Category: Cohort 3

Dr. Schmit's is a theorist working on understanding many-body phenomena in biomolecule systems. This includes aggregation processes underlying diseases like Alzheimer's, drug formulation properties, and self-assembly kinetics. His multi-disciplinary approach features prominently in his teaching, which spans introductory physics for life science majors, statistical mechanics, and biophysics. He has a BA in Integrated Sciences from Northwestern, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UCSB, and is currently an associate professor in the Department of Physics at Kansas State University.

I am an assistant professor of biology at Grand Valley State University. I received my undergraduate degree in biology from The University of Chicago and my PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from The University of Colorado Boulder. At GVSU my teaching spans introductory courses to the senior capstone. In my courses I work to incorporate a variety of educational practices including inquiry-based lessons, project-based learning, cooperative learning, and flipped classrooms. Many of my courses are writing intensive and I strive to structure the writing assignments in small units to allow enough time for discipline specific writing instruction and multiple drafts.  I enjoy working with undergraduate students on research projects. Recent student projects have focued on furthering our understanding of the interactions that occur between plants and soil microbes at…

Katie Krueger is an Instructor in the Biological Sciences Program. She earned her PhD in Neurosciences from Case Western Reserve University. Her interests include developing a learning framework and activities to help students solidify their understanding of fundamental biology principles, and help them make conceptual connections among their biology lecture, biology lab, and chemistry courses.

I grew up in Indiana, completed my BS in chemistry at Purdue University in 1997 and my MS in analytical chemistry at Indiana University in 1999. I worked for a year in an analytical laboratory on a naval base, before moving with my husband to Grand Rapids, MI in 2000.  I began teaching chemistry as an adjunct at GVSU and Calvin College part time.  In 2003 I started teaching full time at GVSU as visiting faculty and in 2006 I was converted to affiliate faculty.  From 2010 to 2012 I participated in the Target Inquiry program at GVSU.  I have taught general education chemistry at GVSU, and I currently alternate between analytical chemistry and general chemistry.

Devin Silvia is a teaching specialist in the Department of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. He received his PhD from the University of Colorado in astrophysical and planetary sciences. His research focuses on using numerical simulations to understand how the gas between and around galaxies evolves over time. Devin’s teaching efforts are currently focused on introductory courses in computational modeling and data analysis. In these courses, students learn the basics of Python programming in pursuit of building and interpreting models and manipulating, analyzing, and visualizing data. Devin works to incorporate a wide array of research-based educational practices including interactive learning through flipped classrooms. He is also passionate about promoting equitable and inclusive classroom spaces and raising awareness about potential barriers that prevent student success.

Andrea Bierema is an academic specialist in the Center for Integrative Studies in General Science and Department of Integrative Biology. She has a Master's in Biological Sciences and Doctorate in Science Education: Biological Sciences from Western Michigan University. Andrea teaches ISB 202 (Applications of Environmental and Organismal Biology) and ISB 204 (Applications of Biomedical Sciences). Her courses are designed using a flipped approach in which students learn basic content outside of class time and then class time is dedicated to applying content to case studies. Formats include face-to-face courses, hybrid courses, and online courses. Research interests span from animal behavior to undergraduate science education.

I apply atomic, molecular, & optical physics techniques to answer fundamental questions in nuclear and particle physics. Our group is presently involved in two long term research projects: the development of a single atom microscope for measuring low-yield nuclear reactions relevant for stellar nucleosynthesis and the search for time-reversal symmetry violation using pear-shaped nuclei in atoms and molecules. My teaching projects are to incorporate writing instruction into the senior physics advanced lab course and research-based methods into large lecture courses in order to increase student engagement and active learning.

Stephanie Schaertel is an associate professor of chemistry at Grand Valley State University. She received her PhD in physical chemistry from Cornell University and her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Swarthmore College. At GVSU her teaching is focused on physical chemistry lecture and laboratory and on general chemistry lecture and laboratory. Stephanie has taught writing-intensive courses in the chemistry major. Stephanie enjoys working with undergraduate students on experimental physical chemistry research projects centered on spectroscopic techniques. She also enjoys developing new laboratory experiments or tweaking old ones and she has recently co-authored an article on the construction of a low-cost laser spectrometer for undergraduate labs.