About me:
I have been involved in education & public outreach (as well as website development) at NASA since my summer internship in 1996. I have worked for the Lab for High Energy Astrophysics, the Lab for Terrestrial Science, the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, and the Astrophysics Science Division. As a result, I have had experience in both the space and earth sciences, though my academic background is in astrophysics and physics. Over the years I have: written articles about astrophysics; worked with teachers; developed activities and lesson plans; created posters and other print materials; designed and created websites, on-line learning centers, and games; and run high-profile social media accounts and events - all to help bring NASA science to the public and to educators. Currently, I am the NASA social media lead for the JWST mission.
Education:
I received BS degrees in Physics and Astronomy/Astrophysics, with a Math minor from the Pennsylvania State University in 1997.
Interviews/Profiles:
- My NASA CV
- "Inside the James Webb Telescope’s Viral Moments—and How They Won a Webby for It"
- "Looking for Art in the James Webb Telescope," The New Yorker magazine, 2023
- A mention on Cosmosphere's Women's History Month page in 2022. I'm not sure I deserve to be in such amazing company, but thanks for including me!
- A 2017 interview I did with the Girl Teaches Girl blog about women in STEM. The blog is gone now, but I copied the interview Q&A to a page on this site to preserve it!
Recent Refereed publications:
Stewart E. M., A. Zelinskie, M. Masetti, et al. 2024. "Equitable and Inclusive Public Outreach with the James Webb Space Telescope: Combining Art, Science, and Technology." 53rd International Conference on Environmental Systems [Full Text] [Proceedings]
Stewart E., A. Zelinskie, M. Masetti and et al. 2023. "Unfolding the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope: Combining Art, Science, and Technology for Public Outreach." 52nd International Conference on Environmental Systems [Full Text] [Proceedings]
Portfolio:
Select Outreach/Social Media Highlights:
- Received two Robert H. Goddard awards and a NASA Agency Honor Award with Isabelle Yan
- "Inside the James Webb Telescope’s Viral Moments—and How They Won a Webby for It" - a 2024 interview with our Webb social media team about our 2023 Webby Award win.
- As of October of 2024, over 3.3 million followers on NASAWebb's Twitter/X and over 3.5 million on Instagram, over 400 million views on Webb's Flickr. My social team wrote NASA's top 2 social media posts of all time (engagements) for Webb's First Images.
2023 Webby People's Voice winner for Social Media -> Education & Discovery -> campaigns category (and honoree in another category) for "NASA"s James Webb Space Telescope Unfolds the Universe," a 10 month launch to first images social media campaign. ( View our "For Your Consideration" presentation)
Organized and ran the NASA Agency's first Twitter Spaces.
Curated Ashley Zelinskie's "Unfolding the Universe" JWST-inspired art exhibit on ONX Gallery in NYC.
Facilitated Webb's "Key Facts International" - facts about Webb in 50+ languages:
#UnfoldTheUniverse: organized launch social media campaign of Webb science-inspired art created by and contributed to our gallery by the public (300 submissions and counting).
2020 update to "Build It Yourself: Satellite": updated my game where you get to be the scientist and build your own space telescope.
2020 update to "Scope It Out": updated my game for comparing JWST, Hubble, and a simple backyard telescope
#JWSTArt: organized social media campaign of JWST-inspired art created by and contributed to our gallery by the public (over 500 submissions and counting).
2017 JWST Art Exhibit: organized a NASA Goddard Visitor Center exhibit of JWST-inspired art which was created as a result of the 2016 artist event. Links: Original art event announcement | Tumblr about the event | online gallery of the art | announcement of exhibit | write-up on exhibit | #JWSTArt social media campaign | #JWSTArt gallery | Tumblr about 2019 exhibit | Joanna Barnum interview with Outdoor Painter magazine.
The art has also been shown in two separate exhibits in Austin, TX. Links: Austin Chronicle, review of the Art.Science.Gallery exhibit, Online gallery.
2016 JWST Artist Event: organized a highly successful social media event for artists to come create art in front of JWST
NASA Blueshift: between 2007 and 2016, wrote blogs (over 225) and was part of 50 podcasts for NASA Blueshift, the Astrophysics Science Division's "backstage pass" to the science, missions and people involved in NASA Goddard astrophysics.
"Amelia the Pigeon": team member for development of this K-4 feature for learning about change over time. (no longer available)
The Cosmic Distance Scale: a feature for learning about the size and scale of the universe
X-ray Spectroscopy and the Chemistry of Supernova Remnants: a series of lesson plans
Shedding a New Light on the Universe: an informational booklet on X-ray astronomy
Misc work:
A Q&A about the Big Bang and the James Webb Space Telescope with Nobel Laureate Dr. John Mather
a piece I wrote on a JWST "selfie" which actually captures part of a critical test.
A NASA.gov feature on my first flash telescope game, Scope It Out.
- A NASA.gov feature on my second flash game, Build It Yourself: Satellite!
I assisted with the initial research and design for "The Adventures of Amelia the Pigeon", an interactive web site that was developed to teach children in grades K-4 about remote sensing and change over time. Below is a poster I made advertising Amelia the Pigeon that I'm partial to. Who doesn't love the Papyrus font?
