The
West Michigan Flight Academy’s Managing Director Ginger Devillers was one of
fourteen people selected for NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy program, known as SOFIA. Devillers and her partner Lisa Wininger from
Plainwell Middle School are considered 2015 Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors. The
ambassadors come from 12 different states plus the District of Columbia.
Devillers and Wininger are the first participants from Michigan.
The
SOFIA program consists of a “flying observatory in a highly modified Boeing
747SP jetliner carrying a 100-inch (2.5-meter) effective diameter telescope.
Fitted with instruments that collect data at infrared wavelengths, SOFIA flies
at altitudes between 39,000 and 45,000 feet (12-14 kilometers) on 10-hour
overnight science missions.”
The
goal of the project is that each educator team will complete a graduate credit
astronomy course and then will be paired with a team of professional
astronomers conducting science flights aboard SOFIA. After their flight
experiences, ambassadors take what they've learned from the program into their
classroom and communities to relate the scientific discovery process and its
value to society.
"The
Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program gives science educators a unique
opportunity to interact with all facets of a NASA science mission," said
John Gagosian, SOFIA Program Executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
"Not only are these educators witnessing scientific research first-hand,
they're seeing the wide range of professional and technical expertise needed to
support that research, from engineering to technology to mathematics. This
program shows educators the excitement of frontier science, and it shows
students the multitude of career paths within NASA's programs."
The
WMFA is excited to see Devillers working in fields that directly relate to our
classrooms. For the past year, the WMFA has partnered with the Plainwell middle
school STEM program to bring real world math and science to the students through
aviation related curriculum. Devillers and Winiger’s participation in the
SOPHIA program is another step towards our program’s ultimate goal: to
stimulate interest in aeronautics among ethnic minorities and women and
increase the diversity in the aerospace industry.
The
WMFA is excited and proud of Devillers and her accomplishments. We are excited
to see her join such prestigious ranks. It is a highly competitive program, and
we cannot wait to see what experiences she can bring back to the classroom for
our students. Please join us in congratulating her on this wonderful
achievement. 
WMFA programs are made possible in part by grants from the Sebastian Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Outstate Michigan, the Keller Foundation, Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Women's Division Chamber of Commerce (Muskegon), Local Corporations & individuals like you.
