Western Nevada College Physics Professor Dr. Thomas Herring is among 24 teachers from 13 states who have been selected as a 2022 NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador (AAA).
Presented by Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, AAA is a professional development program for science teachers dedicated to improve science teaching and enhance student learning and STEM engagement. The AAA program includes teachers in community colleges, high schools and middle schools.
Im excited to learn more about infrared astronomy and bring some great knowledge and curriculum back to the astronomy classrooms at WNC, said Dr. Herring, who also directs Jack C. Davis Observatory overlooking WNCs Carson City campus.
AAA teachers receive training in astrophysics and planetary science, including a week-long STEM immersion experience at a NASA astronomy research facility such as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy based in Palmdale, Calif., or the Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Following their training, the AAAs teach a physical science curriculum module created by the SETI Institute that connects curriculum concepts to NASA-enabled research. Past controlled-study evaluations of the AAA program have shown statistically significant improvements in student learning and engagement among students whose teachers participated in the program.
Since 2011, the NASA-funded AAA program has impacted tens of thousands of students through the experiences and training of their teachers.
This powerful STEM program will allow the SETI Institute to continue bringing NASA science into classrooms across the country, said Dr. Dana Backman, who leads the AAA program. These teachers will use their professional development and STEM immersion experiences to convey real-world content to their students that illuminate the value of scientific research and the wide variety of STEM career paths available to them.
The 24 teachers selected as 2022 Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors are: Leilani Ancel, Fort Zumwalt East High School, OFallon, Mo.; Heather Anderson, Fort Zumwalt West High School, OFallon, Mo.; Tanya Anderson, St. Joan of Arc School, Lisle, Ill.; Katherine Auld, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, Bentonville, Ark.; Teresa Cobble, Lovinggood Middle School, Powder Springs, Ga.; Amy Dennis, Sylacauga High School, Sylacauga, Ala.; Ann Marie Dubick, Campbell Middle School, Smyrna, Ga.; Kerem Ekinci, Harmony Public Schools, Houston, Texas; Sean Ellison, Norwood-Norfolk High School, Norwood, N.Y.; Dawit Hailu, Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, Md.; Thomas Herring, Western Nevada College, Carson City, Nev.; Lucy Howlet, Colorado SKIES Academy, Englewood, Colo.; Raquel Jarabek, Minneapolis Community & Technical College, Minneapolis, Minn.; Cody Kennedy, Castaic High School, Castaic, Calif.; Dustin Lengning, Santa Clarita Valley International Charter School, Castaic, Calif.; Jennifer Muir, Draper Park Middle School, Draper, Utah; Diane Ripollone, Cardinal Gibbons High School, Raleigh, N.C.; Sherry Rogers, Dodge City Community College, Dodge City, Kan.; Tyler Ryan, Sierra High School, Manteca, Calif.;
Yolonda Simon, Little Elm High School, Little Elm, Texas; Joseph Wagner, Eads High School, Eads, Colo.; Diallo Wallace, Tarbut VTorah Community Day School, Irvine, Calif.; Eric Wegryn, Ohlone College, Fremont, Calif.; and James Young, North Valleys High School, Reno, Nev.