In recognition of Tim Peake’s outstanding contribution to raising the profile of STEM subjects amongst young people in the United Kingdom, the STEM Ambassadors Programme is making him the UK’s first honorary STEM Ambassador.
Yvonne Baker, Chief Executive of STEM Learning, which delivers the UK-wide STEM Ambassadors programme on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), said:
“By becoming our first honorary STEM Ambassador, Tim Peake is supporting over 30,000 UK STEM Ambassadors across the UK who voluntarily give their time, enthusiasm and commitment to encourage young people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These volunteers help open young people’s eyes to a world of opportunities and possibilities which come from pursuing STEM subjects and careers.
STEM Ambassadors not only inspire young people, they also support teachers and others working with young people to contextualise STEM and so ‘bring it to life’. The community of STEM Ambassadors includes apprentices, zoologists, set designers, climate change scientists, engineers of all disciplines, farmers, designers, geologists, nuclear physicists, architects, physicists, ice core chemistry technicians, pharmacists and energy analysts – and now an astronaut!
Following the huge excitement and interest sparked by the Principia Mission, we cannot think of a better person than Tim to become our first honorary STEM Ambassador.”
Tim Peake is a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut from UK. He finished his 186-day Principia mission working on the International Space Station for Expedition 46/47 when he landed back on Earth 18 June 2016. Tim has a background as a test pilot and a British Army Air Corps officer.
Tim accepted this honour at the Principia Schools conference in York on 5 November – his last event in the UK before heading back to Houston, Texas. This event celebrated the work of children across the UK who have been involved in projects related to Tim’s Principia mission, including ESERO-UK’s Tim Peake Primary Project.