space-available/). She loves to tell the story that, one time, the late astronaut Gene Cernan (Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, and Apollo 17 astronaut, also known as “The Last Man on the Moon”) once asked her, “what the hell is a space blog?” That was just the beginning of using social media as her platform to share her love of space.

In 2011, Carney wanted to start a Facebook group for those with similar interests but was struggling to find a good name. Her husband, Steve, suggested “Space Hipsters” as sort of a sarcastic placeholder, but the name stuck. The group grew more quickly than she could imagine, and as of May 2023 it totals nearly 43,000 members. Space Hipsters boasts members from all around the world, and includes space enthusiasts, writers, artists, scientists, engineers, aspiring astronauts, and even a few actual astronauts.

We look forward to being more ‘hip” on space and hope you stay tuned after for our takeaways.

Today we are joined by two new Wolfpack members from Buffalo, NY. Brian Bartelo is 13 years old and brother Sean is almost 11. While they have many interests, one of their main passions is space. Brian has an impressive resume already. He has presented topics such as mitigating space debris at AIAA Regional in Buffalo and, most recently, at Explore Mars' Humans to Mars Summit. He was part of the life support systems American team of students for the inaugural Mars Society's Student Challenge with Dr. Robert Zubrin. He is accelerated in his learning and is taking concurrent high school and college credit courses at Genesee Community College as part of the NY State ACE Homeschooling Program. He is hoping to study astrophysics and mechanical engineering at the University of Buffalo. Brian is also the founder and editor of his online school paper "Astra Nova Student Newsletter". Sean is interested in planetary defense and 3D design and printing. He has attended the Henry Ford National Invention Convention two years in a row as a finalist for his inventions and presentations. This school year, he has led teams that were semi-finalists in challenges such as Future City, Cities in Space, and the Mars Innovation Challenge. As a citizen astronomer, he has discovered 17 asteroids. He enjoys drawing, painting, and architecture. He hopes to study astronomy and engineering.

Michael D’Egidio grew up on Long Island, New York. He attended Columbia University in the City of New York where he majored in computer science. Michael has worked as a consultant for Sony Corporation of America producing graphics, copy, and web content for Sony.com, as well as a full-stack software engineer for a small e-commerce startup in Manhattan.

Michael has always felt drawn to the possibilities in education, so he made the move to the teaching world where he developed a robust and innovative computer science curriculum for a prestigious private school in Palm Beach County, Florida. His classes focus on programming languages and their utility in real-world applications such as game development, web application development and more. He was also instrumental in developing coursework in the use of TensorFlow, which is industry-standard software for machine learning and artificial intelligence programming.

Integral to Michael’s educational philosophy is the belief that all students deserve to feel a strong sense of belonging at school. Since 2020, Michael has been led school initiatives in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion where he coordinates student educational opportunities as well as professional development. In short, Michael sees computer science as a way to give back, to be a super hero so to speak helping students to view problems as a way to embrace grit, to affect change, and ultimately to have a voice. Stay tuned after for our takeaway.

Today we meet with Jiangdou (Ginger) Chen. She  is a Ph.D student at Florida Institute of Technology majoring in STEM Education with a primary focus  on Computer Information Systems.  A native to Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, Ginger is dedicated to balance social equity and the advocacy of marginalized communities. Her dissertation details female astronauts' interest in STEM studies in relation to their  career development.  Ginger is passionate about encouraging more young women to enter the space industry. In addition to her academic pursuits, Ginger runs track, cross-country, and participates on the swim team for Florida Tech.  As always, stay tuned after the interview for our take-awayl

Jen Jones is an 8th grade STEM teacher, a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison, a Solar System Ambassador, and a Space ward Bound Educator. She regularly presents on space topics to civic groups, libraries, and schools around northern Utah, and has hosted and organized 5 well-respected annual Space/STEM community outreach nights. Ms. Jones believes in teaching from a real world perspective to promote classroom engagement and to help fill the Stem Pipeline of the future. One example is NASA research project called Growing Beyond Earth which Jones will present to Teacher Liaisons at the Space Symposium in April.

