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Using aviation education to promote interest in science, technology, engineering, and math in rural Alaska. AvSTEM is currently in two villages in western Alaska. Grant Funk has lived in Hooper Bay for 10 years, and is actively involved with youth and aviation education in the Hooper Bay school. Over the past 3 years, the Hooper Bay AvSTEM program has been building a Thorp T-211 experimental airplane through Build A Plane. They hope to fly the Thorp in the next year. Grant also does distance education aviation courses with the Pilot Station, AK school.

"Materials Science and Engineering major, with concentrations offered in Biomaterials and Nanotechnology. As expected, the program provided a solid grounding in what materials science really is. Students explore materials from the atomic level all the way through crystal structures, multiphase systems, and bulk properties. You'll have an opportunity to learn why objects' matter matters. You'll explore the details of why glass shatters, metal bends, and rubber bounces back-and that's just in one class on mechanical properties. If you're more interested in how the circuits in your computer are fabricated, or why hip replacements are made of titanium instead of aluminum, you won't even have to go looking for courses in other departments. Materials Science is one of the most fundamental, and therefore most interdisciplinary, fields that exists today. In many core classes, you'll find more students from other majors than from the department itself."

"I love to fly. I've flown in jetliners, in sailplanes, in balloons, in helicopters, in gyro- planes, in small airplanes, and in antique aerobatic airplanes. But more than any other type of flying, I love ultralight-type flying."

In 1793... Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard in Philadelphia makes the first manned free balloon ascent in America in a hydrogen balloon. Blanchard ascends from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and lands in Deptford, Gloucester County, New Jersey. One of the flight's witnesses that day was President George Washington. Blanchard also holds the record of first balloon flights in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland

"Today in Aviation History - January 12 In 1866… The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain is founded in London (later to become the Royal Aeronautical Society) and is still in existence today. In 1892… Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer, is born (d. 1976). Gurevich was a Soviet aircraft designer, a partner (with Artem Mikoyan) of the famous MiG military aviation bureau. In 1929… First U.S. air mail stamped envelopes are available for sale."

"Engineering education in K-12 classrooms is a small but growing phenomenon that may have implications for engineering and also for the other STEM subjects--science, technology, and mathematics. Specifically, engineering education may improve student learning and achievement in science and mathematics, increase awareness of engineering and the work of engineers, boost youth interest in pursuing engineering as a career, and increase the technological literacy of all students. The teaching of STEM subjects in U.S. schools must be improved in order to retain U.S. competitiveness in the global economy and to develop a workforce with the knowledge and skills to address technical and technological issues."

Audience: Educators Grades: 9-11 WISH wants female high school juniors to participate in a pilot project. Beginning with an online collaboration in fall 2010, selected applicants will compete to participate in a summer 2011 workshop at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. There they will work alongside female NASA engineers and interns and collaborate in hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The WISH Flier explains how to apply.

"Aviation High School, part of Highline Public Schools but open to students across the region, has been in temporary locations since it opened in 2004. The new facility is being built in collaboration with The Museum of Flight. In addition, Aviation High School was the first college preparatory aviation-themed high school in the nation and is dedicated to becoming the premier school of choice for science, technology, engineering and math learning in the region."

Women In STEM High School Aerospace Scholars Engineer your dream job. The Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars project offers a one-of-a-kind experience for female high school juniors to jump-start their futures and explore the possibilities of a major or career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Participants begin their adventure in an online community. The project culminates with a summer experience at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Collaborate with girls from across the country and female NASA engineers and interns. Applications are due Feb. 15, 2012.

"Today In Aviation History - December 31 - In 1908… Wilbur Wright at Auvours, France, makes the first flight over 2 hours. He flies for 2 hours and 20 minutes, covers 77 miles, and wins the Michelin Cup for 1908. In 1951… This year, for the first time, air passenger miles flown (10.6 million) have exceeded passenger miles traveled in Pullman cars on the railroad (10.2 million). In 1958… This year, for the first time, more passengers (1.2 million) have crossed the North Atlantic by air than by sea."

