Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ph.D.
Director, Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.

Tyson's professional research interests are broad, but include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a 12-member commission that studied the Future of the US Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a 9-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which will help guide NASA through its perennial need to fit its ambitious vision into its restricted budget.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title “Universe.” And among Tyson's ten books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS-NOVA 4-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host. The program premiered on September 28 and 29, 2004.

Two of Tyson's recent books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto's planetary status. The PBS/NOVA documentary "The Pluto Files", based on the book, premiered in March 2010.

For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS-NOVA's spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.

During the summer of 2009 Tyson identified a stable of professional standup comedians to assist his effort in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk. Now also a podcast, StarTalk Radio combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. The target audience is all those people who never thought they would, or could, like science.

Tyson is the recipient of fourteen honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson”. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” by People Magazine in 2000.

In February 2012, Tyson releases his tenth book, this one exclusive devoted to space exploration: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, and he is currently working on a 21st century reboot of Carl Sagan's landmark television series COSMOS, to air in 13 episodes on the FOX network in 2013.

Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium. Tyson lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Salman Khan
Founder and Faculty, Khan Academy

Sal Khan is the founder of the Khan Academy, a free online education platform and not-for profit organization. He has produced over 2,200 popular videos elucidating a wide spectrum of concepts, mainly focusing on mathematics and the sciences, in his home. His official channel, Khan Academy has, as of February 2011, attracted more than 41 million views.

Khan was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, to immigrant parents from Barisal, Bangladesh and Calcutta, India. Khan was valedictorian of his high school class and attained a perfect score in the math portion of his SATs. Khan holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: a BS in mathematics, a BS in electrical engineering and computer science and an MS in electrical engineering and computer science. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

In late 2004, Khan began tutoring his cousin, Nadia, in mathematics over the Internet using Yahoo!’s Doodle notepad. When other relatives and friends sought his tutelage, he decided it would be more practical and beneficial to distribute the tutorials on YouTube where he created an account on
November 16, 2006. Their popularity on the video-sharing website and the testimonials of appreciative students prompted Khan to quit his job as a hedge fund manager in late 2009 to focus on developing his YouTube channel, Khan Academy, full-time.

His videos proved popular, attracting on average more than 20,000 hits each. Students from around the world have been attracted to Khan’s concise, practical and relaxed teaching method. Khan outlined his mission as to “accelerate learning for students of all ages. With this in mind, we want to share our content with whoever may find it useful.” Khan also plans to extend his free school to cover topics such as English and history. Programs are being undertaken to use Khan’s videos to teach those in isolated areas of Africa and Asia. He delineated his motives: “With so little effort on my part, I can empower an unlimited amount of people. I can’t imagine a better use of my time.”

Khan has been featured on the PBS NewsHour, CNN, NBC Nightly News and National Public Radio. In 2009, the Khan Academy received the Microsoft Tech Award for education. In 2010, Google provided $2 million to support the creation of more courses and to enable the Khan Academy to translate its core library into the world’s most widely spoken languages. In October 2010, Khan was tied for #34 in FORTUNE’s annual “40 Under 40,” a list recognizing business’s hottest rising stars. In March 2011, Khan was invited to speak at TED by Bill Gates who claims to use the Khan Academy Exercise
Software to teach his own children. 
 

Virginia Secretary of Education Laura Fornash

Laura W. Fornash was appointed Secretary of Education by Governor Bob McDonnell on August 23, 2011. As a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, the Secretary assists the Governor in the development and implementation of the state’s education policy.

In addition, Secretary Fornash provides guidance to the 16 public universities, the Virginia Community College System, five higher education and research center, the Department of Education and the state-supported museums. Prior to this appointment, she served as Deputy Secretary of Education and as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation, and Investment.

Before joining the McDonnell administration, Mrs. Fornash spent 20 years with Virginia Tech in a number of different divisions including student affairs, continuing education, distance learning, and government relations.

She most recently served as the Director of State Government Relations for the University. She was the school's Restructuring Project Director with the responsibility of managing Virginia Tech's implementation of the 2005 Restructuring Act that created new levels of operational autonomy for all public higher education institutions in exchange for meeting certain academic performance measures. She was Director of the Virginia Tech Richmond Center, an extended campus center, where credit and noncredit programs were offered to working professionals.

In 1998, as the Director of Information Technology Programs, Mrs. Fornash launched an innovative web based interdisciplinary masters degree program to help transition professionals into the information technology field as result of research conducted for the International Technology Association of America.

Mrs. Fornash received her undergraduate and masters degree from Virginia Tech. She is a native of Chesterfield, Virginia and is a graduate of Virginia public schools. She is married and has 3 children.

 

MAJ Randall Cone, Ph.D.
Director, Math Education Resource Center and Assistant Professor
Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Virginia Military Institute

Randall E. Cone is currently director of the new IBL-based Mathematics Education and Resource Center (MERC) at the Virginia Military Institute. He received his undergraduate education at Salisbury University in Maryland, his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, and has enjoyed learning and teaching throughout his career (often occurring simultaneously).

He continually looks to how best to engage his students and encourage them to become independent thinkers. Randy, as most know him, loves life and music; noting that they are usually, and approximately, the same thing.

Richard Culatta
Deputy Director, Office of Educational Technology
U.S. Department of Education

Richard Culatta is a leader in the field of educational innovation. He has experience in K-12, higher education, corporate, and government learning environments.

As Deputy Director of the Office of Educational Technology for the US Department of Education his work focuses on leveraging open data to create personalized learning experiences for all students and promoting increased connectivity to improve access to education and make college more affordable. Prior to joining the Department of Education, he served as an education policy advisor to US Senator Patty Murray.

Culatta’s previous work has centered around leveraging social media to create effective large-scale distributed learning environments. As Chief Technology Officer at CIA University, Culatta developed an online learning platform to extend collaborative learning opportunities to CIA officers worldwide.

