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Far beyond Klein's classroom, the launch of Sputnik 50 years ago next month sparked an upheaval in how the United States approached space exploration and how its schools taught math and science. The United States would proceed to catch up, of course, launching its own satellites and then, 12 years later, landing astronauts on the moon. Klein grew up to study lunar rocks from one of the Apollo missions before becoming the first female faculty member at Rutgers University's engineering school, she said. Along the way, her education was fueled by a program that arose in direct response to Sputnik. Today, amid a fast-shifting global economy, there are cries that once again the United States is behind, as measured by everything from test scores to technological advances.
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