NASA is taking a leading role in the effort to inspire interest in STEM through its unique mission, workforce, facilities, research and innovations. NASA is continuing to pursue three major education goals: strengthening NASA's and the nation's future workforce, attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines, and engaging Americans in NASA's mission. Read the highlights of NASA's education strategy in pursuance of these goals, and learn about the education milestones and accomplishments achieved by NASA Education in 2009.

How can you engage your students and be sure they are learning the conceptual foundations of a lecture course? In From Questions to Concepts, Harvard University Professor Eric Mazur introduces Peer Instruction and Just-in-Time teaching -- two innovative techniques for lectures that use in-class discussion and immediate feedback to improve student learning. Using these techniques in his innovative undergraduate physics course, Mazur demonstrates how lectures and active learning can be successfully combined. This video is also available as part of another DVD, Interactive Teaching, which contains advice on using peer instruction and just-in-time teaching to promote better learning. For more videos on teaching, visit http://bokcenter.harvard.edu

"In an era when women are increasingly prominent in medicine, law and business, why are there so few women scientists and engineers? With Why So Few?, AAUW presents compelling evidence that can help to explain this puzzle. The research report presents in-depth yet accessible profiles of eight key research findings that point to environmental and social barriers - including stereotypes, gender bias and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities - that continue to block women's participation and progress in science, technology, engineering, and math."

"Whether they are created by nature or in the lab, chemical substances are all made of some combination of just 118 pure elements. These elements come together to produce an amazing diversity of materials. In this interactive, discover which elements are most abundant in the universe, the sun, and the Earth as well as in the human body and in that flashiest of human creations-fireworks. "

"The use of computers and computer languages in education has been impressive in the last couple of years.  More and more school going kids use computers in the heart of all academic and personal development than ever. Such use has been phenomenal in helping improve classroom interactive learning, bettering student grades and improving competitiveness in a modern education setting, among others."

MENTORING Tomorrow's Professional Pilot Leaders - one-on-one mentoring by an experienced professional who shares her knowledge, connections, and guidance personally with you. Mentoring is key to your personal success as a pilot, and also to our collective advancement in aviation. The Ninety-Nines has potential mentors for you in every conceivable pilot career, from ballooning scenic tour operator to Shuttle Pilot. Even better, get matched to a woman professional pilot mentor in your area of interest through our formal mentoring program. The 99s Professional Pilot Leadership Initiative aims to provide highly motivated women pilots with the tools necessary to develop their pilot careers and leadership, through guided activities and formal mentoring partnerships with women pilot professionals, in a three-phase 18 to 24 month structured program. Get the latest PPLI Fact Sheet. Get a mentor - be a leader! Participation is open to 99s members who are in or plan to pursue a pilot career. For more information and application

Today In Aviation History - December 27 In 1773… George Cayley is born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. Pioneer of early aviation regarded by many as the father of flight. His glider takes his coachman on the first manned flight in 1853."

NASA Space Grant ESCAPE to Alaska Summer Camp The Alaska Space Grant Program in partnership with NASA invites students and teachers to a summer camp opportunity at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. ASGP/NASA will provide training and experiences for students and teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The camp is a one-week professional development program for educators of grades 7-12 and a one-week academic summer program for students entering grades 8-12 in the fall. Attendees have the opportunity to choose from two modules - "FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Training" and "Energy in Alaska." Camp sessions take place in mid-June. Applications are due June 4, 2011.

"Premiering in North America at the Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC), this cutting-edge exhibition reveals David Hockney's extraordinary use of a new medium, and its impact on shaping visual culture today. Hockney is one of the world's most acclaimed contemporary artists, and Fresh Flowers is his first major show in Canada in over two decades. David Hockney began working with the iPhone in 2008. He's since created hundreds of finger-drawn images using the Brushes app, ranging in subject from flowers and self-portraits to landscapes and still life. These colourful digital drawings were first created to email to his friends."

These apply to aviation and aerospace as well. "Math used in professional auto racing involves every type of math learned in school today. Math is used in every aspect of a race car's design and performance. Drivers are analyzed using every known math equation possible to determine how good a driver is on the race course. Some math concepts used in auto racing"