Prior to joining the federal government, Culatta was the learning technologies advisor for the David O. McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University and the Director of Operations for the Rose Education Foundation. He began working with educational technology at the University of Rhode Island where he co-taught the university’s first technology integration workshops for faculty. Culatta is passionate about educational innovations with a particular interest in games for learning, personalized learning, and open education.

As a former Spanish teacher, Culatta remains an advocate for bilingual education. He lives in northern Virginia with his wife and three children.

John A. Luke, Jr.
Chairman and CEO, MeadWestvaco Corporation

John A. Luke, Jr. is chairman and chief executive officer of MeadWestvaco, a global packaging company in Richmond, Virginia. His career with the company spans more than 30 years and a variety of leadership roles; he was chairman of Westvaco prior to a merger with Mead in 2002.

Luke has helped lead MWV through a transformation from a traditional paper and forest products supplier to an innovative packaging partner for global consumer products companies. MWV provides packaging solutions to many of the world’s most admired brands in a wide range of markets and industries with employees and operations around the globe.

He has successfully aligned commercial focus on key growth markets, expanded business in fast-growing emerging markets, added new products to the portfolio of packaging and other solutions, and further strengthened the company’s longstanding presence in Brazil. Luke’s steady leadership helped ensure that MWV emerged from the economic downturn with one of the strongest financial positions in the industry.

Luke is a respected voice in the packaging industry, having served as chairman of the American Forest & Paper Association, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and the National Association of Manufacturers. He is a relentless advocate for public policies that promote economic growth and he speaks passionately about the need to strengthen the competitiveness of America’s manufacturing economy.

Mr. Luke is currently a director of The Bank of New York Mellon, The Timken Company, and FM Global. He also serves as a trustee of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Community Foundation of Greater Richmond, and the American Enterprise Institute.

He began his career with the Procter & Gamble Company, following service as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from Lawrence University and earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Luke lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Kathleen, and their three children.

Cathy L. Seeley
Senior Fellow, Dana Center
The University of Texas at Austin

Seeley, a senior fellow at the Dana Center, works on state and national policy and improvement efforts in mathematics education. In this role, she recently facilitated the revision of Washington State's K–12 mathematics standards and led the development of a fourth-year math course to follow Algebra II, Advanced Mathematical Decision Making, adopted in Texas as Advanced Quantitative Reasoning.

Seeley is a veteran mathematics educator and change facilitator with 35 years of experience at the local, state, and national levels. Motivated by a deep commitment to equity for all students, she has been an active participant in and spokesperson for the improvement of mathematics education throughout her career. 

Her diverse experience in K-12 education includes teaching mathematics at the middle school and high school levels, working as a K-12 district mathematics supervisor, and serving for eight years as Director of Mathematics for the Texas Education Agency. At the Dana Center, Seeley worked with the Texas Statewide Systemic Initiative, facilitating the state's development of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for mathematics. Seeley also spent two years teaching mathematics (in French) as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso (1999–2001); upon her return, she served as senior advisor for a distance education online algebra project with the University of Texas. Seeley is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, serving as the Council's president from 2004 through 2006 and on the writing team for the 1989 Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics.

She has published numerous articles and chapters in edited books and is an experienced textbook author for middle school and high school mathematics. She is also the author of the recently published Faster Isn't Smarter—Messages about Math, Teaching, and Learning in the 21st Century, a resource for teachers, leaders, policymakers, and families.

Seeley holds a B.S. in mathematics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, an M.A. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Northern Colorado, and an Ed.D. in teacher education from the University of Houston.

Patricia I. Wright, Ed.D. 
Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction

During her more than 25 years with the Virginia Department of Education and 35 total years in public education, Dr. Patricia I. Wright has worked closely with the Board of Education, governors, the General Assembly, local school systems and professional organizations to develop and implement Virginia's standards-based accountability program and statewide system of support for public schools.

Dr. Wright was appointed Virginia's superintendent of public instruction by Governor Tim Kaine effective October 1, 2008, and was reappointed by Governor Bob McDonnell on April 16, 2010.

As superintendent, Dr. Wright serves as the executive officer of the Virginia Department of Education, which is the administrative agency for the commonwealth's public schools. She also serves as secretary of the Board of Education.

Prior to her appointment as the commonwealth's chief school officer, Dr. Wright served as chief deputy superintendent, acting superintendent, deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent for instruction, director of secondary instruction, associate director of secondary instruction and state mathematics specialist.

Before coming to VDOE in 1985, Dr. Wright taught mathematics for 10 years at the secondary and middle school levels in Sussex County and Chesterfield County public schools.

Dr. Wright received her doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Virginia, a master's degree in mathematics education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from James Madison University.

Dr. Wright is a native of Brunswick County and a product of Virginia's public school system.

 

Nancy Alexander
Curriculum Specialist
The Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA), VCU

Nancy Alexander has a B.S. from VCU in Secondary Science Education and a master's degree in Technology Integration into Schools from George Mason University.

Before joining VISTA, Alexander taught high school Earth and Space Science, Applied Physical Science, Environmental Science and Astronomy. She acquired training as a GIS Analyst at North Carolina State University.

Alexander owns Alexander Environmental Consulting, a small environmental consulting firm. She and her husband live in Swoope, VA. Alexander is originally from Ellicott City Maryland and has lived in Virginia for 38 years.

Javornda Ashton
Algebra Teacher
Northumberland High School

Javornda M. Ashton is presently a Mathematics Teacher at Northumberland High School in Northumberland County. She currently teaches Algebra 1, Algebra, Functions, and Data Analysis, and Senior Capstone Math. Ashton graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology. During her six years of teaching experience she has partnered with William and Mary College in the Algebra, Functions, and Data Analysis Grant Project and just completed the 21st Century Continuation Grant Project: Responding to Virginia’s College and Career Readiness Initiative in Mathematics at the University of Virginia.

