02.07.

07

Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1761

Lindsay Crouch
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-3189

Harla Sherwood
National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, Va.
757-636-6300

RELEASE: 07-010

FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN SPACEWALKER SPEAKS AT NATIONAL

CONFERENCE

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA)

will host the 12th Annual Pre-Service Teacher Conference Feb. 15-17
at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, in Alexandria, Va.

Former Astronaut Bernard Harris Jr. will kick off the conference as
the keynote speaker Feb. 15. Harris was the payload commander on
shuttle flight STS-63, the first flight of a new joint
Russian-American Space Program in 1995. During the flight, Harris
became the first African-American to walk in space. He completed 129
orbits and traveled over 2.9 million miles during his career as an
astronaut.

Media interested in attending the conference or interviewing Harris

should contact Sonja Alexander at 202-577-6571.

This national conference will host approximately 300 prospective

elementary and middle school teachers and faculty advisors from 50
member institutions representing Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal
Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and selected majority institutions.

During the conference, students and faculty will be exposed to

invigorating general sessions, 60 hands-on workshops and a judged
poster session. The conference also includes a career fair where
students have the opportunity to interview with recruiters from
approximately 34 school districts as well as graduate schools from
across the country.

Networking opportunities are provided for the prospective teachers and

faculty to exchange experiences. As an important extension of the
conference, the teachers-to-be are able to apply for the limited
spaces available at Pre-Service Teacher Institutes held in the summer
at various sites across the country.

The conference was created to help undergraduate education students

develop the confidence and skills to effectively teach mathematics
and science using cutting-edge technology and educational materials
only NASA can provide.

The Pre-Service Teacher Program is a partnership between NASA, the NIA

and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. NIA is a non-profit
research and graduate education institute, created by a consortium of
leading research universities and the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), to complement NASA's mission to
conduct innovative aeronautics, space and atmospheric research;
develop new technologies; and to inspire the next generation of
explorers.

For information about conference events on the Web, visit:

http://research.nianet.org/pstc/index.html
For more information on research at NASA, visit:

www.nasa.gov

-end-