Meet: Cassie Bowman

Who I Am
I grew up in Iowa--not on a farm, but in a university town. From 6th until 11th grade I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. I even went to zoos and aquariums around the Midwest and volunteered with marine biologists and animal behaviorists. Then, after hearing a presentation on the importance of teachers, I decided I wanted to get into education. I attended Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, where I studied Spanish and education. After graduating, I spent a summer as an intern at the Department of Education and then a semester teaching high school at Kenwood Academy in Chicago. I met a geology professor at Washington University in St. Louis and got offered a job developing some educational outreach activities associated with the FIDO prototype Mars rover. After only a little while in that job, I was hooked!

My first project was working on developing the LAPIS Student Test Mission program. LAPIS involved high school students in testing FIDO by working as a team with other students across the country and with rover scientists. After two years, I went to graduate school at Stanford University to get my Master's in Education Policy and Evaluation. I kept coordinating the LAPIS program and started work on a new project--the Robotics Education Project.

What I Do
I currently work on the Robotics Education Project and the Mars Robotics Education Partnership, which will be part of the educational outreach for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover mission. In my job, I work on the web page, develop webcasts, support the development of robotics-related educational materials for for students and teachers, help support the NASA-sponsored teams taking part in the FIRST Robotics competition, respond to requests for help and information from students, teachers, and the public, and give talks and presentations at conferences and meetings locally and nationally. It is a really fun job! The best part of my job is working to inspire students and teachers to learn more about science, math, technology, NASA, and, of course, robotics!

Free Time!
I love to cook, read, volunteer, hike, travel, and spend time with my husband, friends, and family. When I can, I head back to Iowa to visit my parents, brother, and husband's parents. In college I had the chance to live for six months in both Australia and Spain and I enjoyed the experience so much that I plan to do it again sometime. I also plan to go back to graduate school to get a doctorate in education. I think that I will always work in jobs that are related to education because to me it is really exciting, rewarding, and challenging work.