Episode 11

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Published on:

13th Dec 2023

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Deputy Director Talks STEM Ed (Joseph Pelfrey)

Joseph Pelfrey, Deputy Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, discusses his experiences in the thrilling world of space exploration and its impact on STEM education.  Joseph delves into the Artemis Generation that aims to return humans to the moon and pave the way for Mars exploration. He reflects on the lessons learned from historic space missions and emphasizes the importance of melding theoretical knowledge with practical application in STEM education. He says that leadership of a complex organization requires focus on mission, building up people, and learning from history.  Joseph also discusses the crucial skills needed for future space missions, including multidisciplinary engineering and advancements in AI. He shares personal insights from his journey, highlighting the profound impact of educators and the power of dreaming big. This episode is a must-listen for anyone fascinated by space exploration and its role in shaping future STEM education.

Contact Dr. Michael A. Newsome, Show Host, at: stemlab@governors.school

STEM Lab

11

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Deputy Director Talks STEM Ed (Joseph Pelfrey)

South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics

  • Marshall Space Flight Center - NASA
  • Joseph Pelfrey - NASA - Guest. GSSM Alum.
  • Michael Newsome, PhD | SC Governor's School for Science and Mathematics - STEM Lab Host. E-mail: stemlab@governors.school LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michaelanewsome Michael A Newsome is the Vice President of Academics at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, one of the United States' top public STEM schools. Michael oversees curriculum and instruction in the school’s three residential and online academic programs that serve the most talented and motivated students from across the state of South Carolina. Michael manages the operations of the school's faculty and academic service offices such as the registrar, research and inquiry, college counseling, student success, and academic teams and competitions. Michael also teaches economics, finance, and entrepreneurship. Before coming to the Governor’s School in 2016, Michael was a tenured Full Professor of Economics at Marshall University. There, Michael taught undergraduate, masters, and doctoral classes and worked as MBA Director. Michael has taught economics at universities and secondary institutions around the world and has published research in several sub-disciplines of economics. Michael’s primary professional specialty is the management of institutional change, with a particular focus on designing, piloting, and implementing new and efficient value-adding policies and programs.
  • STEM Lab | SC Governor's School for Science and Mathematics - Institutional website for the podcast.
  • SC Governor's School for Science and Mathematics

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About the Podcast

STEM Lab
Preparing students for success in a rapidly changing world.
How can we best prepare our students to be STEM leaders? STEM Lab is for secondary and higher education STEM teachers, administrators, and policy makers. Guest experts from around the United States and the world give us insight into what we should be teaching and how we can best teach it. We discuss the innovative instructional techniques, education research, and societal and economic trends impacting STEM Education.

Host Michael A. Newsome and co-hosts Crystal McGee and Nicole Kroeger are colleagues at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM), a premier public secondary school reaching its state’s most advanced and motivated students thorough residential, virtual, and outreach programs. Michael has a PhD in economics and is GSSM’s Vice President of Academics. He was a full professor of economics and MBA director at Marshall University before working at GSSM. Crystal has a PhD in chemistry and is a GSSM biology instructor. Crystal’s specialty is biochemistry and she had experience teaching in public schools before working at GSSM. Nicole has a PhD in mathematics and is the manager of a GSSM virtual program. Nicole always knew she wanted to be a secondary school teacher and has experience as a GSSM math department chair.

This podcast is produced by the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics. https://www.scgssm.org/govie-media

Contact the show's host and co-hosts at stemlab@governors.school

About your hosts

Michael Newsome

Profile picture for Michael Newsome
Michael A Newsome is the Vice President of Academics at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, one of the United States' top public STEM schools. Michael oversees curriculum and instruction in the school’s three residential and online academic programs that serve the most talented and motivated students from across the state of South Carolina. Michael manages the operations of the school's faculty and academic service offices such as the registrar, research and inquiry, college counseling, student success, and academic teams and competitions. Michael also teaches economics, finance, and entrepreneurship.

Before coming to the Governor’s School in 2016, Michael was a tenured Full Professor of Economics at Marshall University. There, Michael taught undergraduate, masters, and doctoral classes and worked as MBA Director. Michael has taught economics at universities and secondary institutions around the world and has published research in several sub-disciplines of economics.

Michael’s primary professional specialty is the management of institutional change, with a particular focus on designing, piloting, and implementing new and efficient value-adding policies and programs.

Nicole Kroeger

Profile picture for Nicole Kroeger
Nicole Kroeger is the manager of the online diploma program at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, one of the United States' top public STEM schools. Nicole also teaches mathematics courses at GSSM including calculus, precalculus, and upper level math electives.

Nicole earned her PhD in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame in 2014 and started teaching at GSSM in August 2014. During her time at GSSM, she served as mathematics department chair for 4 years and currently manages one of GSSM's virtual programs.

Crystal McGee

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Crystal McGee is a biology instructor for the residential program at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (SCGSSM), one of the United States’ top public STEM schools. Crystal is currently teaching AP biology and a mentored research course, and has plans to offer advanced beyond-AP electives after her first year. She has a passion for teacher professional development.

After earning a PhD in Chemistry with a specialty in Biochemistry from the University of South Carolina - Columbia in 2019, Crystal began teaching secondary science in the South Carolina public school system. In August of 2023, Crystal joined SCGSSM as a biology instructor. In addition to teaching biology and mentoring students on research projects, Crystal serves her students by acting as an advisor of for Science Olympiad and other clubs at the SCGSSM.