Jonathan D. Becker, J.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Educational Leadership
Virginia Commonwealth University

After graduating cum laude from Duke University with a B.A. in Public Policy Studies in 1994, Jonathan Becker received a law degree and a masters degree in curriculum and instruction from Boston College Law School and the Boston College Graduate School of Education in 1997. Additionally, in May of 2003. Jonathan earned a Ph.D. in the Politics of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. From September 2002 to August 2007, Jonathan was an assistant professor in the Department of Foundations, Leadership and Policy Studies in the School of Education and Allied Human Services at Hofstra University.

Now as an assistant professor at the Educational Leadership Department at Virginia Commonwealth University, Jonathan is teaching courses in school law, the politics of education, educational technology and school leadership, and educational research methods.

Prior to beginning his professorial career, Jonathan served as Research Director at Interactive, Inc., an educational research and consulting company. In his capacity at Interactive, Inc., Jonathan directed and was involved in a number of research projects focused mostly on the achievement and equity effects of educational technology. Framed largely as mixed-methods evaluation research, these studies ranged from small-scale studies of school-based programs to federally funded statewide evaluations. As a principal investigator in a federally-funded study, Jonathan pioneered the use of novel data collection techniques including the use of desktop monitoring software to gauge file activity on classroom-based computers.

Currently, Jonathan is serving as the evaluator of a multi-million dollar, multi-year grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. That program involves the development and implementation of an innovative school leadership certification program in partnership with the Richmond (VA) Public Schools, including the design and testing of an interactive, computer-based educational leadership simulation.

Jonathan is also currently a co-investigator of an NSF-funded grant targeted at research and development of science curriculum modules for students in underserved areas. In partnership with the City College of New York (CCNY) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Jonathan is coordinating the field testing of the curriculum by approximately 60 teachers in nearly 30 New York City high schools.

Marie Bienkowski, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Center for Technology in Learning
SRI International

Marie Bienkowski, Ph.D., is deputy director of SRI International's Center for Technology in Learning. In this role, she contributes her computer science skill set to multidisciplinary projects in developing and evaluating technology in education. Many of her projects involve efforts to interest underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers (with a focus on computer science) and to support teachers in engaging more deeply with STEM content through the involvement of STEM professionals. She has led, and still leads, software research and development projects in the areas of intelligent information management and artificial intelligence applications.

Bienkowski led a study for the National Defense Education Partnership (NDEP) Program to help scientists and engineers find materials and training for classroom-based and informal activities. She is studying the National Science Foundation's (NSF’s) investment in increasing the STEM workforce in two evaluations of NSF programs: CISE Pathways to Revitalize Undergraduate Computer Education (CPATH), and Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST). She is also leading a software development task for the U.S. Department of Education to develop a content-based notification system for learning resources.

Prior to joining SRI's Center for Technology in Learning, Bienkowski was a senior computer scientist, and later, director, of SRI's Applied Artificial Intelligence Technology Program.

Bienkowski has a B.S. degree in psychology and computer science from Wayne State University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Connecticut.

MAJ Joyce Blandino, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Virginia Military Institute

Blandino received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at VMI. Prior to that, Blandino taught in the Biology Department at Washington and Lee University. Before that, she was a faculty member at James Madison University.

Ezra "Bud" Brown
Alumni Distinguished Professor of Mathematics
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Ezra (Bud) Brown is currently Professor of Mathematics at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. One of his favorite areas in mathematics is Graph Theory, which is a very effective way to model all sorts of "real life" situations in which there are a bunch of things that may or may not be related to one another. He has given workshops for high school teachers on how to use graph theory in their classrooms.

For many years he has worked closely with the Virginia Tech Honors Program, in 1996 one of his advisees was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and in 2005 another of his advisees was awarded a British Marshall Scholarship. Since the late 1990s, he has greatly enjoyed writing survey and expository papers for a variety of mathematics journals aimed at students, teachers, and researchers of mathematics. In 2003, he gave the Commencement address at Virginia Tech's Fall Commencement Exercises. In 2005, he was appointed an Alumni Distinguished Professor, a tremendous honor which left him -- when he learned of the appointment -- uncharacteristically speechless.

Brandon R. Bucy, Ph.D.
Senior Academic Technologist
Information Technology Services
Washington and Lee University

Brandon Bucy is Senior Academic Technologist at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He works closely with university faculty to identify, implement, and support technology solutions for instruction. He also oversees several new technology initiatives on campus, including an iPads in the Classroom program and a WordPress blogging service for academic use.

Brandon earned his doctorate in Physics with a concentration in Physics Education Research from the University of Maine, and has taught physics, engineering, and mathematics courses at several universities, both face-to-face and online, over the past decade. He is particularly interested in online learning methodologies, and the facilitation of interaction and collaboration in online and hybrid courses through the use of web resources.

Janet Copenhaver
Director of Technology
Henry County Public Schools

Janet Copenhaver received a B.S. in Library Science and an M.S. Educational Leadership from Radford University. Copenhaver implemented the first 1:1 laptop initiative in Virginia in 1998, implemented the largest 1:1 iPad initiative in Virginia and the Nation in 2010. She has been a presenter at local, state and national conferences.

Rupert Cox
Math Department Head
Blacksburg Middle School

Rupert is the Math department head and teaches eighth grade math and algebra at Blacksburg Middle School. He is working towards a Master’s degree in Mathematics at Radford University and has taken several Instructional Technology Design classes at Virginia Tech.

He has been implementing a “flipped” classroom teaching model including technology ranging from Ipads for student made remediation videos to Nspire Navigator systems for instantaneous remediation for the last three years. He believes the flipped classroom offers true differentiation of middle school mathematics to meet the needs of a digital native student population.

