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Astronaut Inspires Students at Belfast Met
Former NASA Astronaut and STEM advocate Greg Johnson Colonel, USAF, Ret. presented inspirational talks to the staff, students and stakeholders of Belfast Met to motivate and encourage the future scientists of tomorrow. The event’s proceedings took place at Titanic Quarter Campus by special invitation from the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and in partnership with InvestNI, Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) and Nacelle Systems Consultancy.
Johnson has a wealth of experience in the Space Science arena serving as a pilot on his first space mission, which delivered the Kibo logistics module and the Dextre robot arm to the International Space Station. Johnson has also served in numerous roles for NASA including as a Capcom for several missions. At present time he is the President and Executive Director for the Centre for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS).
During his presentation Johnson highlighted to students the significant technological developments in Space Science and he shared his experience and stories of working on space missions. The event is part of a series of initiatives to educate and ignite the ambitions of young people who aim to engage with STEM industries.
Director of Curriculum Jonathan Heggarty stated –
“Inviting inspirational speakers like Greg Johnson to speak to our students illustrates that their aspirations and dreams can be realised. STEM skills are highly sought-after in the current Northern Ireland job market from IT to Biomedical Science therefore Belfast Met supports young people into the STEM industries and steers them towards achieving their ambitions.“Pictured : Greg Johnson, Director of Cirriculum Jonathan Heggarty, physics students Tammie Girvin and Tony Liu.