Let's Go to Space: BLUE-SKY Learning

Larry Bartoszek, is a licensed engineer with Physics and Mechanical Engineering degrees from the Univ of Illinois. He is a member of numerous professional societies related to engineering, welding, and the International Space Elevator Consortium.

Larry worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory from 1983 to 1993. In his work at Fermilab he was responsible for the design of many accelerator and detector projects, including a 150 million dollar Hadron calorimeter and many other accelerator and detector projects.

Larry is the owner of Bartoszek Engineering, a world-wide consulting firm which specializes in mechanical designs for the nuclear and high energy physics research community world-wide.

The neutrino horn his company designed for Fermilab holds the world record for surviving over 400 million pulses at 170 Kiloamps of current. He also helped build the 2.5 meter Sloan Digital Sky Survey Telescope.

In 2004, Larry started working on the Space Elevator as a and has given presentations at several Conferences. He became a Director on the Board of the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) in April, 2021.

We look forward to learning more about this fascinating research and hope you will stay tuned after the interview for our takeaways.

Website Bartoszek Engineering www.bartoszekeng.com

Bartoszek's work can be viewed here:  http://bartoszekeng.com/se_calcs/se.htm

Check out one of his published papers:  “Design Considerations for Space Elevator Tether Climbers”, ISEC Position Paper # 2013-1

Today, we are excited to meet with Dr. Ben Van Dusen, a professor of science education at Iowa State University where he runs the Learning About STEM Student Outcomes (LASSO) platform. LASSO is funded through the NSF and is a free online resource supporting teachers in how to use research-based assessments to determine the impact of their courses on student content knowledge, attitudes, and identities. A focus of his research is the impacts of oppression on science student outcomes and how the quantitative methods that are commonly used by researchers may be obscuring academic inequities. A former high school physics teacher and Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, Dr. Van Dusen has a lifetime of educational acumen. When not working, he enjoys spending time with his children and playing a round of disc golf.

Please remember to subscribe, like, and share our podcast with your friends and family. Doing so will help up grow organically and as always, stay tuned for our takeaways after the interview.

LASSO can be accessed here

FB for Aerospace and Innovation Academy here

website for Aerospace and Innovation Academy here

Today, it is my pleasure to interview one of my most influential teachers--my 8th grade science teacher Jeff Johnson. Jeff grew up at the start of the space age and was heavily influenced by Sputnik 1, John Glenn and the vast media onslaught of TV and media that emerged shortly thereafter. .In his early year’s Jeff created space scrapbooks with articles he found and his love was fueled even further by watching the Apollo 11 landing with his family.

Although Jeff’s interest in science was nurtured in high school, it was a serendipitous meeting at a softball game with an educator that led him to teaching and he soon began an internship in Columbia Missouri before moving to Florida. It was in Florida where Jeff recalls his first in person space shuttle launch with non other than Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, on board.

Johnson went on to apply and be accepted as the first NEWMAST (NASA Educational Workshop for Math and Science Teachers) cohort - at the Kennedy Space Center where, for two full weeks, he got to see many behind-the-scenes aspects of the space program, including meeting an astronaut and seeing space shuttle Challenger up close as it was being prepped for a mission. He also began implementing the science fair both at his school and at Florida State Science and Engineering Fair.

After a move to Wisconsin, Jeff became a high school chemistry teacher and attended highly-regarded National Science Foundation Workshop for High School Chemistry Teachers but noted the increasing demand for internet connection and computers in the classroom. He shifted his professional focus to supporting technology as a teaching tool which  ultimately led to working for a software company helping schools transition to the technology demands.

These days, Mr. Johnson recently relocated to New Mexico where he enjoys bird watching and photography. He looks forward to getting a telescope to take advantage of the darks skies in his new home, and to reconnect with his love of space.

Please stay tuned after for our takeaways.