Jenn and her students also work internationally for educational organizations such as African Independence Development or AID to help raise money and awareness for a modernized high school where Jenn could still help train teachers long after she returns home. And these are just a few of the many experiences she provides for her students. We see Jen Jones as one who emulates a BlueSky Learning philosophy and know you will enjoy this episode as much as we will.

Stay tuned after for takeaway.

Today we meet with Wolfpack VIP member Colin Quinn, a freshman at Suncoast Community High School in South Florida.  As part of the Wolfpack, he was part of the team working on the  CapSat-1 mission and is in the process of developing his own CubeSat mission, which will aim to study cosmic radiation in space. Colin is an aspiringI aerospace engineer and we know he is well on his way to achieving that dream. As always stay tuned after for the takeaway.

Today we meet with three amazing young women, Sree Patnayakui, Abhi Soundarajan, and Celine Schauer.  These girls, ranging from middle to high school are members of the Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team and have aspiring futures in STEM. Check out what motivates these girls to love space along with their current aerospace goals. 

In this special centennial episode, Kevin and I look back on the amazing accomplishments of our students in the various programs offered by the Aerospace and Innovation Academy. Join us as we celebrate an incredibly productive and successful two years of podcasting and providing real world experiential aerospace opportunities.

Caeden Dooner is a 2nd year Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Central Florida. He started working on the AMARIS Lunar Rover with other Wolfpack CubeSat Development Team members while he was still in high school. In fact, one of our first interviews on this podcast (episode 2 to be specific) is when we first takjed with Caeden and his teammate Owen, whose now at UF.. The Rover will use components of CubeSat technologies and its mission is to mitigate lunar dust using electrostatics. In addition to an update on this long term project, Caeden shares insights into surviving your first few years in a rigorous engineering program.

Today we meet with Theresa Robertson, who has been inspiring elementary and middle school students in STEM in for over 22 years. Theresa has a Masters in STEM coaching and is working towards her  Education Specialist Degree in Educational Technology. Currently she is a STEM elective teacher in Missouri utilizing the well known program, Project Lead the Way, where she engages students with classes such as Flight and Space, Design and Modeling, and Computer Technologies.

Thersa has presented nationally for the Smithsonian Educator Summit and with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Teacher Innovator Institute. In addition to these impressive accolades, she is also a Space Station Ambassador as well as a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison. While she has several kids at school, she is also the mom of college aged twins!

We are always inspired by passionate educators and we know you too will be inspired by Theresa Robertson. Please stay tuned after for our takeaways.

Jake Pearman is an undergraduate at Florida Atlantic University pursuing a mechanical engineering degree with an aerospace certificate. He is also the president of FAU’s Aerospace Experimental Association, a student-focused club dedicated to providing a platform for students to learn STEM in engaging projects.

Jake currently serves as the project manager, systems engineer, and software subsystem lead for a 6U CubeSat with the College of Engineering in partnership with Kennedy Space Center and the Florida Space Grant Consortium.

Outside of academia, Jake is an officer in the Air Force ROTC Detachment 155 out of the University of Miami, where he has held numerous leadership positions, including being the Cadet Wing Commander in Fall of 2022. Once graduated, Jake will attend Air Force pilot training and serve on active duty for 10 years.

We really enjoyed our time with Jake and hope you will stay tuned after for our takeaway.

John Inness is a guidance, navigation, and control engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center supporting various projects including SLS, HLS, Solar Cruiser, SVGS, and more. He is originally from North Carolina where he went to North Carolina State University for aerospace engineering and co-oped at Marshall Space Flight Center while a student. Upon graduation, he began full time work at MSFC.  In his spare time, John enjoys playing music, cooking and trying various foods, hiking, and ultimate frisbee.  As always, stay tuned after for our takeaways.