Category: CMSE Active

Patti Hamerski (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering (CMSE) department at Michigan State University. She got her PhD at Michigan State University, where she employed student-centered research methodologies to identify curricular challenges that impact students’ affect in computation-integrated physics classrooms. Her work in CMSE involves teaching introductory computational and data science courses where students learn computational practices and applications to real world problems. Her research focuses on characterizing students’ self-efficacy for doing computation and building an understanding of how computational self-efficacy can develop during CMSE 201: Introduction to Computational Modeling and Data Analysis. During the 3DL program, she intends to collaborates with Dr. Rachel Frisbie and Dr. Tom Finzell to design new ways to support students’ self-efficacy in CMSE 201 and also build robust…

Rachel Frisbie is a Fixed-term Assistant Professor in the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering (CMSE) at Michigan State University. She earned her PhD in Astrophysics from Michigan State University in 2020 and has been teaching courses in CMSE and engaging in computational science education research with the Computational Education Research Lab (CERL) at MSU since 2020. Her interests include exploring how students problem solve using computational concepts as they progress through their education as well as how those findings can be applied to courses like the ones we teach in CMSE to improve student outcomes. Rachel is excited to collaborate with Tom Finzell and Paul Hamerski within the Fellowship to learn new teaching and assessment practices and apply them to both her teaching and research. Outside of work,…

Tom Finzell is an instructor in the Computational, Mathematics, Science, and Engineering (CMSE) Department at Michigan State University. He received his PhD from MSU in Astronomy. His research currently focuses on student problem solving in introductory computational classes. Tom has taught physics, astronomy, and computational classes and is currently teaching the introductory sequence CMSE 201/202. He is passionate about his teaching, working to improve access and increase the diversity of the fields he’s a part of, and trying to ensure a just and equitable learning environment.