National Academies Press: OpenBook

NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities (2020)

Chapter: Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

« Previous: Appendix A: Science Activation Portfolio
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

Appendix B

Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

MARGARET A. HONEY (Chair) is the chief executive officer and president of the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI). Among her current interests at NYSCI is the role of design-based learning in promoting student interest and achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. She is widely recognized for her work using digital technologies to support children’s learning across the disciplines of STEM. Prior to joining NYSCI, she spent 15 years as vice president of the Education Development Center (EDC) and director of EDC’s Center for Children and Technology. While at EDC, she was the architect and overseer of numerous large-scale projects funded by organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute for Education Sciences, the Carnegie Corporation, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Energy. She also co-directed the Northeast and Islands Regional Education Laboratory, which enabled educators, policy makers, and communities to improve schools by helping them leverage the most current research about learning and K–12 education. Dr. Honey has shared what she has learned before Congress, state legislatures, and federal panels, and through numerous articles, chapters, and books. She formerly served as a board member of the National Academies Board on Science Education and currently serves as a member of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education’s advisory committee. Her book Design, Make, Play—Growing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators explores the potential of these strategies for supporting student engagement and deeper learning. She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Columbia University.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

NETA A. BAHCALL is the Eugene Higgins professor of astrophysics at Princeton University. She is director of the Undergraduate Program in Astrophysics and past director of the Council on Science and Technology of Princeton University. Her work focuses on galaxies, clusters of galaxies, superclusters, and quasars. She combines observational data from large-scale surveys (such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and others) and other observations to determine the structure in the universe and its properties and compares it with those expected from cosmological simulations. Along with her colleagues, the determination of properties such as the cluster correlation function, the cluster mass function and its evolution, the mass-to-light function from galaxies to superclusters, the geometrical shape of clusters and of large-scale structures have provided powerful constraints on cosmology including one of the first determinations of the mass-density of the universe and the amplitude of mass-fluctuations. Dr. Bahcall works closely with students and postdoctoral fellows; their work is summarized in over 300 scientific publications. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. She received her Ph.D. from Tel-Aviv University, working in nuclear astrophysics.

BRONWYN BEVAN is senior research scientist at the University of Washington. Her research examines how science learning can be organized to empower individuals and communities. She is the principal investigator (PI) of the NSF-funded Research + Practice Collaboratory, the One Sky Institute, and several other federally and privately funded projects. For over two decades, she worked at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, where she led the teaching and learning, and research on learning programs. She served on the National Academies’ Committee on Out-of-School Time STEM Learning and is on the editorial board of the journal Science Education. She holds her B.A. in history from Barnard College, Columbia University and received her Ph.D. in urban education from the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.

JESSICA COVINGTON is a senior program assistant with the Board on Science Education (BOSE) and is currently supporting the Committee on Assessing the NASA Science Activation Program and the Developmental Math proceedings. Along with assisting on BOSE projects, she also maintains the BOSE Webpage with all the upcoming events and reports. Before joining the DBASSE team, she was the administrative assistant to an architectural and interior design firm in the DC metro area. In 2015, she received her B.S. in psychology from Frostburg State University.

KENNE A. DIBNER (Study Director) is a senior program officer with the Board on Science Education. She served as the study director for the

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s consensus studies Learning Through Citizen Science: Enhancing Opportunities by Design and Science Literacy: Concepts, Contexts, and Consequences, as well as the deputy director for Indicators for Monitoring Undergraduate STEM Education. Prior to this position, she worked as a research associate at Policy Studies Associates, Inc., where she conducted evaluations of education policies and programs for government agencies, foundations, and school districts, including an evaluation of a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Indian Education to provide citizen science programming to tribal youth. She has also served as a research consultant with the Center on Education Policy and served as a legal intern for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and the Workforce. She has a B.A in English literature from Skidmore College and a Ph.D. in education policy from Michigan State University.