Today, Kevin and I meet with Joshua Jones of Jacobs Technology. Mr. Jones has a masters degree in mechanical engineering from University of North Florida and is currently working on his masters in mechanical engineering at UF. In addition to his work for Jacobs, Josh donates his time as the VP of the Missile Space and Range Pioneers, a group of retired and current aerospace enthusiasts., Josh also enjoys gaming, traveling, and building PCs. He will share with us how he came to be interested in engineering as well as share advice for our student listeners in an area of engineering for which they may not be familiar.

And, before we begin, please take a moment to subscribe to our podcast if you have not yet done and please share and review. Doing these simple steps will insure our podcast audience grows organically.

And as always stay tuned for our takeaways after the show.

AIA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Go2Space

Missile, Space, and Range Pioneers Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SpacePioneers/

Today we meet with Dr. Tess Caswell. Dr. Caswell  is an Extra Vehicular Activity or E. V. A Operations Engineer at NASA. Her work helps to  plan spacewalks and prepares astronauts to conduct them. Dr. Caswell holds a bachelor of science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a PhD in Planetary Geology from Brown University. She has previously worked as an Environmental Systems officer in mission control for the International Space Station, lived for a month in a simulated space station as part of NASA's Human Exploration Research Analog, and served as Lead Capsule Controller at the private aerospace company Blue Origin. She is a private pilot and in her free time enjoys flying small airplanes, exercising, or reading a good book.

And before we begin, please take a moment to subscribe to our podcast if you have not yet done and please share and review. Doing these simple steps will insure our podcast audience grows organically.

Dr. Andreas P. (Andy) Bernhard is the Director of Aircraft Design at Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Corporation Company. In this capacity he is responsible for all technical aspects related to the design of blades, rotors, transmissions, airframes, propulsion systems, landing gear, and miscellaneous subsystems This includes developing and implementing next generation strategies & technologies and creating and maintaining effective processes and standard work.

Prior to this assignment, Dr. Bernhard was the Chief Engineer for the CH-53K KING STALLION providing overall strategic leadership for all technical activities of the program, including design development, integration and test, as well as product improvement roadmaps.  Dr. Bernhard was also the Chief Engineer for the S-97™ RAIDER, responsible for all technical aspects spanning design, development, assembly and testing through first flight. From 2008-2013 he was the Chief Engineer for Sikorsky Aerospace Services, responsible for all aspects of Aftermarket Engineering from 2008 to 2013.

Dr. Bernhard graduated from University Johannesburg South Africa) with A Bachelors in . Aeronautical Engineering in 1992 and from the University of Maryland with a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering in 2000. His research was on smart rotor technology including hover testing of blades with active tips, active twist and trailing edge flaps. He holds 5 patents, has authored 12 peer reviewed Journal Articles and over 20 Conference papers. He has also won numerous awards including most recently Vertical Flight Society Technical Fellow (2021) and University of Maryland, Aerospace Department Distinguished Alumni (2020),

Outside of work, Andy is an avid private pilot, is a now recreational (and former competitive) cyclist, and has just recently revisited playing water polo. 

Dr. Liz Knowles began her career as an elementary school teacher in Connecticut but spent most of her career (29 years) at Pine Crest School in South Florida. She earned a master’s in reading and a doctorate in Curriculum Development and Systemic Change both from Nova Southeastern University. Early in her career, she was Director of Professional Development and Curriculum where she assisted more than 300 faculty members with curriculum mapping, launched a teaching certification program, offered in-service classes, and oversaw several school accreditation processes.

Beginning in 1997, she completed the first of her 14 books, The Reading Connection: Bringing Parents, Teachers, and Librarians Together. This text, like her subsequent publications, serves parents, librarians, and educational professionals by offering tips and titles aimed at promoting children’s literacy.

After leaving Pine Crest she served as Director of Content (K-12) for Kaplan Virtual Education and then as Head of Studies, Director of Professional Development, and Diploma Program Coordinator at Boca Prep International School an International Baccalaureate School in Boca Raton. She also spent several years writing curriculum and applications for charter schools in Palm Beach County. 

