Meet: Edna DeVore

What I do (asked in 1996)
I am the Principal Investigator (PI) and Project Teacher for Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher EnRichment (FOSTER) project. I direct the program for K-12 teachers which offers a summer workshop, electronic communications training, a flight onboard the Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO), and other types of activities for FOSTER teachers and their schools. I began working on the FOSTER project in 1992. Before that, I was a planetarium director and astronomy educator at Sierra College, Rocklin, CA, Independence High School in San Jose, CA, and Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley, CA.

When I was a kid
I was raised in the country on a cattle ranch in the high Sierra Nevada mountains. As a 10 year old standing in my front yard, I saw Sputnik orbit overhead. (Can you figure out my age?). Later, I watched the first astronauts walk on the Moon. From childhood, I have always loved the beauty of a dark night sky glowing with stars and the Milky Way, and have been drawn to astronomy and space exploration from those early experiences. Today, I am an astronomy educator.

When I was in high school, I took academic courses--math, science, English, etc.--and music to prepare for college, and was very active in 4-H and my church. I attended Raymond College at the University of the Pacific, and graduated with a Liberal Arts degree with emphasis in biological sciences. I worked in industrial science research as a technician, and subsequently became a paraprofessional (that's an assistant) at the Sierra College Planetarium in Rocklin, CA. In 1977, I became the planetarium director for Independence High School, and worked there as a teacher/director for about 15 years, and then at Lawrence Hall of Science. Today, I am working with a team of NASA scientists, educators, and KAO staff members on the FOSTER project.

My education
During my time as a teacher, I completed two Master's degrees. The first was a Master's of Arts in Instructional Technology and Design--a program about the design of good learning materials. The second degree was a Master of Science in Astronomy at Steward Observatory, University of Arizona.

During the next year, I plan to continue to work with FOSTER teachers and schools to build partnerships with the scientific, engineering and technical people that work onboard NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory, and to participate in making plans for NASA's next great infrared observatory, SOFIA.

A bit about me
On the personal side, I am married, and have a 12-year-old son who is in the sixth grade.