❌

Normal view

NASA’s Career Technical Education Day Highlights Technical Careers

11 June 2026 at 17:21

3 min read

NASA’s Career Technical Education Day Highlights Technical Careers

Students participate in a hands-on robotics demonstration during Career Technical Education Day at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Students participate in a hands-on robotics demonstration during Career Technical Education Day at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
NASA/Mark Knopp

At NASA, remaining a global leader in exploration and innovation includes having a skilled
and dedicated workforce. Technicians play a critical role in advancing the agency’s
research and missions, applying hands-on expertise across engineering, fabrication,
electronics, and countless other technical fields.


To help cultivate the next generation of technical talent, NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement
hosted Career Technical Education Day recently at NASA’s Langley Research Center in
Hampton, Virginia. One hundred high school and community college students from Virginia
and North Carolina attended, eager to explore the technical career paths that help drive
NASA’s work.


β€œMany students picture NASA as only astronauts or engineers and therefore never consider
a career at NASA to be within their reach,” said Bonnie Murray, lead for the Office of STEM
Engagement at NASA Langley. β€œBringing students from local career and technical
education programs to Langley allows them the opportunity to see technicians at work,
hear the pathways those technicians followed, and understand how the skills they are
developing in their related classes have a place in the NASA workforce.”


The event opened with remarks from NASA Langley’s Steve Gayle, who traced his path from
an engineering technician co-op in the center’s Fabrication Division and a graduate of
Langley’s Engineering Technician Apprentice Program to his current role as acting
associate director. Gayle encouraged students to embrace challenges, think critically, stay
curious, and create their own opportunities as they pursue their career goals.


β€œWe need young, bright minds,” Gayle said. β€œAt NASA, we rely on skilled hands-on
professionals β€” technicians who operate our wind tunnels, apply their skills in our
fabrication shops, and use their electronics knowledge to design, test, and build critical
systems.”

Students visit NASA Langley Research Center’s model shop during Career Technical Education Day to learn about the materials and techniques technicians use to build model aircraft and spacecraft.
Students visit NASA Langley Research Center’s model shop during Career Technical Education Day to learn about the materials and techniques technicians use to build model aircraft and spacecraft.
NASA/Ryan Hill

Throughout the day, students toured several of Langley’s world-class facilities, including
the historic Landing and Impact Research Facility and one of the center’s wind tunnels. At
each stop, they received a behind-the-scenes look at the spaces where NASA technicians
build, test, and refine the tools and technologies that support the agency’s missions. The
technicians spoke with students about their work, their career paths, and the skills needed
to excel in technical roles.


Hands-on demonstrations and interactive activities lead by NASA technicians and
aerospace industry partners helped students connect their classroom experience with
real-world applications. Whether observing fabrication techniques, seeing instrumentation
up close, or engaging with engineering demonstrations, participants experienced how
STEM and technical skills directly translate into meaningful careers.


β€œThrough events such as this, NASA seeks to prepare students for aerospace careers
through experiences and investments that strengthen research capacity, build technical
expertise, and expand reach in alignment with agency missions and needs,” Murray said.
The event ended with a career panel moderated by NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, associate
director of mission and strategy at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and former
math and science teacher. The panel featured four Langley technician apprentices who
shared insights into their roles and the value of strong foundational skills in technical
fields.

Wyatt Healy, mechanical engineering technician apprentice at NASA’s Langley Research Center, answers questions during a career panel featuring NASA Langley technician apprentices during Career Technical Education Day.
Wyatt Healy, mechanical engineering technician apprentice at NASA’s Langley Research Center, answers questions during a career panel featuring NASA Langley technician apprentices during Career Technical Education Day.
NASA/Ryan Hill

β€œA basic grasp of how software, systems, and even everyday items function goes a long way
as you progress in your technician journey,” said Wyatt Healy, mechanical engineering
technician apprentice at NASA Langley. β€œWhen you have those fundamentals down,
learning the more advanced concepts becomes much easier. It doesn’t happen overnigh
but with a strong foundation, the sky is the limit.”


