Niroj Aryal is a dual major Ph. D. candidate in department of Biosystems Engineering and Agricultural Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. He received MS in Biosystems Engineering from MSU in 2010. His research interests are in areas of emerging pollutants, environmental remediation, and water quality. Niroj’s dissertation research focuses on development of sustainable technology for food processing wastewater treatment using poplar plantations. He also is keenly interested in novel instructional techniques in classroom to enhance student learning. As a FAST fellow in 2012/13, Niroj evaluated perception of students towards flipped classrooms and their performance in an upper level undergraduate engineering course. In 2013/14, Niroj is looking at enhancing student accountability in out-of-class activities, such as preassignments.

Cynthia Balthazar is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Community Sustainability; she is focusing on program planning and evaluation and international community development. This academic year, she received the Milton H. Steinmueller Fellowship and through the fellowship, assisted in teaching a Program Planning and Evaluation course in her department. Broadly, her research interests are in planning and evaluation of international education and development programs. Her undergraduate background is in mathematics, chemistry and education. She has taught in public schools, community colleges and the university and have spent some time home-schooling her children. With this wide array of educational experiences, and her current position as a part –time mathematics teacher with the Lansing Public schools (grades 7 and 12), another interest is in the education American children are getting as it prepares them for their post-secondary plans; as it ranks in the global arena; and how colleges and universities can help effect change to decrease the gap in knowledge that forces students to spend their first years in the university taking remediation courses.

Justin Beauchamp is a sixth year Cell and Mollecular Biology doctoral candidate working in Claire Vieille’s lab at Michigan State University. He graduated with a B.A. in Chemistry and Mollecular Biology/Biochemistry from Goshen College. He is currently a GAANN fellow as part of the Interdisciplinary Bioelectronics Training Program. Justin’s research focuses on developing a bioelectronics interface that will allow dehydrogenase enzymes to be used as catalysts with electrochemical cofactor regeneration. He is primarily studying Thermotoga maritima glycerol dehydrogenase which can be used to produce dihydroxyacetone from glycerol. He is studying the enzymes properties and developing methods for cofactor and enzyme immobilization. As a FAST fellow, he is interested in studying how the introvert/extrovert personality traits affect student participation and homework completion.

Alita Burmeister grew up in Wisconsin, where she earned her B.S. in bacteriology and worked as a microbiologist in the cheese industry. She moved to Michigan State University to study the basic facets of coevolution of bacterial cells and their viruses. Using experimental evolution, her primary research interests include how coevolution yields diversity and life history trait evolution. Alita teaches a microbial genetics laboratory for undergrads, where she is integrating evolutionary thinking into the curriculum and developing tools to teach applications of evolutionary biology. Alita is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, & Behavior Program.

Tom Finzell is a third year Ph.D. student in the Astronomy department at Michigan State University. He received his undergraduate degree in both Physics and Astronomy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently studying a type of explosive event known as a nova, which are the slightly less energetic (though more common) version of a supernova. Nova events fall under the category of transients, meaning that each event is exceptionally bright and they can only be studied for a brief period of time before fading away. In terms of teaching and the FAST Fellowship, Tom is interested in how students understand physics specific words and terms, the effect of social interactions in peer learning situations, and preconceived notions students have regarding physics.

Adam Fritsch is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University. He received his B.A. degree in Physics from Wabash College. At MSU, he is a research assistant in experimental nuclear physics at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, and has collaborated with other institutions and laboratories including the University of Notre Dame and Argonne National Laboratory. Adam's dissertation research investigates the cluster structure of Carbon-14 by way of a 40 MeV Beryllium-10 beam incident on Helium-4. As a FAST fellow, Adam will look at how methods for teaching introductory undergraduate physics, on which there is much research, may differ from the best methods for teaching advanced undergraduate studies in physics and for general physics educational outreach.

Indumathy (Indu) Jayamani is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She received her M.S in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MSU in 2009. Her research interests are in bioremediation of recalcitrant and emerging contaminants and the application of molecular biology tools in laboratory and field studies for remediation. Indu’s dissertation focuses on using a molecular tool ‘Stable Isotope Probing’ to identify microorganisms involved in bioremediation of BTEX and RDX in laboratory microcosms. From a teaching perspective, she is interested in designing and using effective assessments as a teaching and learning tool. She is also interested in identifying best teaching and learning methods from her student and teaching experience to improve learning via metacognition.

