“ThunderBarb,” that’s the callsign my employees on the U.S. Nationwide Science Basis Nationwide Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) jokingly gave me after they discovered I’d been chosen because the U.S. Air Pressure Thunderbirds’ Hometown Hero for the Joint Base Andrews Air Present. Aviation turned part of my life later than I as soon as imagined, however the ardour was at all times there. I bear in mind filling out a profession curiosity type in junior excessive and writing “fighter pilot.” At the moment, doorways to army aviation weren’t open to ladies, so my path took a distinct flip. But, as life has a method of doing, it circled me again to the skies.
This honor displays how seamlessly my skilled and private journeys have intertwined—each fueled by the identical calling: inspiring and making ready the following era of STEM leaders. As a profession educator working throughout the U.S. Nationwide Science Basis framework, my focus has at all times been on Broader Impacts—creating significant, partaking STEM packages that increase entry and alternative. And since my private passions—science and aviation—so naturally align, I usually blur the strains between “work” and “life,” utilizing each alternative to attach college students, educators, and the general public with the surprise of discovery.
NSF NRAO employees and volunteers shared hands-on STEM actions with 1000’s of tourists of all ages in the course of the air present. Picture credit score NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO.
The Joint Base Andrews Air Present completely showcased that intersection. Along with my group, our outreach sales space within the STEM hanger showcased the NSF NRAO’s nationwide (and worldwide) networks of radio telescopes, a few of the largest and strongest within the U.S., and the world. We demonstrated how radio astronomy and aviation share a typical language—radio waves. Utilizing receivers, software-defined radios, and a horn antenna, we confirmed how these invisible indicators not solely unlock the secrets and techniques of the universe but additionally preserve our skies secure by way of programs like ADS-B, which broadcasts plane place and altitude in actual time. Guests have been enthusiastic about this connection, and educators, engineers, dad and mom, and youngsters alike discovered concerning the NSF Inexperienced Financial institution Telescope that’s virtually of their again yard, just some hours from the bottom, in West Virginia.
NSF NRAO employees and volunteers shared hands-on STEM actions, together with a conveyable radio horn antenna, with 1000’s of tourists of all ages in the course of the air present. Picture credit score NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO.
After which there have been the Thunderbirds. What can I say? They embody excellence. From the second I arrived, each member of the group—the flight surgeon, gear specialists, public affairs officers, medics, and maintainers—welcomed me with professionalism, heat, and a contagious ardour for his or her craft. And Thunderbird #7? That flight wasn’t only a experience—it was a reminder of the facility of dedication, teamwork, and daring to dream massive.
Picture credit score Blind Squirrel Images.
ThunderBarb was flown by Thunderbird #7, Lt Col Tyler Keener. Throughout their air present efficiency Barb had the most effective seat in the home, as their jet adopted behind a number of key formations. Picture credit score U.S. Air Pressure Thunderbirds.
Was I destined to be a fighter pilot, like my 13-year-old self as soon as dreamed? Perhaps not in physique, however in spirit, completely. That flight jogged my memory that aviation and astronomy provide so many pathways—every one thrilling, every one impactful. To the Thunderbirds, as that wide-eyed 13-year-old who first dared to dream, I provide my heartfelt thanks.
ThunderBarb takes off with Thunderbird #7 experiencing an unrestricted climb, the place the F-16 accelerates to a excessive pace at low altitude, then pulls the nostril vertically to climb quickly into the sky. Picture credit score U.S. Air Pressure Thunderbirds.
Dr. Barbara Gruber is the Assistant Director of Training and Public Outreach for the U.S. Nationwide Science Basis, Nationwide Radio Astronomy Observatory and a scholar pilot with an hour of F16D flight time in her pilot log guide.
