2014 Contributors

Andria M. Keene

Andria has been teaching Biology and Marine Science in Hillsborough County for over 15 years. She has taught at Strawberry Crest High School since the school opened in 2009. She received a Master of Arts degree in Education from USF in 2001. With a goal to always keep learning and to challenge herself beyond her current strengths and abilities, she felt the Research Experience for Teachers with the Functional Materials Research Institute was a perfect fit. As a curriculum writer for Hillsborough County she is looking forward to bringing what she has learned this summer not just to the students in her classroom but to other science teachers in Hillsborough County. Andria and her husband Jeff, who is a middle school science teacher, live in Plant City with their two children, Jeffrey (16) and Toni (11).

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Sorption of Organic Vapors by Polymers using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Minimata's Mercury Mayhem

 

 

Megan Faliero

Dr. Megan Faliero has served in the field of education for 16 years as a teacher, coach, administrator, and director of instructional development. She is currently teaching AP Biology at Durant High School in Tampa, Florida and serving as an independent consultant for The College Board. Dr. Faliero was the 2014 recipient of the Lignell Engineering Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award and the 2014 recipient of the Ron Mardigian Biotechnology Teaching Award. Last year, she was awarded a Noyce Master Teacher Fellowship at The University of South Florida where she is working with and mentoring new STEM teachers in the field of education. Currently, she has just completed a research experience for teachers (RET) at The University of South Florida in the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering department where she was working with functional materials and learning different ways to incorporate engineering into her classroom.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Viable Printing of Tissues with Thermo-responsive Hydrogel

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Tissue Engineering using Polymers

 

 

Sandra Gebhard

Sandra Gebhard was born on Long Island in New York but quickly moved to Pottstown, Pennsylvania. She was mostly raised in Reading, Pa but lived in Wolfsboro, NH, St. Petersburg, FL, Henderson, NV, and Hamburg, Pa. She has five adult children and one granddaughter. She graduated from Alvernia University in 2000 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Chemistry. Her professional work as a chemist includes food science, quality control, and polymer research. Upon deciding to teach, she returned to Alvernia in 2003 and completed a Master's degree in Urban Education. Ms. Gebhard currently lives in Brandon, FL and is a full-time teacher with Hillsborough County School District.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Exploration in Transmetalation of Co-ZIFs as Precursors for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalysts in Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Fuel Cells & Redox Reactions

 

 

Jordan Lewis

Jordan was born into a family of 4 sisters and no brothers. She was raised in Louisiana but has lived in Florida for 10 years. She is currently working on her Bachelor's degree in Middle Grades Mathematics Education at the University of South Florida. Ms. Lewis feels the years between elementary school and high school are critical to the development of young minds because they are so impressionable. Her love for teaching developed when she started tutoring students in math ranging in ages from children in 4th grade to adults in college. She is motivated by finding new ways to challenge her students and make a difference in their lives as an educator.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Methods for Capturing Bacteria

 

 

Artemio Perez

Art was born of migrant workers in Mexico and moved to the United States at the age nine in 1992. He graduated from Plant City High School, continued onto Hillsborough Community College, and then graduated from the University of South Florida (USF) with a Bachelor's of Science in Secondary Education and a minor in physics in 2006. He currently works for the Hillsborough School District as a teacher teaching physics courses at Plant City High School. He aspires to expose more students to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as Science Club sponsor: This role is particularly important to him as he relates to minority groups who are not focused in STEM related careers. Most recently he has participated in Research Experience for Teachers (RET) through a partnership of National Science Foundation (NSF), College of Engineering and Education at USF.

