UTSA Professors, Carmen Fies and Chris Packham, were presented an Eddy Award by San Antonio’s School of Science and Technology.
(May 30, 2019) -- Professors Carmen Fies and Chris Packham at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have been honored for their efforts to enhance STEM education in San Antonio schools by creating and nurturing educational partnerships in the community.
Fies, an associate professor in the UTSA College of Education and Human Development (COEHD), and Packham, an associate professor in the UTSA College of Sciences, received an Eddy award from the School of Science and Technology (SST) this month. The 2019 SST Education Awards, or Eddy awards, honor parents and community members who work with students and educators to help them achieve their goals and succeed.
"SST works to prepare our students to be successful in STEM fields of study and for the high demand, highly valued career opportunities that will follow. Nothing is more important in that effort than professional development for teachers. Professors Fies and Packham have provided teachers throughout San Antonio with amazing experiential learning in physics and astronomy. Their work makes science exciting and engaging in classrooms across our city,” said Nancy Thompson, Director of Community Outreach and Communications at School of Science and Technology.
As members of the faculty of UTSA, a top research and urban serving university, Fies and Packham have built and enhanced relationships at schools across San Antonio to encourage current and future educators to get excited about modern astronomy, a science they say serves as a gateway to STEM learning.
Nearly two years ago, Fies, Packham and faculty members at UTSA, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), and the McDonald Observatory began to collaborate on astronomy education with the San Antonio Teacher Training Astronomy Academy (SATTAA). SATTAA provides pre- and in-service teachers with content and pedagogical knowledge, technology tools, and practical resources facilitating STEM education in their classrooms as a way of inspiring students to remain in STEM education.
“We believe that the inspirational nature of astronomy and the commonly held interest by young future scientists can be used to help attract and maintain interest in STEM, for the good of all scientific and high-technology disciplines, not just astronomy,” explained Packham.
“SATTAA is one of the most exciting endeavors I am part of. The program seeks to not only build astronomy content expertise in educators, but to also reignite the passion for looking at the night sky as our window to the universe,” said Fies.
During the SATTAA, participants visit local and regional educational and STEM facilities such as the Witte Museum, McDonald Observatory and Scobee Planetarium. They explore topics such as the solar system, stars, galaxies, dark matter, exo-planets, optics and the future of astronomy. The program is funded by NASA and National Science Foundation grants awarded to Fies and Packham, respectively.
This year, SATTAA will be held from June 10 to 21.
Learn more about Carmen Fies.
Learn more about Chris Packham.
Learn more about SATTAA.
Celebrate UTSA’s 50th Anniversary and share social media posts about the 50th using the hashtag #UTSA50.
Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
The San Antonio Military Health and Universities Research Forum (SURF) attracts presenters from around the nation to showcase the work of students, trainees, faculty and staff. The mission of the SURF conference is to “advance research collaborations among academic, military, and industry partners to improve health outcomes and readiness.”
TBDThe NHERI Summer Institute is a free event for early-career faculty, NHERI Graduate Student Council, K-12 educators from the San Antonio area, engineers, and researchers to learn more about the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) community.
La Villita Room (DBB 1.116,) Durango Building, Main CampusConnect with peer mentors and fellow first-gen and transfer students, and learn how you can join UTSA's First-Gen programs for the Fall 2023 semester.
Mentoring Hub (MS 2.02.02,) Multidisciplinary Studies Building, Main CampusBuilding the Dual Language Leader Symposium will provide a safe space for current and aspiring leaders to learn best practices, theories, policies, and systems that support a dual language bilingual education.
UTSA Southwest Campus, 300 Augusta St.Streaming of Spray the Word that will conclude with a discussion with San Antonio's Poet Laureate, Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson.
Aula Canaria (BVB 1.328,) Buena Vista Street Building, Downtown CampusCelebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at our very own street fair - Calle UTSA. We will have activities, performances, food, music, and pinatas to break open! All free to UTSA students, faculty, and staff.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