Deborah Crawford
Math Supervisor
Frederick County Schools, Virginia

Deborah Crawford, Mathematics Supervisor with Frederick County Public Schools, has been involved in a range of projects across the K-12 spectrum in a cross-section of schools in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. She has served as a math and science teacher, math department chairman, math specialist, Texas Instruments T3 Instructor, speaker and author. Her research foci include curriculum design research, professional development of math teachers, teacher action research, personalized, problem-based learning, and math modeling w/ data collection technologies.

Crawford has co-authored ten books for math and science teachers, including Hands-On Teaching: H.O.T. Strategies for using Math Manipulatives, and Activities for Middle Grades Science with the CBL 2 and TI-73. She has enjoyed sharing with teachers by presenting at conferences including NCTM, VCTM, Teachers Teaching with Technology (T3) and the SOL Content Academies at JMU. Most importantly, she enjoys being the mother of seven children ranging in age from 33 to 5.

MAJ John David, Ph.D.
Assistant professor, Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science
Virginia Military Institute

John David received his BS in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and MS and PhD in Applied Mathematics from North Carolina State University. He spent time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory as a systems analyst and at the College of Wooster as a Visiting Assistant Professor.

He currently directs VMI’s Applied and Industrial Mathematics (AIM) Program and has advised 40 undergraduate researchers in projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, Calabazas Creek Research Inc., Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Goodyear Tire Company, Bekaert Steel Company, the City of Lexington and the Valley Program for Aging Services.

His areas of interest include mathematical modeling, computational mathematics, control, filtering, data mining and the application of mathematics and statistics to sports.

Michael Evans, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor & Program Area Leader, Instructional Design and Technology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Dr. Michael A. Evans is an associate professor of education specializing in Instructional Design and Technology. He earned a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University, Bloomington. To date he has authored or coauthored more than 40 refereed journal articles, published conference proceedings, and book chapters. He has also contributed greatly to the field by presenting at many national and international conferences.

Dr. Evans’ research interests include collaborative, co-located problem-solving, social media use in informal learning environments, and instructional multimedia for interactive surfaces. Recent publications in the International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning and Educational Technology Research & Development further a strong line of inquiry, as well as demonstrate contributions to the field. His involvement in grant-funded projects also exemplifies his commitment to the field. He has been principal and co-principal investigator on several federally funded grants. A recent National Science Foundation grant provided extensive research experiences for undergraduate students to develop and assess virtual manipulatives for interactive tabletops. Dr. Evan’s research and content expertise informs his teaching and graduate advising activities at Virginia Tech. He teaches courses with topics that range from human learning theory, to digitally mediated learning, to the foundations of the learning sciences.

In addition to being actively involved in research and teaching, Dr. Evans engages in service activities. He is an editorial review board member for the International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations. He has reviewed conference proposals for the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, the International Conference for the Learning Sciences, and the Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction. He also serves on review panels for funding agencies. Finally, he has received honors and awards in recognition of his exemplary professional contributions. Dr. Evans’s contributions through teaching, research, and service enrich the Virginia Tech School of Education and the university community.

Anthony Falcone, Ph.D.
Program Manager, Defense Sciences Office
DARPA

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Falcone joined DARPA as a program manager in the Defense Sciences Office in 2010.

His interests include work in signal processing, non-commutative geometry, stochastic differential equations, and embedded computation. His current focus areas encompass the application of topological and geometric analysis, as well as probabilistic inference, to address various problems in C3ISR.

Prior to joining DSO, Dr. Falcone was a division technologist/group leader of the SPEx (Signal Processing and Exploitation) Group at Scientific Systems Company, Inc. in Woburn, Mass.

Dr. Falcone received his doctorate in theoretical mathematics from University of California, Los Angeles. He holds two undergraduate degrees in both aero engineering and mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Brian Gardes P.E.
Electrical Engineer, New Plant Engineering
AREVA NP, INC.

Brian Gardes is a professional engineer in the State of North Carolinahas with 30 years experience in the nuclear industry including U.S. Navy, DOE, and commercial nuclear experience. He has extensive nuclear operations experience including experience as an on-shift licensed SRO. Gardes received a B.S.E.E. from the University of Idaho where he was an Honors Program Graduate.

Sommer Gentry, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Mathematics
U.S. Naval Academy

Sommer Gentry, Ph.D., graduated from Stanford University in 1998 with a B.S. in Mathematical and Computational Science and a M.S. in Operations Research. She spent a year at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories before completing a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005. Gentry is an associate professor in the Mathematics Department at the U.S. Naval Academy and also affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Gentry's research in optimization in kidney transplantation has been profiled in Science and TIME magazine, and she was a guest on the Diane Rehm show in 2005. A one-hour Discovery channel show featured the work of Gentry and the transplant team at Johns Hopkins in arranging a three-way paired donation, and their research also played a part in an episode of the mathematical detective show Numb3rs.

Gentry has been an invited speaker at Stanford University, MIT, Georgia Tech, the University of Maryland College Park, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She serves as an advisor to both the United States and Canada in their efforts to create national paired donation registries.

Gentry collaborates with her husband, Dorry Segev, who is a transplant surgeon, on research in optimization and simulation for organ allocation. Their group helped lobby for Congress to clarify the legal status of kidney paired donation, which the House and Senate did in December 2007.

In 2009 the Mathematical Association of America selected Gentry for a national teaching award, the Henry L. Alder award, which recognizes distinguished teaching by a beginning college or university mathematics faculty member. She received an American Society of Transplant Surgeons Top Ten Abstracts award for her submission to the 2009 ASTS Winter Symposium.

As a graduate student, Gentry received a Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF) and a Best Student Paper award at the 2003 IEEE Systems, Man, Cybernetics Conference. I won a related CSGF essay contest for technical writing that effectively communicates computational science to a lay audience. The essay appeared in the 2007 Compose publication.

James Groom
Director, Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies and Adjunct Professor
University of Mary Washington

James Groom is the director of the Division of Teaching and Learning Technologies and adjunct professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

He has been working for over fifteen years in education with a consistent focus on the development of teaching and learning in higher education. In addition to Groom's extensive experience teaching at the college level, for the past eight years he has worked primarily in the field of instructional technology.

