Newton receives Sally Ride Excellence in Education Award

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Elizabeth Newton poses with students at the Battelle Center
Elizabeth Newton (center) with aerospace engineering alumna Kayla Watson (left).

The Ohio State University’s Elizabeth Newton has received the 2021 Sally Ride Excellence in Education Award from the American Astronautical Society. Newton is the executive director of Ohio State’s Battelle Center for Science, Engineering and Public Policy, and an associate professor of integrated systems engineering.

Named after the first American woman in space, the Sally Ride Excellence in Education Award recognizes an outstanding educator in either the delivery of space education or the use of space in STEM education. Newton, who joined Ohio State in 2016, has been recognized for re-imagining traditional higher education and radically transforming the Battelle Center in order to prepare students to act, innovate and lead in the public interest.

“I only met Sally once, when she spent a day with me and others at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. She had such an impact on the space program and on women in STEM, I’m humbled to receive an award named for her!” said Newton.

Newton’s innovative model stewards a student community for the air and space industries, engaging hundreds of students from 12 different colleges in exploring the industries’ political, economic, social, legal and technical dimensions. This community reminds students that it isn’t just the engineers that allow us to fly, but that we all have a part to play in our exploration of the sky.

Aerospace engineering alum Nic Flesher (’18) nominated Newton for the award on behalf of the many students and graduates she has impacted through Ohio State’s Battelle Center. “Those who Dr. Newton mentored now work in space fields across the country including government policy, healthcare and engineering. They are still learning their fields and navigating their careers, but grounded in what Liz showed them, they are building inclusive cultures around themselves,” said Flesher.

Another former student, Andrew Steen (’18 aerospace), believes this is an award well-deserved and credits Newton and the Battelle Center for helping him get where he is today.

“They forever have my gratitude for the semesters of training, teaching and friendship. I thoroughly and honestly owe them for who I am today: a confident young professional with an excellent career in the space industry,” said Steen.

“Dr. Newton has taken me from a student to a young professional, polished and ready to enter the workforce,” added alumna Kayla Watson (’18 aerospace), highlighting that Newton’s influence and care do not stop once students have graduated. “Dr. Newton has additionally served as a phenomenal mentor. We usually meet up and enjoy coffee once a week—virtually during the pandemic—and I am always left in awe from her insightful advice and wisdom.”

Sally Ride started Sally Ride Science in 2001 to inspire young people—especially girls—to stick with their interest in science and to consider pursuing careers in science and engineering. She served as CEO of the company until her death on July 23, 2012, after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. In 2013 Sally was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor.

The Sally Ride Excellence in Education Award will be presented at the 2021 AAS Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium taking place in October in Huntsville, Alabama, which is home to NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the US Army Space and Missile Command. Huntsville will also be the future home of U.S. Space Command.

modified version of original article on battellecenter.osu.edu 

Categories: AwardsFaculty