By connecting students with NASA professionals, facilities, and hands-on experiences, the
event showcased a broad range of opportunities available in technical careers. It also
underscored NASA’s commitment to building a strong, skilled workforce equipped to
support the agency’s mission and tackle the challenges of tomorrow.


For more information about opportunities to connect students with NASA’s mission, work, and people, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources

Brittny McGraw
NASA Langley Research Center

The post NASA’s Career Technical Education Day Highlights Technical Careers appeared first on NASA Science.

NASA’s Career Technical Education Day Highlights Technical Careers

11 June 2026 at 17:21

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Students participate in a hands-on robotics demonstration during Career Technical Education Day at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Students participate in a hands-on robotics demonstration during Career Technical Education Day at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
NASA/Mark Knopp

At NASA, remaining a global leader in exploration and innovation includes having a skilled
and dedicated workforce. Technicians play a critical role in advancing the agency’s
research and missions, applying hands-on expertise across engineering, fabrication,
electronics, and countless other technical fields.


To help cultivate the next generation of technical talent, NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement
hosted Career Technical Education Day recently at NASA’s Langley Research Center in
Hampton, Virginia. One hundred high school and community college students from Virginia
and North Carolina attended, eager to explore the technical career paths that help drive
NASA’s work.


β€œMany students picture NASA as only astronauts or engineers and therefore never consider
a career at NASA to be within their reach,” said Bonnie Murray, lead for the Office of STEM
Engagement at NASA Langley. β€œBringing students from local career and technical
education programs to Langley allows them the opportunity to see technicians at work,
hear the pathways those technicians followed, and understand how the skills they are
developing in their related classes have a place in the NASA workforce.”


The event opened with remarks from NASA Langley’s Steve Gayle, who traced his path from
an engineering technician co-op in the center’s Fabrication Division and a graduate of
Langley’s Engineering Technician Apprentice Program to his current role as acting
associate director. Gayle encouraged students to embrace challenges, think critically, stay
curious, and create their own opportunities as they pursue their career goals.


β€œWe need young, bright minds,” Gayle said. β€œAt NASA, we rely on skilled hands-on
professionals β€” technicians who operate our wind tunnels, apply their skills in our
fabrication shops, and use their electronics knowledge to design, test, and build critical
systems.”

Students visit NASA Langley Research Center’s model shop during Career Technical Education Day to learn about the materials and techniques technicians use to build model aircraft and spacecraft.
Students visit NASA Langley Research Center’s model shop during Career Technical Education Day to learn about the materials and techniques technicians use to build model aircraft and spacecraft.
NASA/Ryan Hill

Throughout the day, students toured several of Langley’s world-class facilities, including
the historic Landing and Impact Research Facility and one of the center’s wind tunnels. At
each stop, they received a behind-the-scenes look at the spaces where NASA technicians
build, test, and refine the tools and technologies that support the agency’s missions. The
technicians spoke with students about their work, their career paths, and the skills needed
to excel in technical roles.


Hands-on demonstrations and interactive activities lead by NASA technicians and
aerospace industry partners helped students connect their classroom experience with
real-world applications. Whether observing fabrication techniques, seeing instrumentation
up close, or engaging with engineering demonstrations, participants experienced how
STEM and technical skills directly translate into meaningful careers.


β€œThrough events such as this, NASA seeks to prepare students for aerospace careers
through experiences and investments that strengthen research capacity, build technical
expertise, and expand reach in alignment with agency missions and needs,” Murray said.
The event ended with a career panel moderated by NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, associate
director of mission and strategy at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and former
math and science teacher. The panel featured four Langley technician apprentices who
shared insights into their roles and the value of strong foundational skills in technical
fields.