WENDY GRAM has worked at the interface of science and education for more than 25 years, publishing in both the scientific research and science learning literature. She is passionate about science, data, and learning, and is committed to engaging diverse audiences in “doing science.” As part of the Senior Leadership Team for COMET, a UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) education and training program, she leads program management, a team of scientists and instructional designers, and supports business development and proposal management. Prior to joining COMET, she was the lead for Science Engagement and Education for the NSF-funded National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) for 10 years. Dr. Gram led development, implementation, and evaluation of education and engagement programs and tools to enable the scientific community to effectively discover, access, and use NEON data and resources. As director of science and education at NEON, she also led a team of 60 scientists, technicians, educators, graphic designers, and outreach specialists that executed NEON Science and Engagement activities. Before joining NEON in 2008, she spent 9 years as head of education at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma. There, she was a member of the Senior Leadership Team for the museum and led programs that integrated science with educational programming, such as innovative teacher professional development workshops, field courses, K–12 classes, and exhibit development. She holds a B.A. in biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolution from the University of Missouri.

ROGERS HALL is Wachtmeister professor of mathematics education in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University. His research

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

concerns learning and teaching in STEM conceptual practices, comparative studies of embodied action in these practices, and the organization and development of representational practices more generally. Before joining the Vanderbilt faculty, where he served as chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning between 2011 and 2017, he taught for 10 years at the University of California (UC), Berkeley. Dr. Hall is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association and has been a residential fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences (Stanford University, 2007–2008), the UC Humanities Research Institute (2001), and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (1999). He has also been a NAE/Spencer Foundation and McDonnell Foundation postdoctoral fellow (1996–1997). Dr. Hall completed his Ph.D. in information and computer science at the University of California, Irvine.

ABIGAIL JURIST LEVY is the co-director of EDC’s STEM portfolio and a science researcher whose work seeks to understand the conditions, policies, and programs that enable STEM teachers to do their best work preparing all students for continued STEM learning and careers. Her work often focuses on the costs and cost- effectiveness of programs and policies relating to science teaching, and she has contributed to the knowledge base about teacher turnover and its cost, the professional development of science teachers, and the impact of an inquiry-based approach to science teaching. During her tenure at EDC, she has studied science fair participation and impact, the cost and cost-effectiveness of different models of elementary science instruction, and how teachers adapt to large-scale curriculum reform. She is a widely published author and has managed several multiyear research and evaluation studies funded by the National Science Foundation. She holds a Ph.D. in family and children policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.

CATHRYN A. MANDUCA has nearly two decades of experience leading national programs to improve geoscience education and undergraduate STEM education. She is the director of the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College and the executive director of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. This work supports communities of educators in learning together and collaborating to create resources supporting widespread improvement. The 30,000+ pages comprising the SERC Websites are seen by more than 5 million visitors per year. Her research focuses on understanding faculty learning and the impact of professional networks on educational practice. She serves on the Board on Science Education and the LabX Advisory Board for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and has served on the elected leadership for the American Geophysical Union and AAAS Educa-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

tion Section in the past. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Geological Society of America, and past recipient of the American Geophysical Union award for Excellence in Earth and Space Education. She received her B.A. in geology from Williams College and her Ph.D. in geology from the California Institute of Technology.

RAFI SANTO is a learning scientist focused on the intersection of technology, education, equity, and institutional change. He is the principal researcher at Telos Learning and a research associate at CSforALL (Computer Science for ALL Students). Centering his work within research-practice partnerships, he has studied, collaborated with, and facilitated a range of organizational networks related to digital learning and computing education. Within informal education, he has focused on design of innovation networks, working with both regional networks including the Mozilla Hive NYC Learning Network, a collective of 70 informal education organizations, as well as national networks, including the Digital Learning Challenge community supported by the Susan Crown Exchange. His K–12 work with CSforALL looks at how school districts develop equitable, values-driven computer science initiatives. His research on Hacker Literacies has appeared in journals including International Journal of Learning and Media and Digital Culture & Education, and he is coauthor of a four-volume collection on digital making from MIT Press titled Interconnections: Understanding Systems through Digital Design. His scholarship spans multiple levels of activity—from understanding youth trajectories across multiple settings to investigating policy implementation and organizational design—in order to develop practical insights that come from a holistic perspective. He has received support from the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Mozilla Foundation, the Susan Crown Exchange, and Google. He received his B.A from New York University and his Ph.D. in learning sciences from Indiana University.