Groom's experience as an instructor coupled with his extensive collaborations with faculty and students with a specific focus on curricula, pedagogical and technologically enhanced projects has informed much of the innovative work he's been a part of in the field of instructional technology over the last several years.

William E. Haver, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Mathematics
Virginia Commonwealth University

Bill Haver joined VCU’s faculty in the Department of Mathematics in 1982. Along with Reuben Farley, Haver is a founding Director of the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition (VMSC). The Coalition is a collaborative effort of leaders in education, business and public policy sectors that works to improve the quality of mathematics and science education.

Along with colleagues in the mathematics and education departments at Virginia Commonwealth University, Norfolk State University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, the City of Richmond Public Schools, Hanover County Public Schools, five other universities and ten other partner school systems, Haver is a leader of a statewide effort to improve mathematics achievement in grades K-8 through the use of Mathematics Specialists. Mathematics Specialists are school based instructional leaders who coach and provide resources and support for classroom teachers.

In conjunction with the VMSC, the Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Virginia Department of Education, VCU has obtained two large National Science Foundation grants (TPC and MSP) to develop and offer programs at six universities to prepare a total of over 150 Mathematics Specialists. In addition, the grants support research programs that are being conducted in Richmond City, Hanover County and ten other school systems to determine the impact of Mathematics Specialists on the nature of instruction and student achievement.

Haver has served as a member of the Committee on Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics (CUPM) of the Mathematical Association of America and is currently the chairman of MAA’s Curriculum Renewal Across the First Two years (CRAFTY) committee.

 

MAJ Meagan Herald, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science
Virginia Military Institute

MAJ Meagan Herald, an assistant professor of mathematics at the Virginia Military Institute, is an applied mathematician trained in mathematical biology, whose research uses mathematical models to understand the mechanisms of chronic respiratory inflammation.

She appreciates the mathematics that are found in seemly nonmathematical mundane activities, as the author Roald Dahl once stated “the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.”

Michael E. Hicks
Quality Control Department Manager
Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group - Lynchburg

Mike Hicks currently serves as the Quality Control Department Manager at Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group’s Lynchburg, Va. facility, which principally manufactures naval nuclear reactors for submarines and aircraft carriers as well as other nuclear and non-nuclear research and design components.

Mr. Hicks began his B&W career in 1982 and has held roles in Security, Engineering, Quality Control, and Project Management. His knowledge and experience spans nearly all areas of the company’s NOG-Lynchburg operations, including physical security, threat assessment, tactical response, tool design, CAD/CAM modeling, manufacturing engineering, development engineering, destructive and non-destructive testing and project management.

Mr. Hicks has 16 years of management experience within the B&W NOG-L organization, including several senior-leadership positions. He has served as the Security Department Manager, responsible for the overall management and leadership of the facility’s extensive Security operations. In his newly-appointed role, Quality Control Department manager, Mr. Hicks has management responsibility for approximately 500 employees performing dimensional inspection, radiographic inspection, ultrasonic inspection, metallurgical and chemistry inspections, QC development engineering, drafting, statistics, software quality and calibration services.

Mr. Hicks earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Lynchburg College, as well as associate’s degrees in police science and general engineering technology from Central Virginia Community College. In addition, he is a graduate of the Central Virginia Criminal Justice Training Center (Police Academy) and holds a certificate in management from The University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Marie Highby
Co-Director of Consulting
Open Doors Group

Marie Highby is a Co-Director of ODG Consulting, which is a part of College Open Textbooks/Open Doors Group (COT/ODG), an association dedicated to the promotion and support of open educational resources (OER) and to the research and evaluation of their impact. Her current work with COT/ODG focuses on issues associated with textbook adoption and attitudes of faculty members towards open textbooks.

In the past, Marie Highby’s varied career has included working both in finance as well as in higher education. As a professor for over 20 years at San Jose State University (SJSU), she specialized in writing across the curriculum and founded and managed SJSU’s Technical Writing Certificate program. An MBA from the Darden School of the University of Virginia, her degrees also include a BA from American University and an MA in English Literature from Duke University.

Vandi Hodges
Mathematics Coordinator
Hanover County Public Schools

Vandi Hodges retired in 2011 as the K-12 Mathematics Coordinator for Hanover County Public Schools. She now works part time at Virginia Commonwealth University teaching and assisting with NSF-MSP grant work.

She co-chaired the Middle School Task force initiated by the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition leading to the current MSP “Mathematics Specialist in Middle Schools” project. Vandi served as President of the Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (VCTM), President of the Virginia Council for Mathematics Supervision (VCMS) and was honored in 2009 with the VCMS Leadership in Education Award.

Paul Humke
Professor of Mathematics
St. Olaf College

Humke is a strong believer in the teacher-scholar nature of intellectual work and continue his commitment to be a link between our undergraduate students and the community of research mathematicians both in and outside of academia. He is committed to be an inspiring classroom teacher and mentor-advisor to those interested in pursuing mathematical careers in academia, business, industry and government.

Vickie Inge
Director, Mathematics Outreach,
University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies

Vickie Inge is the Director of Mathematics Outreach in the University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and retired Supervisor of Mathematics for Stafford County Schools. She has provided over 45 years of leadership and service in mathematics teaching and learning at the state and national level.

In her six years in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies she has brought in close to 5 million dollars in National Science Foundation and Virginia Department of Education Mathematics and Science Partnership grants to provide classes and professional development of teachers K-12.

Inge's interests lie in bringing teachers together to learn to teach in such way that students can make sense of the mathematics and in helping teachers develop their leadership potential. Over the past three years Inge has been the Lead Investigator on VADOE grants to support the preparation of secondary teachers for Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century. She has lead efforts to prepare teachers for the AFDA course and to prepare teachers and materials for the new Capstone course.

