Dr. Toolin's research focuses on
constructivist models of teaching and learning that promote science
classrooms that are grounded in principles of inquiry-based and
project-based teaching and learning in urban and rural schools. Her
teaching interests include science curriculum, instruction and
assessment, and diversity issues in science education. She is
Principal Investigator of the NSF: Robert
Noyce Scholarship Program and the Vermont Secondary Science
Partnership and Co-PI for the NSF: Satellites, Weather and Climate
Program Grant currently underway at UVM. Dr. Toolin serves as a
member of the editorial board for the Journal of Science Education
and Technology and has published her research pertaining to science
teaching and learning in Science
Education, the International Journal of Science Education, The
Science Teacher, and the
Journal of Science Education and Technology.
Dr. Waterman's area of expertise is within synthetic inorganic chemistry, organometallic chemistry, and catalysis. Dr. Waterman received a Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science Research Fellowship (2004-2007). He was awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2008), a Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar Award (2009), and a Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship (2009).
Carmen Petrick Smith is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Vermont. She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied the effects of embodied actions on learning geometry. Her research interests center on embodied cognition, games for learning and STEM education. She is also a former high school mathematics teacher, and in addition to her work in education, she can solve a Rubik's cube, is a former Guinness World Record holder for dancing the Thriller, and won the 2008 O. Henry Pun-Off World Chamionships.
Dr. Tan is an Assistant Professor in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS). His research focuses on the synergy of mechanics and materials, including fracture of materials, energy infrastructure materials and art structure conservations. He is particularly interested in developing experimental approaches to investigate the failure mechanisms of materials and structures in the context of energy and sustainability.