DENNIS SCHATZ is senior advisor at Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington, and also senior fellow at the Institute for Learning Innovation. He was the inaugural field editor of Connected Science Learning, a journal that highlights links between in-school and out-of-school learning. The journal is a joint effort of NSTA (National Science Teaching Association) and ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers). He was recently elected to be president of NSTA, which involves a 3-year commitment—president-elect in 2018–2019, president in 2019–2020, retiring president in 2020–2021. In addition, he is on the board of BSCS Science Learning and a technical advisor to the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC). A research solar astronomer prior to his career in science education, he

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

worked at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the UC, Berkeley, prior to moving to Seattle in 1977. At Pacific Science Center, he has held a broad range of positions from director of the astronomy education in his early years to vice president for exhibits and vice president for education to senior vice president in more recent years. At Pacific Science Center, he served as PI for a number of NSF projects, including the Science Center’s innovative Community Leadership project that develops science advocates in community-based organizations, and the nationally touring exhibit, Aliens: Worlds of Possibilities, which explores the nature of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life in the galaxy. He was the founding director of Portal to the Public, a nationwide effort to assist science-based professionals to engage with public audiences. He earned a B.S. in physics and astronomy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an M.S. in astronomy from the UC, Berkeley.

HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER (Board Director) is the director of the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She has served as study director or costudy director for a wide range of studies, including those on revising national standards for K–12 science education, learning and teaching science in grades K–8, and mathematics learning in early childhood. She also coauthored two award-winning books for practitioners that translate findings of the National Academies reports for a broader audience, on using research in K–8 science classrooms and on information science education. Prior to joining the National Academies, she worked as a senior research associate at the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education. She also served on the faculty of Rice University and as the director of research for the Rice University School Mathematics Project, an outreach program in K–12 mathematics education. She has a Ph.D. in psychology (developmental) and anthropology and a certificate in culture and cognition, both from the University of Michigan.

MARK SHOWALTER is a senior research scientist and fellow at the SETI Institute. His research focuses on the dynamics of rings and small moons in the solar system. Known for his persistence in planetary image analysis, Dr. Showalter’s early work with Voyager data led to the discoveries of Jupiter’s faint, outer “gossamer” rings and Saturn’s tiny ring-moon, Pan. Starting in 2003, his work with the Hubble Space Telescope led to the discoveries of “Mab” and “Cupid,” small moons of Uranus now named after characters from Shakespeare’s plays. His work also revealed two faint outer rings of dust encircling the planet. In 2011, he initiated a Hubble observing program focused on Pluto, which led to the discoveries of two tiny moons. Their names, “Kerberos” and “Styx,” were selected through an international naming campaign. Dr. Showalter also discovered the 14th

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

known moon of Neptune, Hippocamp. He is a co-investigator on NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn and its New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond. In addition to his research, Dr. Showalter manages the Ring-Moon Systems Node of NASA’s Planetary Data System. The site provides public access to images and other data from NASA’s Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, and New Horizons missions, from the Hubble Space Telescope, and from a variety of earth-based telescopes. He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from Cornell University.

SUSAN SULLIVAN is the director of diversity and inclusion for Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and focused on bringing awareness to the need for science to serve society, to attract diverse talent, and to develop a culture where all involved can thrive. Her formal training is in atmospheric chemistry, while her primary foci as an educator has been in climate change and climate communications. She was previously the president of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) and has served as PI for multiple NASA grants and has been the education lead for two mission-based project teams in earth and space science. Through her work with NAGT, she has helped build the capacity for the Next Generation Science Standards along with her work through the Digital Library for Earth Systems Education. She received her B.S. in chemistry from California Polytechnic State University and her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from University of Colorado Boulder.

