Let's Go to Space: BLUE-SKY Learning

Today we meet with Bev Berekian a middle school science and college level Earth Science. She has been teaching for over 17 years and began at the Community College level while she was earning a Masters Degree in Geology. Bev has participated in several space-related programs , and has presented and attended multiple conferences. She is a Department of Defense STEM Ambassador, a NASA/SETI Airborne...

Today we meet with Kirstin Bunting, a kindergarten teacher at Roosevelt Elementary on Florida’s Space Coast. Kirstin has a strong passion for STEM but especially all things space! She strives to educate and inspire the Artemis generation and beyond to appreciate and understand the world of space. Through her university course work, Kirstin is creating professional development in STEM topics so oth...

In this episode, Kevin and I meet with Fraser Cain, a space and astronomy journalist and publisher of amazing astronomy content through his website, Universe Today , I n addition, Fraser is the co-host of the Astronomy Cast Podcast and hosts a long-running series of space and astronomy videos on YouTube. He lives under beautiful dark skies on Vancouver Island in Western Canada which no doubt are a...

Today we meet with PAEMST recipient and teacher of the year for multiple organizations including the Civil Air Patrol, the Air & Space Forces Association and the AIAA , Megan Tucker. Ms. Tucker is a veteran STEM teacher of 19 years who loves to engage students in the Engineering Design Process as well as to have a growth mindset. Megan has written and edited national aerospace STEM curriculum...

While we know that space settlements of the future are a necessity, how we go about creating them frequently becomes a subject of debate. Most importantly, what countries will be represented in the settlements of the future, and can we insure we all work together to create a peaceful society in space? Today, we are joined by three very important people in the realm of this debate, with a focus on...

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 possibil...

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 studie...

Today, we meet with Jackie Blumer-- a Nationally Board Certified educator with over 25 years of STEM experience. She currently teaches Earth/Space Science for 6th graders at Greenville Jr. High School in Illinois. Jackie is also the. St. Louis STEM Chair for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and in early 2022 she received the National STEM Trailblazing Award from AIAA a...

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...

Today, we meet with Mark Wallace. Mark wrote his first computer program in 1965, and has written a lot of them since, using languages ranging from Assembler to SQL. His interest in zero defect software led him to study software engineering methods such as Structured Design and Object-Oriented Design, and ways to adopt them using Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. In recent years, he...

Laurie Orth is a music teacher who teaches about space exploration and rockets in her music classroom. She believes the classroom is where the arts and sciences coexist to develop creative people today for the workforce of tomorrow. In 2019, Ms. Orth published space-themed music in a workbook called Rocket Recorder. Laurie is passionate about starting the STEM and STEAM pipeline for young people t...

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 ac...

Today, Kevin and I meet with Edward Ellegood. Edward began his career as a space industry economist in the Florida Department of Commerce, while there he served as staff to a Governor's Commission on Space, which recommended that the state take a larger role in developing the space industry. He moved from Tallahassee to the Space Coast in 1990 to start-up the Spaceport Florida Authority (now Space...

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...

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 cla...

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 l...

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.  ...

Today Kevin and I meet with Noor Daraiseh, an oceanography student at the Florida Institute of Technology. She hopes to achieve a phD, after which she would dive into oceanic climate research, which could also add insight into space research as well. Noor is very passionate about education and the power it has in our communities, and would ultimately like to be like to be a professor after fulfill...

This is a replay originally airing in April 2021 as episode 12. Dr. Muckerjee continues to be a well-respected ally of the AIA! Dr. Jaydeep Mukherjee is an astronomer, faculty at the Univ of Central Florida, and the Director of the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium. This consortium is a state-wide association of universities, colleges, the  Astronaut Memorial Foundation ,  Space Florid...

As we continue our holiday replay-- check out this great episode with Frank DeBello from epsode 66!  Today, we meet with, Space Florida President and CEO, Frank DiBello. in May 2009 Mr. DiBello was chosen to lead Space Florida, which is the principal state agency for aerospace-related economic development, and the Space Authority for the State of Florida. In his position, he develops and exec...

Dr. Paula do Vale Pereira is currently an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on technology development for space exploration, mainly through the use of Earth-orbiting small spacecraft and probes for the exploration of Ocean Worlds, such as Europa and Enceladus. She has worked on the development of three satellites, being the As...

Today Kevin and I meet with Annalyn Connor is an undergraduate Aerospace student at the University of Central Florida, with a minor in Physics. Along with her fascination for space travel and sustainability, Annalyn hopes to preserve Earth by using knowledge from space missions and other planetary discoveries. She is currently conducting experiments at Exolith Lab using their Lunar and Martian sim...

In this Special REPLAY episode we revisit our interview with Dr. Jin Kang who was a keynote at our first SmallSatEducation Conference. Dr. Jin S. Kang (Suk Jin Kang) is an Associate Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at the United States Naval Academy, and serves as the Director of the Naval Academy Small Satellite Program. His main research area is in small satellite technology dev...