Luther W. Richardson- 2007 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award Recipient
Luther W. Richardson was selected as the 2007 recipient of the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. This award, given by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Space Foundation was presented April 9, 2007 in Colorado Springs during the Opening Ceremony of the 23rd National Space Symposium.
“We are pleased to join the Astronaut Memorial Foundation and NASA in honoring such a deserving and forward-thinking educator with the Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award. This year, we are especially proud that a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison Alumni, Luther Richardson, was selected for his noteworthy accomplishments in bringing science and math to life for thousands of students and teachers through space and technology.”
Richardson was chosen for the effectiveness, depth, breath, and impact of his work with students and teachers. He established and heads the Columbus NASA Connections program in Columbus, Ga. This NASA earmark program combines the excitement space, technology, and hands-on experiments to teach science and math across the curricula to elementary, middle, and high schools.
The Connections program impacted over 30,000 students across the Muscogee County School District by using a multi-tiered system that includes student-initiated and directed near space experiments. Science and math education are further integrated through the program with a comprehensive system of teacher training and technology that tie the program together.
Further, the predecessor to the Connections program, also founded by Richardson, was the most successful space science student group in the country with over 20 experiments selected for space flight or testing at NASA centers.