Lynne F. Zielinski has a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Colorado and a master's degree in physics from Northeastern Illinois University. She has been teaching physics, astronomy and space science for 27 years. Ms. Zielinski has been engaging students in NASA programs since 1987, overseeing more than 60 nationally placed and NASA Center winners.

The Glenbrook Aerospace Development Get-away Experiment Team (GADGET), a student organization established by Zielinski, has flown nine active and more than 200 passive experiments on six Space Shuttle missions, seven sub-orbital NASA rockets, two NASA drop-tower experiments, two NASA C-9 aircraft reduced experiments and a NASA high-altitude balloon. GADGET has also collaborated on NASA experiments with students in Israel, Portugal and Morocco. Ms. Zielinski and her GADGET students have conducted educational outreach for K-12 students in three states, and at state and national teacher workshops.

Lynne's creative and passionate commitment to science education is demonstrated through a wide range of efforts including authorship of student experiment results in NASA journals, contributions to NSIP resource guides, chapter sets in physical science textbooks, and designing educational websites and activities for national astronomy programs. Ms. Zielinski's research includes work at NASA Johnson Space Center in the Space Station Training Division (1990-91) and at the University of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory (2000-01) where she helped launch a NASA rocket into the aurora and created astronomy and space science education curricula.

Some of Ms. Zielinski's awards include the NASA NSIP Hall of Fame Award (2004), AT&T Broadband Awesome Teacher Award (2002), Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching (2000), Christa McAuliffe Memorial Award (1999), Tandy Technology Scholar in Science Teaching (1998), John F. Kennedy Award for Courage (1994), National Space Educator Award (1988), and state semifinalist for NASA's Teacher in Space Program (1985).

Ms. Zielinski teaches at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois and resides in Long Grove, Illinois.