Press Release

At the age of nine he sat, fascinated, in front of his living room T.V. as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon.

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The next couple of years, he devoured the novels of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. 

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Growing up, he developed a love for all great science fiction, everything from Asimov to Star Trek (every incarnation). 

The morning after watching the launch of the Mars 2001 Odyssey space probe at Cape Canaveral, he committed himself to doing everything he could to advance the cause of space exploration as a professional educator. 

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He helped organize NASA/JPL Solar System Educator conferences where teachers across the nation were taught how to inspire their students toward STEM careers (science, technology, engineering and math).

He teamed his students up with NASA to analyze data from Mars and make 3D Computer maps from their findings. They made the news (here, here, and here).

The Mountainland Applied Technology College earned a spot as one of NASA's Mars Exploration Student Data Teams. The 21 multimedia students created this 3-D rendering of the Mons Olympus, the largest volcano on Mars.

Last year, he won third place in the Mars Education Challenge and had a check presented to him at the National Science Teachers Association Conference in San Francisco by Bill Nye the Science Guy.

(Watch from 3:20 for explanation and 9:48 for the award.) He followed up with a webinar, and will have some accompanying adventures in the Mohave desert later this year.

Today (trumpet fanfare), his name appeared in a press release from NASA headquarters. 

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David, in partnership with a teacher in Wendover (who he met while doing his last project for the Utah School Boards Association), will be part of the first official wave of teachers participating in the new SOFIA program: Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy. He will go up in a plane (airborne observatory) and spend all night around a space telescope. He couldn't be more ecstatic. A short movie, from three years ago, explains more about the program.

Congratulations, David! Once again, you are going where few teachers have gone before. I love you to infinity and beyond!