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Living and Working in Space: Habitat |
Presenters:
Dr. Doug Ming
Doug Ming is a space scientist and works within the Office of Astromaterials Research
and Exploration Science/Human Exploration Science for NASA at the Johnson Space
Center in Houston, TX. He holds degrees in agronomy and soil science from Texas
A & M and Colorado State University.
Doug has been involved in the analysis of the famous martian meteorite, ALH84001,
as scientists debate whether microbes (life) may have been present in this rock.
His research group favors an inorganic explanation for some of the formations within
the meteorite. He also has researched the history of water (past and present) on
Mars, using Mars Viking and Mars Pathfinder data sets. Doug will be a team member
on the upcoming Mars Phoenix Lander Mission in 2007. He has been a co-investigator
for two plant growth experiments that flew on the shuttle and a crew commander for
Lunar/Mars Life Support Test Project, Phase II (a four-person crew test for advanced
life support technologies inside a closed chamber for 30 days).
Doug has produced over 65 peer-reviewed journal articles; over 20 technical articles
and has been the editor of 3 books. He is the inventor of two U.S. patents and three
international patents. When not working on Mars research, Doug enjoys fly-fishing,
running, and mountain biking.
Sheri Klug
Sheri Klug is the Director of the ASU Mars Education Program within the Mars Space
Flight Facility, School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University.
Ms. Klug is the formal education lead for the Mars Public Engagement Team at Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. She has served as the Education and Public
Outreach representative on the Solar System Exploration Subcommittee for NASA Headquarters
and is a member of the Lunar and Planetary Institute Science Council for the Universities
Space Research Association. She has a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Earth Science
Education and is a teacher with K-12 science teaching experience. Ms. Klug has been
involved in the Mars Exploration Program since 1995.
Ms. Klug is a member of the NASA National Girl Scout Leadership training team and
participates in Mars-related public outreach events. The ASU Mars Education Program
team provides hands-on, inquiry-based Mars workshops for K-16 in service and pre-service
educators across the entire United States for all the NASA Mars Missions, creates
and coordinates Earth/Mars-related national field trips. The ASU Mars Education
Program was established over 15 years ago and emphasizes classroom and educator
connectivity with Mars scientists and engineers. The ASU Mars Education Program
is the facilitator of NASA's Mars Student Imaging Project, which allows 5th grade
through community college student teams across the US to participate in authentic
Mars research using a spacecraft camera currently in orbit around Mars.
Don Boonstra
Mr. Boonstra has thirty-three years of experience as an educator. During these thirty-three
years, he has been a teacher, Math and Science Department Chair, Curriculum Coordinator,
Principal, and NASA Education Specialist and Coordinator of the Student Observation
Network. His emphasis has been on development of innovative programs and curriculum.
In the process he has kept current with education research, curriculum innovation
and management techniques.
He has led education teams to develop programs using educational research and best
practices in education. He has led teams to design and implement a unique K-10 Science
Curriculum for learning disabled students, to design and implement a high school
for learning disabled students, and to convert high school science curricula to
the physics-first model complete with the alignment of math objectives. He has successfully
incorporated NASA mission and program science into activities, lessons, units, using
best practices in educational design. The highly successful inquiry-based, virtual
learning environment, Student Observation Network, has been recognized as a template
for best practices in on-line learning and is promoted by NASA Explorer Schools.
Brian Grigsby
Brian Grigsby is the Assistant Director of the ASU Mars Education and Outreach Program within the Mars
Space Flight Facility, School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. He received
his Bachelor Degree in Biology from Humboldt State University and a Masters Degree in Science Education
from Chico State University. Brian is the Distance Learning Coordinator for the program and also assists
in the creation of new Standards-based curriculum that allows educators nationwide to be involved in
the exploration of Mars while continuing to meet their educational objectives. Brian taught high school
science for 7 years in Redding, CA, where he was also a planetarium director for 5 years. While teaching,
Brian was selected to participate in the highly competitive NASA workshops (NEWMAST).
In 2002, he received an IDEAS grant to develop a Virtual Field Trip with a NASA led expedition to the
Licancabur volcano. He was the Education Public Outreach coordinator for that expedition where he spent 26
days in the Andes mountains, transmitting images, videos and stories back to the rural communities of
northern California (via the Virtual Field Trip website). This expedition allowed students to communicate
directly with scientists that were performing real scientific research. His position with the ASU Mars
Education program allows for his love of teaching and his love of Mars exploration to meld together.
Dr. Carolyn Lowe
Carolyn Lowe is an Associate Professor of Science Education at Northern Michigan University where she teaches
content courses in science for preservice and in-service teachers, science methods, and graduate courses in science
education, both in content and pedagogy. She has been a pioneer in transferring best practices to online settings
for teachers in remote areas. Her prior experiences include middle and high school science teaching, instructor at
an Upward Bound Science and Mathematics program and lead teacher for several summer institutes for gifted students in
grades 3-9. She has a bachelor's degree in biology and masters in gifted education. Her doctorate is in biological
education where she focused on ecology and pedagogy. Her dissertation was concerned with the effect of science process
skills in alleviating misconceptions in the concepts of photosynthesis. She has a strong background in applying and
creating standards, current research in learning and science education, and best practices in teaching. She is also a
leader in use of technology to promote learning.
Carolyn first became interested in using closed systems as a teaching tool during her first year of teaching in the
late 1980's. She began using inquiry approaches and guiding her students as they learned about ecosystems, resource
cycling, and matter and energy pyramids. Carolyn was part of a NASA NOVA (NASA Opportunities for Visionary Academics)
grant which supplied funding and support to revise and improve science content courses for preservice elementary
teachers. She was instrumental in bringing the concepts of life in a closed system and living on Mars in an integrated
approach to her Life Science for Educators class and now with graduate level content courses for K-8 teachers. She was
a life science representative as part of a team charged with forming a curriculum framework for the Habitats project as
part of the NASA Explorer Schools program. She is now using her prior experiences with closed systems along with an
inquiry approach and best practices to develop curriculum for the Habitat project.
For more information contact symposia@nsta.org
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