By Arun Kumar 

Washington, Jan 31 (IANS) A teacher from Maharashtra in India has been chosen for the US Space Foundation's elite 2012 Flight of Teacher Liaisons programme.

Vandana Suryawanshi of Vidya Valley School in Maharashtra is a middle school educator who has been teaching biology, earth science and general science for 20 years. He joins 19 other outstanding educators selected for their active promotion of space and science education.

The new flight of Teacher Liaisons will serve as advocates for space-themed education across the curriculum and will use Space Foundation-provided training and resources to further integrate space principles into the classroom, the Colorado Springs based non-profit leader in space awareness activities, educational programmes announced.

The highly regarded Space Foundation Teacher Liaison programme has more than 270 active participants.

The teachers are selected by a panel comprising experienced Teacher Liaisons and representatives from the space industry and the military.

The 2012 Teacher Liaisons will be publicly recognized at the Space Foundation's 28th National Space Symposium, which is being held April 16-19 at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In addition to the recognition activities, the 2012 Teacher Liaisons will participate in workshops and education programmes at the 28th National Space Symposium.

Following the symposium, Teacher Liaisons can take advantage of specialised training and instruction at Space Foundation and NASA workshops with optional graduate-level credit; exclusive science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professional development experiences with optional continuing education credit; and special space-oriented student programmes created just for Teacher Liaisons.