Aerospace Engineering: From the Ground Up

Ben Senson is a science teacher at Memorial High School. He has been an educational innovator for 20 years having developed the MMSD Remotely Controlled Observatory and its online training program, published activities for the National Project WET initiative, created and taught an Aircraft Construction Experience course, and been a curriculum writer and master teacher for Project Lead the Way's Aerospace Engineering course. Ben is also the lead mentor for the BadgerBOTS Robotics program which operates Wisconsin's largest summer robotics camps, Wisconsin's largest FIRST LEGO League (FLL) program, the Badgerland Regional FLL Tournament, and a Chairman's Award winning FIRST Robotics Competition high school competitive team. Ben is also the coordinator for the Global Academy, an accelerated career pathways magnet program for juniors and seniors offered through a consortium of eight school districts. Ben has a Bachelors Degree in education from the University of Wisconsin Madison, a Masters in astronomy and physics education from Ball State University, and is currently working on a Masters in educational administration at Concordia University.

Jasen Ritter is science and engineering teacher at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas and has been in education for more than ten years. Jasen is a Master Teacher for Project Lead the Way Aerospace Engineering course and was the program developer for the Project Lead the Way/NASA Lunar STEM Enhancement Robotics curriculum. In addition to teaching Physics, he is the lead mentor for the VHS Engineering and Robotic Programs and team mentor for the Computer Science Program. Before arriving at Vandegrift, Jasen was at Arlington High School in Arlington, TX. While there, he was the lead mentor for the Team America Rocketry Challenge, First Tech Challenge, and Engineering/Robotics teams. He was nominated as an AWARE Foundation Finalist for technology in the classroom and served as an advisor for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Aerospace Consortium to help bring local industry into the classroom. Prior to teaching he worked as IT Director for a national sports marketing agency. He has a BS in Psychology and Computer Science from Florida State University and a Masters in Education from Florida State University.