Today, through Cognitive Advantage, LLC and www.cognitive-fitness.com. Dr. Knowles teaches classes, small groups, and private lessons.

Today, Kevin interviews Shawna Christenson about how she got involved with the Aerospace and Innovation Academy considering her background in English and Debate. Shawna holds a BS in secondary English education and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. She has been teaching well over 20 years in both the public and private sector and was chosen as the National Speech and Debate Association's Middle School Coach of the Year in 2020. She believes in our BLUE-SKY philosophy by taking communications beyond the classroom and into the real world through legislative advocacy and technical writing with her students. She is the "talkie" side of the "techies and talkies" and believes helping students participate and find success in unique, distinctive opportunities early on not only helps students imagines future possibilities but also helps separate them from their peers on high school and college applications. In addition to her work with the AIA, she began Aerospace Public Policy Institute in 2018 and is an officer for both the Missile, Space, and Range Pioneers as well as the Palm Beach section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.  

Today Kevin and I meet with the inspiring Carolyn Kost. I had the opportunity to be hired by Carolyn in 2012and she has been a constant source of insight with regards to curriculum and the college process ever since. For well over twenty years, Carolyn has helped families find the right academic, social and financial fit for their college bound students. Carolyn is an admissions reader for a prominent university and frequent presenter at national conferences. She was mentioned in The New York Times and reads college news all day every day. She has taught in five universities and attended ten, so her experiences offer not only perspectives for parents but also as a student. Her clients have gone on to all the Ivy and Ivy Plus universities like CalTech, Stanford, U Chicago, and MIT, all the Florida publics --which she believes are great viable options—as well as universities in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong, Canada, and all over Europe, which are far less expensive and often teach in English.

In addition to publishing well as over 100 articles for a variety of publications, she has co-authored On To College, a guide to college admissions, and What Are You Waiting For? A Workbook for Living Your Purpose, Path, and Passion. Her book Engage! Setting the Course for Independent Secondary Schools in the 21st Century, has been used as a textbook at Johns Hopkins Graduate School of education. Additionalyl, Carolyn is bilingual and has lived in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Trinidad She now lives in North Palm Beach with her husband, Frank.

Check out the links mentioned in the podcast here:

Reach out to Carolyn at [email protected]

Input "Common Data Set" and the name of a specific university and scroll to section C7  to see what that university values in its admissions process. Do not assume they all prioritize the same elements. That is not the case.

UF Student Outcomes:  https://career.ufl.edu/gain-experience/student-outcomes/

"The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates. Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/college-labor-market_compare-majors.html

Data tool for salaries, underemployment, unemployment by major. Updated often.

"Dream Jobs? Teenagers' Career Aspirations and the Future of Work." OECD. 2020. Report and videos. Dream Jobs? Teenagers' Career Aspirations and the Future of Work - OECD

Dream Jobs? Teenagers' Career Aspirations and the Future of Work - OECD

Data and research on education including skills, literacy, research, elementary schools, childhood learning, voc...

As the Founder of The Harvey Academy, Nancy Harvey embraces the opportunity to share her enthusiasm for learning with her students and teachers every day.  Nancy has over 25 years of teaching experience and holds a Masters in Elementary Education from Chestnut Hill College, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Villanova University, and a Florida Teaching Certificate. Her focus on a concierge education means she is determined to meet each student where they are at educationally and emotionally and helps them to overcome their learning difficulties. Because she believes so strongly in providing opportunities for each child, she brought Kevin and I on board. We look forward to building the AIA as a school track option within The Harvey Academy in the next few years.

As always, stay tuned after the interview to hear about current AIA offerings for your middle and high school STEM loving student.

Check out The Harvey Academy here:  https://www.theharveyacademy.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheHarveyAcademy

Check out The Aerospace and Innovation Academy here: https://www.aerospacehigh.org/ and our facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Go2Space