2015 Contributors

Five summer 2015 participants returned for a second year in the program. Six were participating for the first time. Nine were in-service teachers and two were pre-service teachers.

 

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. This was her second summer in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to her 2015 research poster, Characterizations Of Iron-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks

 

Here is a link to her 2015 lesson plan, The Chemistry of Heat Packs

 

 

Jesse Hope

Jesse Hope graduated from the University of South Florida with a BS in Biomedical Sciences. He currently teaches at Tampa Bay Technical High School as an instructor for Biology and Veterinary Assisting. In his free time, Jesse likes to spend time with his family, engage in outdoor activities and sports, or work on automobiles. This was his first summer in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to his research poster, Computational Investigation of the Effect of Changing the Organic Linker on the Gas Adsorption Properties of Isoreticular Metal–Organic Frameworks

 

Here is a link to his lesson plan, Zeros all Around

 

 

Stephanie Hunter

Stephanie Hunter will be starting her sixth year of teaching high school chemistry this fall. In 2010 she graduated with a master's degree in Science Education from the University of South Florida. Prior to teaching, she worked as a transplant coordinator with the Lion's Eye Institute. There she restored vision to over 500 people through the successful recovery of cornea tissue. Stephanie earned her bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Art History from Tulane University in 2008. Through college she interned in a lab studying chronic pain. In addition to being a science geek, she loves to tell lame jokes and bake for her students and friends. This was her first summer in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Characterization of ATO and Cobalt Doped ATO Polymeric Solutions for Nanofiber Fabrication

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Using a Materials Course to Teach AP Chemistry Unit "States of Matter"

 

 

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 and Toni. This was her second summer in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to her 2015 research poster, Sorption of Organic Vapors by Polymers using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance

 

Here is a link to her 2015 lesson plan, Piezoelectric Power as an Alternative Energy Source?

 

 

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 has completed her Bachelor's degree in Middle Grades Mathematics Education at the University of South Florida and will be teaching at Pasco High School. 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. This was her second summer in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to her 2015 research poster, Cell Printing with Smart Hydrogel

 

Here is a link to her 2015 lesson plan, Vacation to Transylvania

 

Gwendolyn Martin-Apostolatos

Gwen has been a teacher for 4 years - the last 3 of those at Jefferson High School. She received a BA in Anthropology from USF in 2010. Gwen currently teaches Earth Space Science and Anthropology. Always striving to learn new things and better herself as a teacher, Gwen recently completed her first summer in the RET program through the Chemical Engineering department and plans on bringing her new experiences back to the classroom. Gwen lives in Lutz with her husband and son.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Poly(carbonate urethane) and doped Titania coatings for Cultural Heritage preservation

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Preservation and Rehabilitation of Heritage Sites in Florida

 

 

Karla Molina

Karla recently completed her Bachelor's degree in Middle Grades Mathematics Education at the University of South Florida and will be teaching at Davidson Middle School this fall. This was her first summer participating in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to her research poster, Computational Investigation of the Effect of Changing the Organic Linker on the Gas Adsorption Properties of Isoreticular Metal–Organic Frameworks

 

Here is a link to her lesson plan, Zeros all Around

 

 

O. Ivan Moros

Originally from Venezuela, Ivan has had a love and a passion for science and nature since he was very little. He started doing research at 12 years old, studying the beetle populations at the Paramillo National Park in the Venezuelan Andes. That led to two published articles before the age of 17 and two consecutive wins at Science Fair Competitions at the national level. Ivan attended the Universidad de Los Andes (ULA) in Merida where he obtained a degree in Biology and a graduate degree in Ecology, all while continuing his research in biological indicators and fragmentation in the Venezuelan rainforests.

After moving back to the US, Ivan decided to become a teacher and help train the next generation of scientists and took a job in the science department at H.B. Plant High School where he has been for three years. In this school, he also became the sponsor of the Ecology club, encouraging students to take part in local coastal cleanup community service as well as the Science Fair where he gets to actively work with students in diverse research projects. This was his first summer participating in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to his research poster, Cell Printing with Smart Hydrogel

 

Here is a link to his lesson plan, Using Collagen in Cell Cultures

 

 

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 for the second time 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 2015 research poster, Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocomposite Materials for 3D Printed Devices

 

Here is a link to his 2015 lesson plan, Say "Cheese" for Capacitor

 

 

 

James Stewart

James is a chemistry teacher for the IB Program at C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 2010 with a bachelor's in chemistry education, and again with a masters in educational leadership in 2015. In 2014 he was elected by his peers to the executive board of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association and dedicates his free time to advocating for teachers and the teaching profession in Hillsborough County, Florida. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the Science Educators Caucus for the Florida Education Association. This was his first summer participating in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to his research poster, Immobilization and Protection of Silver Nanocubeswith SiO2 for Use on S.A.W. Devices

 

Here is a link to his lesson plan, Analyzing Ancient Nanotechnology

 

 

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. This was his second year participating in the RET program.

 

Here is a link to his 2015 research poster, Conductive Porous Carbon Electrodes for Energy Storage

 

Here is a link to his 2015 lesson plan, From Data to Information: Graphing and Reading Data