 

Here is a link to his research poster, Experimental Evaluation of Electrical Response of Passivating Alloys in Different Electrolytes

 

Here is a link to his lesson plan, Predicting the motion and limits of droplets down incline planes

 

 

Christina Rutledge

Christina was born and raised in Kansas and a career in science had been a lifelong dream of hers. Her father has a picture she drew in the 1st grade that shows her aiding an injured animal. At the top of the picture it says "I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up." Over the years, the way she experienced science formed her desire to pursue teaching science. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in biology. After college, she worked as a raw materials chemist for a pharmaceutical company and while she loved "doing" science, still something was missing and that was the "teaching" science. Mrs. Rutledge obtained her teaching certificate and taught 9th grade biology and ESL biology in Texas for 6 years before moving to Florida. She now teaches High Level Biology/AP Biology in the International Baccalaureate program at Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, FL. She enjoys finding new ways to engage her students and spark their interest in science. She plans to teach for the rest of her life.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Methods for Capturing Bacteria

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, To Catch a Microbe?

 

Steven Sanden

Steven was born in St Paul, Minnesota and raised in Long Beach, California. He lived there until 1989 until he joined the U.S. Army. After serving active duty in the Army he moved to Pennsylvania and attended Triangle Tech and received his Associates Degree in Mechanical Drafting and Design. After graduation he worked for approximately 8 years as a mechanical designer/drafter for a company that manufactured mining and construction equipment. In 2002 Mr. Sanden went back to college, earned his bachelors degree in Biochemistry in 2009 and moved to Tampa, Fl. In 2014 he began his career as a teacher and is now a chemistry teacher at Middleton High School.

 

Here is a link to his research poster, Purification of a Fusion Protein for the Treatment of Cancer Cells

 

Here is a link to his lesson plan, Separation Chemistry

 

 

Pedro Villavicencio

Mr. Villavicencio, a computer engineer and scientist, is a Mathematics/Computer Science teacher for a Hillsborough School District's high school, and an Information Technologies Adjunct Instructor at Pasco Hernando State College. Before starting his legacy as an instructor, Mr.Villavicencio managed his own IT firm (offices in Peru and USA CA) which provided programming, engineering of information technology systems, and training for subsidiaries of several major corporations headquartered in Italy, the United States and Canada. After relocating to the United States Mr. Villavicencio worked for several multi-national corporations that provided IT/networking technology.

At present, Mr. Villavicencio instructs college and high school students on all areas of information technology that are relevant; his current interests encompass mobile programming, 3D metal printing and gaining patents for his inventions. He keeps his knowledge current by participating in research and training opportunities at the professional or collegiate level. Mr. Villavicencio has a M.Ed. in Instructional Technologies, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (University of South Florida), an A.A.S. equivalent degree in Engineering Technologies (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú), and several college certificates on computer programming and networking technologies.

 

Here is a link to his research poster, Solving Many-Body Polarization on GPU's

 

Here is a link to his lesson plan, Simulation Using Repeat and Randomize

 

 

Erica Wilkes

Erica Wilkes is one of the few, but growing number, of native Floridians. She is a proud graduate of the University of South Florida where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Biology. She has always had a love for the sciences and discovering how things work. This interest stems from a family background in pharmacy and in the medical field. She hopes to pass this interest and enthusiasm on to her students at C. Leon King High School where she engages young minds as an AP Biology, Biology and Chemistry teacher. Being certified in Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry, she has also previously taught Physical Science and Algebra. Her experience at the 2014 FMRI – RET has inspired her to incorporate the Engineering Design Process and research experience into her classroom, thus equipping her with additional tools to guide her students into STEM careers.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Effect of Viscosity on Fiber
Formation and Functionality

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Spinning Polymer Solutions for Life's Solutions

 

 

Carol Zavarella

Carol Zavarella was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. She lived there until 1986 when she moved to Tampa, Florida. She graduated from the University of Tampa in 1994 with a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics. In 2001, she began graduate studies at the University of South Florida and earned a Master's degree in Mathematics. She continued her studies and earned a PhD in Higher Education Administration in 2008. Dr. Zavarella is currently a full-time faculty member and Program Manager in the mathematics department at Hillsborough Community College. She has two adult children and lives in the Channelside District in Tampa.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Synthesis of Shape-controlled Bimetallic Nanoparticles for Photocatalysis

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Silver Nanoparticles and their Role in Energy Applications