Willem Nicklason

Before joining DART, Willem served as the teaching assistant for the beginner and advanced GIS course at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he taught students to collect, organize, and analyze geospatial data using a range of GIS and drone-based platforms. He holds an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate and served as the pilot in command on infrastructure site analysis projects that supported the installation of solar charging stations for electric vehicles. Willem currently teaches as the CTE instructor for the Flight, Aerospace, Systems, and Design class at Pajaro Valley High School, where students are building a fully functional Van’s RV-12iS aircraft at the Watsonville Municipal Airport. He earned a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UC Santa Cruz. When not teaching, Willem enjoys rock climbing, motorcycling, bird watching, and woodworking.