Mark Westlake, director of the St. Thomas Academy Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been selected as the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s 2024 A. Scott Crossfield Educator of the Year.
The successful nomination was made by Caroline Little, the 2021 Crossfield Educator of the Year. In her nomination, she said, “Mark’s infectious love of engineering and drive to bring ‘real world’ STEM into the classroom and lives of every student he encounters was a key factor in opening the Saint Thomas Academy Innovation Center. This nationally renowned engineering space is so much more than a set of 3D printers, laser cutters, and 3-axis mills. It is a place where innovation comes alive; where drones whiz past as students design aerodynamic pieces for their NASA rover, where engineering students work on designs for a washing machine for the International Space Station, and where life science students are 3D printing cells.”
“It is because of teachers like Mark Westlake that students and teachers alike look towards the heavens with the same sense of awe and wonder that launched the first mission to the moon,” she concluded.
Westlake’s teaching career spans more than 30 years, and his passion for science and engineering can be seen in the projects and contests he makes available to students and teachers, hall of fame officials said.
Classroom activities include NASA HUNCH (High Schools United with NASA Creating Hardware), STEM Day for third to fifth graders, NASA WEAR (Wearable Equipment to Avert Radiation), and the only high school selected to participate in NASA SOAR where students designed, fabricated, and tested an instrument that measured vibration and atmospheric conditions in the unpressurized payload area of a WB-57 High Altitude Plane.
Westlake has earned multiple honors and awards for his work with science and engineering students, including Disney Magic Maker Teacher of the Year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Master Teacher, and National STEM Teacher of the Year.
“The list of previous A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Educator of the Year teachers is so impressive. I am humbled to be included among the likes of Susan Mallett, Caroline Little, Megan Good Tucker, and Jill Weaver,” Westlake said. “Any success that I have experienced is directly related to my amazing students, who are always willing to take on a new project without any fear of failure. Watching them solve problems and learn new skills gives me tremendous hope for our technological future.”
Westlake will receive the award Sept. 13, 2024, at the President’s Reception as part of the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s 60th Enshrinement events. More than 600 people are expected to attend two days of events in Dayton, Ohio, that feature the formal installment of the Enshrinee Class of 2024.
The award, founded in 1986 by Scott Crossfield, is an annual competition that recognizes a teacher for his or her exemplary use of aerospace in their classroom. Crossfield, who was inducted into the hall of fame in 1983, was a renowned test pilot, research pilot, and aerospace researcher. His tests with pressurized suits led to the development of the space suit.
For more information: NationalAviation.org