Wyatt Healy, mechanical engineering technician apprentice at NASA’s Langley Research Center, answers questions during a career panel featuring NASA Langley technician apprentices during Career Technical Education Day.
Wyatt Healy, mechanical engineering technician apprentice at NASA’s Langley Research Center, answers questions during a career panel featuring NASA Langley technician apprentices during Career Technical Education Day.
NASA/Ryan Hill

β€œA basic grasp of how software, systems, and even everyday items function goes a long way
as you progress in your technician journey,” said Wyatt Healy, mechanical engineering
technician apprentice at NASA Langley. β€œWhen you have those fundamentals down,
learning the more advanced concepts becomes much easier. It doesn’t happen overnight,
but with a strong foundation, the sky is the limit.”


By connecting students with NASA professionals, facilities, and hands-on experiences, the
event showcased a broad range of opportunities available in technical careers. It also
underscored NASA’s commitment to building a strong, skilled workforce equipped to
support the agency’s mission and tackle the challenges of tomorrow.


For more information about opportunities to connect students with NASA’s mission, work, and people, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources

Brittny McGraw
NASA Langley Research Center

A Clean Energy PAC Helped Beat Chip Roy, and Now It Has New Targets

29 May 2026 at 20:47
A PAC representing wind and solar energy interests spent $1.1 million to boost the Republican primary opponent of Chip Roy, an opponent of renewables. Now they are trying to save a Republican ally in Iowa.

Β© Michael A. McCoy for The New York Times

A group of renewable energy investors paid for this projection on the side of the Energy Department building in Washington gloating over Representative Chip Roy’s defeat in a Republican primary for Texas attorney general.

Revisiting the Velocity-Time Function

24 May 2026 at 15:31
Kinematics: The Velocity-Time Function Author’s Preface: A Collaborative Approach to Lesson Development The intention behind what I hope will be a series of articles on Kinematics (this one being the first) is to begin an open, collaborative process of lesson development on Physics Forums. In order to expedite this workflow, I am making deliberate use...

Remote Operated Gate Control System

28 February 2026 at 22:11
Introduction This project began life in 2017 when the author had just begun experimentation with GPIO pins on a Raspberry Pi 3. At that point in time a greatly appreciated Christmas presentΒ  was an β€œExplorer Hat” module which provided the aspirant programmer with 5 volt tolerant input and output channels (analogue and digital) , capacitive...

Inside the Scientific Box: History and Challenges Today

13 October 2025 at 14:54
In Memoriam In Memory of Dr. Thomas J. LeCompte (1964-2025), Detector Designer and Champion of Education and Science. Prologue Defining β€œthe box” Someone who shows interest in science is initially a welcome development. So are fresh ideas from unexpected quarters. In contrast, there is a scientific community that is meticulously organized down to the last...

Hybrid AI Video Codecs and Modern Streaming Techniques

25 January 2025 at 00:33
Introduction AI and Hybrid Codecs Modern Video codecs are all based on similar principles. Recently, these have been complemented by AI techniques, such as super-resolution, to form hybrid codecs. The current state of the art is one of transition to have one based only on AI eventually: https://deeprender.ai/ Codecs using only AI are several years...

Why Division by Zero Is Impossible: 10 Mathematical Reasons

11 January 2024 at 16:41
A division by zero is primarily an algebraic question. The reasoning therefore follows the indirect pattern of most algebraic proofs: What if it was allowed? Then we would get a contradiction, and a contradiction is the greatest enemy of mathematical rigor. Many students tried to find a way to divide by zero once in their...

Modern DACs, Dither, DXD & High-Res Audio Explained

12 December 2023 at 01:08
Introduction First, we need some background in Digital Signals. This can be mathematically quite advanced, but since I would like this article to be accessible to as wide an audience as possible, here is a link that explains what is needed (not even Calculus is required): https://brianmcfee.net/dstbook-site/content/intro.html Shannon’s Sampling Theorem An important point not emphasized...
❌