Diane Leighty
Mathematics Educator and Consultant
ECPI University and University of Virginia 

Leighty is a semi-retired educator, who taught high school mathematics for 28 years, including everything from Algebra 1 Part 1 to Multivariable Calculus. In 1993 she completed a master’s program at UVA, earning a Master of Arts in Mathematics. In 1995, Leighty developed a Math Modeling Course for the Mathematics & Science High School at Clover Hill HS in Chesterfield County, and taught the course for 6 years before handing it off to another teacher.

Leighty also developed an outreach program to the middle schools in Chesterfield County, taking high school juniors and seniors into the middle schools to teach a math and/or science lesson focused on SOL of concern to those schools. The last 7 years as a public school educator she served as the K-12 Mathematics Coordinator of Powhatan County Schools in addition to teaching Calculus at the high school. In 2007, Leighty became an Engineering Fellow at the Math Science Innovation Center in Mechanicsville, collaborating on the development of several teaching units that incorporate mathematics, science, and engineering for middle school students.

In 2008 and 2009, Leighty served as co-coordinator of a successful summer Engineering Camp for students in grades 3-9 in Powhatan County. Since retiring from Powhatan County Public Schools in 2010, she has been teaching college classes for VCU and ECPI, teaching AP Calculus Prep through VASS, as well as serving as a consultant for the UVA-SCPS Office of Mathematics Outreach.

Pat Linehan
Chief Operating Officer
Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA)

Pat Linehan joined the Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA) as its Chief Operating Officer in April 2012. He has 35 years of experience in policy development and program management in the federal government, primarily the Department of Defense.

Linehan is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel whose last assignment in the Army was as the Product Manager for the Improved Army Tactical Missile System, an advanced technology Major Defense Acquisition Program. He has a Bachelor of Science from West Point and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Mason University. Linehan is also a former school board member for the City of Manassas Public Schools.

Ernie Longworth
Manager of Instructional Technology
Chesterfield County Public Schools

Ernie Longworth currently serves as Manager for Instructional Technology Integration in Chesterfield County Public Schools. He has been involved in Science education and the integration of technology into classroom instruction for 19 years in Chesterfield County.

LouAnn Lovin
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
James Madison University

LouAnn Lovin, a former classroom teacher, is a professor of mathematics education at James Madison University in Virginia where she teaches mathematics courses for prospective and current PreK-8 teachers.

She co-authored Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics Professional Development Series with John A. VandeWalle as well as Teaching Mathematics Meaningfully: Solutions for Reaching Struggling Learners with special educators David Allsopp and Maggie Kyger. Over the last 15 years, she has worked in K-8 classrooms and engaged with teachers in professional development as they implement a student-centered approach to teaching mathematics. She has published articles in NCTM’s Teaching Children Mathematics and Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School and has served on NCTM’s Educational Materials Committee. LouAnn’s research interest is on ways to develop teachers’ mathematical knowledge needed to teach for understanding.

Maribeth Luftglass
Assistant Superintendent and Chief Information Officer
Fairfax County Public Schools

Maribeth Luftglass is the Assistant Superintendent and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Fairfax County Public Schools. In her position, she is responsible for Information Technology strategic planning, implementation, and support of all information systems throughout the district.

Prior to joining FCPS in 1999, Ms. Luftglass served as the Senior Director for Information Technology for the American Red Cross national headquarters.

Ms. Luftglass holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Economics from the College of William and Mary, and a Master of Science degree from George Washington University School of Engineering.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is the 11th largest school district in the U.S. serving 177,000 students with 239 schools and centers, and over 133,000 computers. FCPS consistently ranks well above the state and national averages for student achievement. FCPS has been named one of the CIO 100 numerous times, has won the CIO Enterprise Value Award, has been selected as one of Computerworld’s Premier 100, received the 2009 Virginia Governor’s award for technology innovation for their eCART application, and is highlighted in the 2010 United States National Educational Technology Plan.

 

Corinne Magee
Instructional Coach, C. Frances Hammond 2 Middle School
Alexandria, Virginia Public Schools

Corinne Magee currently works as a middle school Instructional Coach in Alexandria City Schools with responsibilities for coaching in mathematics. She earned her K-8 Mathematics Specialist endorsement as part of the UVA program and was the first middle school mathematics coach in Stafford County Schools where she served as a mathematics coach for four years.

Magee has provided leadership in mathematics education as a middle school mathematics specialist on the 2009 Virginia Middle School Mathematics Specialist Taskforce and as the Mathematics Specialist representative on the Board for Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Peter T. Malcolm
Doctoral Fellow, Curry School of Education
University of Virginia

Peter T. Malcolm is a graduate research assistant in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. His primary interests are in designing, developing and researching math and science software for elementary and middle school students. He aims to unite pedagogy with robust software for visualizing, understanding, and interacting with STEM concepts.

M. Caroline Martin
Co-founder, Virginia STEAM Academy

Caroline Martin is the retired Executive Vice President of Riverside Health System/ CEO, Riverside Regional Medical Center.

Some of her major accomplishments during her tenure include serving as the executive of the Schools of Professional Nursing and Allied Health Education, the creation and management of Riverside’s Wellness Division, The Rehabilitation Institute, Human Resource Development, Child Care and Learning Centers, Business Health and Mobile Diagnostic Services, and oversight of the risk management, safety and protection and accreditation programs.

In retirement she continues to serve as an officer on many non-profit boards along with being the co-founder of the VA STEAM Academy.

Contina Martin
Math Instructional Specialist K-6
Portsmouth Public Schools

Contina Martin was among the first in the state to complete the requirements for the Virginia state licensure endorsement as a K-8 Mathematics Specialist through the NSF grant project. She has served seven years as a school based mathematics specialist in Portsmouth Public Schools.

