Levi Maaia, a Ph.D. candidate at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School, has been named to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) U.S. Education Committee. the ARISS program provides learning opportunities to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) through a partnership among NASA, the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation and other amateur radio organizations and pace agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe. The program’s goal is to inspire students in the U.S. and worldwide to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through amateur radio.
Maaia is a telecommunications executive, a member of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club’s board of directors, and a former K-12 educator. He earned his first amateur radio license in 2006 and presently holds an FCC General Class license K6LCM. Maaia’s research in the Department of Education at UCSB has focused on STEM education in high school settings. He and his students at Anacapa School in Santa Barbara contacted Astronaut Chris Cassidy during his stay aboard the ISS in 2013 via a scheduled ARISS radio contact.
“I am thrilled to join in ARISS’s inspiring team of engineers, educators and innovators that has supported more than 1,100 contacts directly between students and astronauts,” Maaia says. “ARISS provides incredible and inspirational experiences and is an important part of the space program’s educational outreach.”
The ARISS-US Education Committee provides guidance on the educational aspects of the program.