Faculty
Louise Hainline
Principal Investigator, 2007–13
Louise Hainline is a professor in psychology at Brooklyn College. She received her B.A. in psychology from Brown University and her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Harvard University. Her research interests include the development of vision and visual problems in human infants, human cognition in natural settings including how people learn in school settings, and the social psychology of educational achievement in diverse populations. She is PI of a number of grants to improve the diversity of the professoriate in the sciences and in other disciplines. Hainline believes that transforming the undergraduate STEM learning begins with a clear vision grounded firmly in the institutional mission. This statement of mission and vision from Brooklyn College illustrates the power of a driving vision to mobilize a community to dream big about its future, in the context of planning new spaces for science.
Professor Hainline's Department of Psychology website
Micha Tomkiewicz
Co-Principal Investigator, 2007–13
Micha Tomkiewicz is professor of physics at Brooklyn College; professor of physics and chemistry in the School for Graduate Studies of the City University of New York; and director of the Environmental Studies Program and the Electrochemistry Institute at Brooklyn College. Previously, he was divisional editor, Journal of the Electrochemical Society (1981–91); chairman, Energy and Technology Division, the Electrochemical Society (1991–93); and member, International Organizing Committee of the Conferences on Photochemical Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy (1989–92).
Tomkiewicz helped to run the summer workshop concentrating on environmental issues on which data were gathered locally while quantitative skills were generalized to other curricular activities. He has participated in the collective efforts of running the program and he was the PIs liaison to the AUP high-school, one of the five participating high-schools. Tomkiewicz attended regularly the national conference of the GK-12 programs.
Professor Tomkiewicz's blog on climate change
Wayne Powell
Principal Investigator, 2007–11
Wayne Powell is a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College. Powell's scientific research interests involve field-based petrological studies applied to broader geological problems. Currently, he is involved in three lines of research: 1) the factors that controlled exceptional preservation in the Burgess Shale-type fossil beds; 2) the origin and timing of Proterozoic orebodies in the Highlands of New York and New Jersey; and 3) tin mineralization in western Serbia and its possible Bronze Age exploitation. He has an ongoing interest in earth's ancient history; his past studies have sought to understand Archean tectonic processes and the origin of Archean lode gold deposits. Powell is involved extensively in aspects of geoscience education design and reform. In particular he is interested in partnerships with museums, parks and community organizations to provide community-based learning opportunities for students of the earth sciences in urban environments, and to empower earth science teachers to deliver similar experiences.
Rebecca Boger
Co-Principal Investigator, 2007–11
Rebecca Boger's educational background and work experience have given her an interdisciplinary background in GIS, marine science, science education, geography and statistics. In 1998, she received a Knauss Fellowship in Marine Policy and worked for the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program on the science team. She continued working for GLOBE until June 2007 as an international project scientist, regional desk officer for Africa and the Near East, and deputy director for international and U.S. partnerships. She enjoys building collaborations among scientists, teachers, students and other citizens to undertake science and education projects. She has a keen interest in working in the greater New York City area and in developing countries, particularly Africa. Her research interests include watershed studies and management, wetlands, estuarine habitats and coastal processes.
Simon Parsons
Co-Principal Investigator, 2007–09
Simon Parsons, a native of the United Kingdom, is a professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science. Following postdoctoral work, Parsons was a lecturer (assistant professor) at the University of London (1995–2000), and a reader (research associate professor) at the University of Liverpool (2000–02). In 2002, he moved to the United States, and in September he joined Brooklyn College as an associate professor. He was promoted to full professor in January 2007. His general area of research is artificial intelligence, specifically interaction between the components of a multiagent system, and he has published more than 200 papers on topics relating to this area.