TIFFANY E. TAYLOR is currently an associate program officer for the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. In this role, she provides research and planning support for several ongoing projects including the Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education, an expert study to assess the NASA Science Activation Program, and a consensus study on Minority Serving Institutions: America’s Underutilized Resource for Strengthening the STEM workforce, in collaboration with the Board on Higher Education and Workforce. She is currently the study director for the Workshop on the Increasing Student Success in Developmental Mathematics, which brought together a variety of stakeholders who have developed and/or implemented new initiatives to improve the mathematics education experience for all students. Taylor came to the National Academies as a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow in 2017, where she also worked with the Board on Science Education. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Howard University and her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She is extremely passionate about the inclusion of persons of diverse backgrounds in science, and aspires to leverage her Ph.D. training and science policy experience to address education equity within society in both domestic and global settings.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×

BRYAN KENT WALLACE serves as a physics faculty member and is the director of physics laboratories at Fisk University. In that capacity, he assumed responsibility for the modernization and instruction in all physics undergraduate laboratories, as well as laboratory curriculum. Under his supervision, the physics laboratories have advanced from partial to full computerization of data collection and received numerous improvements by way of renovation, organization, and utilization of more efficient equipment. He is currently primary investigator for Fisk University’s Rocket Science Program, titled Altitude Achievement Missile Team (F.A.A.M.T). This program was built from scratch to compete in a NASA competition known as University Student Launch Initiative, wherein the students design, build, launch, and recover a sounding rocket carrying a scientific payload, which must achieve an altitude of exactly 1 mile. Wallace studies effective mentor-ship models for university students in science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers as well as engaging in mentoring programs aimed at building self-efficacy in underrepresented populations in K–12. The goal of these efforts is to encouraging them to become full participants in their STEM curriculum and eventually go into STEM-related careers. He holds an Ed.D. in learning organizations and strategic change.

MING-YING WEI retired in 2016 from NASA Headquarters after serving more than 20 years as a program manager in the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate. Her portfolio included supporting graduate and early-career research in Earth system science with emphasis on the utilization of space-borne observations and resources, as well as promoting the teaching, learning, and public understanding of earth and environmental sciences. She has conducted research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and served as a rotator in the Atmospheric Sciences Division at the National Science Foundation. Wei received her Ph.D. in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.

JULIE YU is a senior scientist at the Exploratorium, San Francisco’s museum of science, art, and human perception. She provides science content support throughout the museum and works with teachers to bring inquiry-based science learning to their classrooms as part of the Exploratorium’s Teacher Institute, a nationally recognized teacher professional learning center. With a broad interest in all sciences, her work and research have spanned from viruses and stem cells to teacher learning and inquiry to concrete and cement. This has led to a myriad of opportunities, including teaching science to Tibetan monks and nuns, launching an explosion of 2,000 ping pong balls, and acquiring a U.S. patent. Yu holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from Brown University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering with a minor in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 123
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 124
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 125
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 126
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 127
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 128
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 129
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25569.
×
Page 130
Next: Appendix C: Kristen Erickson's Presentation to the Committee »
NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $60.00 Buy Ebook | $48.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is one of the United States' leading federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) agencies and plays an important role in the landscape of STEM education. In 2015, NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) created the Science Activation (SciAct) program to increase the overall coherence of SMD's education efforts, to support more effective, sustainable, and efficient use of SMD science discoveries for education, and to enable NASA scientists and engineers to engage more effectively and efficiently in the STEM learning environment with learners of all ages. SciAct is now transitioning into its second round of funding, and it is beneficial to review the program's portfolio and identify opportunities for improvement.

NASA's Science Activation Program: Achievements and Opportunities assesses SciAct's efforts towards meeting its goals. The key objectives of SciAct are to enable STEM education, improve U.S. scientific literacy, advance national education goals, and leverage efforts through partnerships. This report describes and assesses the history, current status, and vision of the program and its projects. It also provides recommendations to enhance NASA's efforts through the SciAct program.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!