For the past 4 years Martin has participated in an NSF grant funded project, Interns for Statewide Leadership in Mathematics Education. She has provided statewide leadership as program chair for the first Mathematics Specialist conference held January 2012.

Martin is President of the newly formed Virginia Council of Mathematics Specialists. She is leading the efforts to plan the 2013 mathematics specialist conference.

Marguerite Mason, Ph.D.
Department of Mathematics
College of William & Mary

Oren L. McClain
Assistant Dean
Office of African-American Affairs
University of Virginia

McClain joined the staff of the Office of African-American Affairs as an assistant dean in the fall of 2011. His primary responsibilities are to mentor, advise, and support undergraduate students enrolled in mathematics and mathematics implicit courses at the University. In addition, he is in the process of developing a course that explores the mathematics of change and chance.

McClain's career in education began in 2002 when he was a National Science Foundation STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching fellow in Norfolk Public Schools. He later worked as a mathematics teacher and instructional specialist in Portsmouth Public Schools. Most recently, he was a mathematics test development specialist at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C.

In addition to his practical experience in mathematics education, McClain has published several articles in refereed journals related to the experiences of Black students in mathematics classes. His core research focus is related to mathematics achievement identity development of Black undergraduate students. Specifically, he seeks to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence the development of identity.

McClain studied mechanical engineering at Old Dominion University, earning Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics Education from the University of Virginia.

Jacob Moore
Graduate Student, Department of Engineering Education
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 

Jacob Moore is a graduate student pursuing a master's in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. He is a member of the DREAMS lab (Design Research and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems) under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Williams. His research interests include engineering education, digital textbooks and additive manufacturing.

Fanya Morton
Math Specialist
Margaret Brent Elementary School

Fanya Morton was among the first in the state to complete the requirements for the Virginia state licensure endorsement as a K-8 Mathematics Specialist as part of an NSF grant project and served six years as a school based Mathematics Specialist in Stafford County.

She is currently the K-8 Division Mathematics Specialist for King George County Schools. In this role, she supports the teaching and learning of student-centered mathematics instruction; providing professional learning opportunities daily through co-teaching, coaching, and as the math cheer leader.

Jennifer Mossgrove, Ph.D.
Mathematics Teacher Developer
Knowles Science Teaching Foundation

Dr. Jennifer Mossgrove is an accomplished education professional with a strong interest in instructional practices of beginning teachers. Mossgrove began her career teaching sixth grade mathematics in Maryland, followed by extensive graduate work in education.

While earning her graduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh, she served as a Teaching Fellow and taught content and methods-focused courses for elementary and secondary pre-service teachers. During this time Mossgrove also supervised pre-service teachers in their field placements.

Mossgrove worked on the NSF-funded project team, Enhancing Secondary Mathematics Teacher Preparation under the direction of Margaret (Peg) Smith, as she created and implemented professional development workshops for pre-service teachers and their mentors. She also served as a member of the design team for Institute for Learning's Math Team, which provided the Los Angeles Unified School District with research and practice-based professional development in mathematics by way of modified lesson study.

Mossgrove earned a Bachelor's degree in mathematics from Bethany College, an ME.d. in mathematics education at the University of Pittsburgh in 2000; and an Ed.D. in mathematics education from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006.
She is a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, American Educational Research Association, National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics and the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.

Anderson Norton, III, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Mathematics Education
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Professor Norton researches students' mathematical development using teaching experiments, along with quantitative methods.

He is especially interested in students' mathematical conjectures formed in the context of learning fractions, algebra, and geometry.

He teaches content courses for secondary school teachers with a focus on mathematical processes important to mathematical development, including conjecturing.

Norton has a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Georgia in Mathematics Education. He has an M.A. from the University of Georgia in Mathematics and a B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Mathematics.

Jeffrey Prillaman
Director, Math, Engineering and Science Academy
Albemarle High School

Jeff Prillaman is the director of the Albemarle County Public Schools Math, Engineering & Science Academy.

The program aims to educate a cross-section of students with a variety of interests and strengths, to infuse traditional school curricula with real world problem-solving, collaboration and inquiry-based learning, and to prepare the engineers, researchers, inventors and entrepreneurs of the 21st century.

 

Pat Robertson
Mathematics Supervisor
Arlington Public Schools

Pat Robertson is a recently retired mathematics supervisor from Arlington Public Schools, which was a participant in the first NSF MSP grant. Robertson designed and facilitated the implementation of Arlington’s mathematics specialist program and has provided leadership at the state and national level in this work.

Robertson has experience as a classroom teacher and in providing staff development in mathematics and leadership. She served on the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition Task Force on Mathematics Specialists and has taught leadership courses in the preparation program. Currently she works with the VCU mathematics Outreach Program.

Rebecca Segal, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics
Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Rebecca Segal earned her Ph.D. in computational and applied mathematics in 2001 from North Carolina State University, focusing her dissertation work on patterns of airflow and particle deposition in the diseased human lung.

She then held a postdoctoral fellowship at a toxicology company (CIIT Centers for Health Research) where she researched airflow patterns in the human nasal passages with applications in toxicology, pharmaceutics and surgery.

Following her postdoc, she worked as a teaching fellow at the University of Bristol, England.

Her current research is in the use of numerical solutions to differential equations derived from applications in medicine and biology, working primarily on applications of nasal airflow patterns to drug delivery and modeling wound healing in patients with additional
injuries or disease states.

H. Alan Seibert, Ed.D.
Division Superintendent
Salem City Schools

Dr. H. Alan Seibert (pronounced C-bert) is an Eagle Scout from rural Southern New Jersey who attended Virginia Tech aspiring to be a high school science teacher.

After graduating, he was hired to serve in the school where he did his student teaching, Salem High School in Salem, VA. Over the past twenty-one years, he has served Salem’s children in five different positions, including as an Earth Science Teacher at Salem High School, Assistant Principal for Instruction at Andrew Lewis Middle School, Assistant Principal for Instruction at Salem High School, Principal of South Salem Elementary School and in 2006, he was appointed to serve as the division’s 4th Superintendent.