Cory Kohn is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Zoology and in the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior graduate program, and a member of the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. He earned a B.S. in Ecology and Evolution, and a B.A. in History and Philosophy of Science and in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. Cory is an evolutionary biologist whose dissertation work focuses on exploring the utility of non-biological evolving systems in investigating population differentiation. Specifically, he uses digitally evolving populations to construct known evolutionary histories from which to test the conditional ability of historical inference methodologies, i.e. phylogenetics. As an instructor in evolutionary biology, he acknowledges the unique challenges regarding students' conceptual understanding within his field. As a FAST Fellow, Cory would like to examine whether instruction in the science is sufficient in resolving misconceptions or if those preconceived ideas should be addressed directly.

Isis Kuczaj is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and in the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program at Michigan State University. Additionally, she is enrolled in the Disease Ecology and Conservation Medicine doctoral specialization, and a Certificate in College Teaching. Isis’ primary research intertwines behavioral and disease ecology by examining how variation in vector behavior contributes to the epidemiology of Lyme disease in the eastern United States. As a FAST fellow, Isis is interested in identifying and developing effective methods to motivate student learning. To do this, she would like to assess student attitudes and understanding of the learning objectives for a module designed to educate students about the interdependence of ecosystems and human health.

Jonathan Markey is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Plant Biology. As a recipient of the Award for Excellence Scholarship, he earned his B.S. degree in Chemistry, with a minor in Biology, from Saginaw Valley State University. He earned an M.S. degree in Pharmacology from the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine, where he worked in the lab of Dr. Anthony Morielli studying the regulation of voltage gated potassium channels. His thesis work was featured in a 2007 article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Currently a graduate student in the Ebert-May lab at MSU, Jonathan’s interests lie in the area of discipline-based education research. His current dissertation research involves developing and validating an instrument to measure the pedagogical content knowledge of post-secondary instructors in the context of selected genetics and molecular biology topics. As a FAST fellow, Jonathan is interested in studying students’ alternative conceptions of selected genetics and molecular biology concepts.

Julie Plasencia is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. She received her MS in Human Nutrition from MSU in 2008 and subsequently obtained the registered dietitian credential. Prior to returning for her Ph.D., Julie worked as a clinical dietitian, in-patient and outpatient diabetes educator and as an Extension nutrition specialist, developing community nutrition programs for the Hispanic community in Las Vegas, NV. Her research and practice interests are diabetes and chronic disease, diabetes self-management education and reducing health disparities through nutrition education, with a special interest in Hispanic/Latino populations. As a FAST fellow, Julie is interested in assessment of cultural competency skills in students who intend to work in health care professions, specifically nutrition and dietetics.

Eileen S. Rodriguez-Tapia is a fifth year graduate student in the Neuroscience Program. She received her B.A. in Biology from University of Puerto Rico at Cayey Campus. Her dissertation research focuses on understanding the functional relevance of voltage-gated calcium channels in the regulation of gut motility. Her teaching as research project will focus on identifying the most common misconceptions that science students hold and investigate how two different teaching styles change those misconceptions. Completion of these studies will allow her determine which instruction method is more effective and potentially target the features making it successful. Her long-term goal is to become a well-rounded professor and as such she wants her students to see the learning process as an exciting and productive one. She sees the FAST Program as the perfect track to master the skills that will allow her to become the teacher the science education world is expecting.

Trisha A. Smrecak is a third year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geological Sciences. She received her BS in Geology at St. Lawrence University, an M.S. in Geology at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to starting her dissertation work at MSU, she worked for three years at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, NY. Her research focuses on encrusting marine invertebrate fossils and how they responded to changes in environmental conditions through time. She has over five years of experience teaching various courses as a teaching assistant and an adjunct instructor. Trisha is particularly interested in the intersection of formal and informal education and how college students can benefit from informal learning environments like museums and field sites. As a FAST Fellow, she will explore these boundaries by studying the impact of museum exhibits on college- aged learners.

Neil White is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He is from Michigan and received his B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University. His dissertation research is on thermodynamics, kinetics, and dynamics of ribozymes (RNA enzymes). Neil has been a TA for MSU multiple times and mentored students in the research lab he is in. These enriching experiences have left him with questions he wishes to explore as a FAST fellow. His teaching as research project will focus on student and teacher reflections on metacognition to enhance teaching and learning via improved selection and implementation of methodology.

FAST Fellow Bios