Bob Clark

Curriculum Developer @Infinity Aero Club Tampa

Tampa, FL, US

Underprivileged students can be unaware of STEM careers, or do not aspire to them because they have fewer relatable adult role models in STEM industries to mentor them. I was hired by a community of such role models to modify existing drone and aviation curriculum for these students. I reviewed several existing curricula. I used my experience teaching middle school science and high school technology to underprivileged children as guidance and together with AI for production assistance I created a new curriculum for a 60-instruction-hour hands-on summer camp program. The curriculum recast available material from the FAA and other public sources in a story-driven, gamified, hands-on, problem-solving and level-adjusted introduction to drone technology, drone uses and business, basic aviation engineering and aerodynamics, and FAA regulation and licensing. All students left the program FAA TRUST certified to operate drones, with significant piloting skills, and ready to take the FAA part 107 test for federal commercial drone operations licensing. Immediate employment in drone operations, and careers in aerospace engineering are now being considered by several students each. I now have a student-tested aviation outreach curriculum in-hand suitable for re-use in various schools, outreach programs, and for science teacher professional development.

San Jose City College

AS Applied Math, General Education, 4.0

De Anza College

Design, Manufacturing, and Technology

San Jose State University

MS Aerospace Engineering, Vehicle Dynamics, Robotics, Control Systems, 3.5

San Jose State University

BS Aerospace Engineering, Aero/Thermal Dynamics, 3.24

Mission College

Fine Arts Student, Figure drawing, 2D/3D design, 4.0