His wife Michele (a native of Hanover County, VA) is Research Faculty at their beloved Virginia Tech and they are raising three Hokie sons: Chad, age 15; Logan, age 10; and Tyler, age 8.

Jane Serbousek
Assistant Professor, Mathematics Department
Northern Virginia Community College

Jane Serbousek has taught both credit and developmental mathematics courses at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) for over 25 years. She has served as the NOVA Achieving the Dream Director, Achieving the Dream Learning Communities Coordinator, and a member of the Achieving the Dream Core Team.

She represented the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) in Achieve Incorporated’s American Diploma Project. She was a member of the VCCS Developmental Math Redesign Team and chaired the VCCS Curriculum Team for Developmental Math Redesign

Amy Siepka
Assessment Development Coordinator
Virginia Department of Education

Amy Siepka is currently an Assessment Development Coordinator with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), where she helps oversee the development of all Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments. She is also the lead in the development of the mathematics tests. Prior to her current position, she was an Assessment Specialist at the VDOE, where she focused on the administration of the SOL tests, as well as the development of the grade 3, Algebra I and Algebra II mathematics tests. She was also a middle school mathematics teacher and senior teacher, spending most of her classroom years in Hanover County.

Christa Southall
Mathematics Specialist
Virginia Department of Education

Christa Southall is a mathematics specialist for the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). Prior to joining the VDOE, Christa retired from Stafford County Public School where she served as the secondary mathematics coordinator. Christa taught mathematics for 23 years in various school divisions both middle and high school. She also served as a technology resource teacher. She has a B.S. in mathematics and an M.Ed. in Instructional Technology.

John R. Thompson, Ph.D.
Department Head, Physics and Astronomy
Virginia Military Institute

John R. Thompson received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the Tennessee Technological University and a Ph.D. in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is currently the Cameron Institute Professor of Physics and Astronomy and the head of the Physics and Astronomy Department at the Virginia Military Institute.

Hien T. Tran, Ph.D.
Professor of Mathematics and Associate Head
Department of Mathematics
North Carolina State University

Hien T. Tran received a B.S. in Mathematics from Old Dominion University in 1980, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics in 1982, and Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1986, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

From 1986 to 1989 he was a visiting assistant professor with the Center for Control Sciences at Brown University. Since 1989, he has been with the Department of Mathematics and the Center for Research in Scientific Computation at North Carolina State University.

He has authored over 100 research papers in the areas of approximation
methods for infinite dimensional systems, reduced order based feedback control design and synthesis, and mathematical modeling of biological and physical systems.

His current areas of interest are the development of nonlinear filtering methods and nonlinear feedback control methodologies, and the development of mathematical models for cardiovascular physiology and HIV dynamics.

Alex Villanueva
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Alex Villanueva is a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech. His current research focuses in biomimetic robotics of jellyfish inspired autonomous underwater vehicles.

He works primarily on mimicking the propulsion mechanism of jellyfish through the analysis of animal morphology, kinematics and hydrodynamics, and through the development of robotic vehicles which utilize smart material actuators.

Alex obtained a Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Arizona State University. He has worked for NASA, Orbital Sciences, and Honeywell where he worked with micro satellites, electric propulsion, structural health monitoring, UAV’s, and rocket ordnance systems.

M. Drew Wade
Quality Control Engineer
B&W Nuclear Operations Group-Lynchburg 

Drew Wade currently serves as a Quality Control Engineer at Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group’s Lynchburg, Va. facility, which principally manufactures naval nuclear reactors for submarines and aircraft carriers as well as other nuclear and non-nuclear research and design components.

Mr. Wade began his B&W career in 2004 and has held roles in Industrial Engineering and Quality Control. His knowledge and experience includes facility and tool design, power systems, CAD modeling, design and implementation of motion control systems, and non-destructive testing.

Mr. Wade has 8 years of experience within the B&W NOG-L organization, including 3 years as an intern. He has served as a Quality Control Engineer for the past 5 years, responsible for the design, qualification, and daily maintenance of ultrasonic testing equipment. His duties also include annual audits of outside suppliers practicing non-destructive testing.

Mr. Wade earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Virginia Military Institute in 2007.

Jean Weller
Educational Technology Specialist
Virginia Department of Education

Jean Weller is an educational technology specialist with the Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology. She has been involved with educational technology since 1988 and focuses on uses of technology combined with cognitive research to support the continual development of effective teaching and learning approaches. Distilling research results into practical information and recommendations for educators is one of her most important responsibilities.

She has participated in several pilots of new technologies in schools around the state, exploring more than just the technology implementation itself to include new teaching and learning realities and possibilities. Recently, she has completed intensive research on Open Education Resources (OER) and how school divisions might evaluate these for use by both teachers and students.

George Willcox
CTE Cluster Coordinator
Virginia Department of Education 

Thomas Woodward
Assistant Director, Instructional Technology
Henrico County Schools

Thomas Woodward is the assistant director of Instructional Technology at Henrico County Public Schools. Henrico County Pubic Schools and the Department of Instructional Technology uses the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) as a guide for recognizing and addressing the essential conditions for effective use of technology to support Pre K-12 learning. Technology is applied to the learning environment through:

• A focus on core subjects and content
• An emphasis on learning 21st century skills (e.g., thinking critically, collaborating, applying knowledge to new situations)
• The use of 21st century tools (information and communication technologies) to develop learning skills
• Employment of strategies for teaching and learning in a 21st century context (authentic relevant experiences)

The Department of Instructional Technology works with teachers, principals, and content specialists to identify and implement digital resources and supporting technologies that will ensure a solid 21st century learning experience for Henrico students. The department staff includes instructional technology specialists and instructional technology resource teachers who provide consultation, training and support for the integration of technology into the instructional program.