Joins both ends of the tech-skill spectrum - STEM-Trek

Joins both ends of the tech-skill spectrum
Passion and experience matter.
STEM-Trek:
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Is a global, nonprofit organization.
Subsidizes travel and technology education for place-bound STEM scholars from
underserved regions and groups.
Beneficiaries “pay it forward” by volunteering to serve as technology evangelists in their home
communities. By helping job-seekers improve vocational technical skills, they have an
opportunity to inform citizens how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research
impact their lives. The exchange prepares them to be more considerate innovators.
The global research community must travel,
yet budgets have been cut…
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As the global economy began to fail, institutional
travel budgets were trimmed. At the same time, costs
escalated with the price of fuel. For most, travel is now
considered a luxury.
Yet, it is necessary for members of the high-tech
research community who must attend professional
conferences, collaborate with others, and participate in
hands-on learning exercises.
Without the ability to engage with others in person,
the process of research innovation and discovery is
impaired.
Photos (top and
bottom) by
Michael Brenner,
courtesy of EGI
Photo (left) courtesy of TeraGrid, 2010
Familiar Global Unemployment Picture
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Some countries have ~25% unemployment rate (same as US Great Depression);
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Regions and subsets have 50% or more—especially youths, ages 15-25 (the lost generation?).
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Related societal woes further burden the tax base—when people aren’t working,
they don’t contribute,
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Disproportionate number of unemployed youths delays recovery process
for future generations.
Coming apart at the seams—
unemployment destroys global social fabric
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Twice as much depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and drug abuse among unemployed adults.
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Increased social tension & growing sense of unfairness (from escalating rates of physical, emotional, social, and political disorder);
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Less trust in the government and big business (Enron, failed retirements, etc.)
 Undermines the ideology of thrift;
 More defaulting on mortgages and student loans—they blame the economy and lack respect for banks;
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Social movements such as The Arab Spring, 99% Majority; Occupy Wall Street, and others (youths from all social classes find
affinity-solidarity);
Crime rate closely mirrors economic factors, specifically unemployment.
Global unrest. From left: March 2012 Riots in
Russia (source, www.Newstimes.com); Bahrain
Arab Spring demonstration (Getty Images);
2011 unrest in the UK (Andrew Yates, Getty
Images); and Occupy Wall Street movement in
the US (Getty Images).
Job-seekers need technical skills
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Today’s jobs require technical expertise, unlike those of the 1930’s;
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ManpowerGroup, Inc. survey reveals science, engineering, and technology skills are among the top five
sought by today’s employers, with IT skills the third most desired;
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Between 2007 and 2010, industrial outsourcing and the introduction of robotics had resulted in the loss of nine million US
manufacturing jobs. Global changes in the automotive industry have had a huge impact, with job losses totaling 4.4
million in the US and 800,000 in Europe. As Europe continues to struggle with the financial crisis, an additional 500,000
automotive jobs may be cut by manufacturing companies who hope to prevent further losses in Europe.
Five million displaced auto workers would benefit from vocational technical training.
Basic skills are needed to compose a resume and cover letter;
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Unemployment processes are more effectively managed via the Internet.
Aging workforce
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Retirement is either a dream or moving target for babyboomers. Most will have worked an average of eight
years longer before retiring.
Many continue to support aging parents, children, and
grand children which further delays retirement.
Many unemployed have never used a computer and it can
be difficult for older people to learn technical skills.
Veterans and people with disabilities
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High rate of unemployment among
US Veterans who have served
since 2001.
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30-50%
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45% sought compensation for
service-related injury/high rate of
disability.
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People with disabilities must learn
to access information in alternative
technical ways.
STEM-Trekkers pay it forward!
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Serve as technology evangelists in their home communities;
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Contribute to scholarly whitepapers available to subscribed members;
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Participate in online symposiums – extend the reach;
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Leverage and expand STEM-Trek’s robust knowledge network;
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STEM-Trek knowledge network tapped to solve unique challenges
that are identified.
Through volunteer work, STEM-Trekkers will learn how people (esp. those
with disabilities and/or limited technical skills) access information.
With an improved social conscience, STEM-Trekkers will develop more
useful and accessible solutions in the future (avert the lost generation).
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Job-seekers gain deeper appreciation for STEM research and how it
impacts their lives.
Endorsements/Testimonials
Passion and experience matter.
PRACE-Trekker
Anne Meade, Doctoral Researcher
University of Limerick, Ireland
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STEM-Trek is an excellent idea!
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It’s no secret that most global research institutes rely on
government funding, and governments everywhere
have significantly cut travel and conferencing. Because
STEM-Trek is supported by non-government sources, it
helps federally-funded technology initiatives use
limited resources for much-needed e-Infrastructure.
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I was fortunate to attend the 2011 PRACE/XSEDE HPC
Summer School in the US. I learned engineering
techniques from US and EU experts whom I wouldn’t
have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. Phil Blood
(Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center) taught hands-on
heterogeneous computing using CUDA.
Scott Callaghan from the US Southern California
Earthquake Center demonstrated work flow structures
that I quickly applied to my own research. More
importantly, I formed lasting relationships with 70
others that continue via FaceBook, LinkedIn, and STEMTrek’s growing community of supporters. STEM-Trek will
collaborate with global e-Infrastructures to promote
similar opportunities for multinational engagement.
Passion and experience matter…
CODE-Trekker
Robert Dunn, Jr. (Computer Science)
STEM-Trek Ambassador
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XSEDE Campus Champion—the advocate for the use of
resources and services available through the U.S.
National Science Foundation’s eXtreme Digital Science
and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE);
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Research Assistant at Florida Agricultural and
Mechanical University, Tallahassee;
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Currently exploring thesis topics, with the help of STEMTrek Adviser Baha Mirghani. Dunn is interested in
learning how Mirghani applies the use of high
performance computing, data analysis, remote
visualization, and storage resources in the field of civil
engineering;
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Computer programming master, with knowledge of
many codes, including Perl, PHP, CGI, and JavaScript;
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STEM-Trek beneficiary who will pay-it-forward by
helping STEM-Trek code their web presence and launch
the program in November, 2012.
Passion and experience matter…
Leadership
Passion and experience matter.
EXEC-Trekker
Elizabeth Leake, Founder,
Executive Director and President
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More than 20 years of experience in postsecondary education communication and
technology administration;
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External Relations Officer for the US National
Science Foundation’s TeraGrid project.
 Facilitator for the EU/US, PRACE/XSEDE
HPC Summer School in 2010 and 2011;
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US Correspondent for European Grid
Infrastructure Community Forums;
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Chair, President’s Commission on Persons With
Disabilities and Assistive Technology Advocate,
Northern Illinois University;
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International Host Family program volunteer,
Western Illinois University
Passion and experience matter…
EDU-Trekker
David Stack, PhD (UW-Milwaukee)
VP and Technical Adviser
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Experienced with cyberinfrastructure policy,
strategic planning, bioinformatics, and
governance;
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XSEDE Campus Champion (US National
Science Foundation’s eXtreme Science and
Engineering Digital Environment;
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Board member of the Southeast Wisconsin
High-Performance Computing
Cyberinfrastructure (SeWHiP);
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Well-connected with industry professional
organizations;
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STEM-Trek Vice-President.
Passion and experience matter…
STEM-Trekker and Secretary
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I’m from China and received my PhD in Materials
Science from Northwestern University, US in 2012. My
research has involved molecular assemblies at liquid
interfaces with a variety of applications including paint,
detergent, cosmetics, and drug development.
It interests me to know if my contributions would be
useful in different arenas, and what others have done
with high-performance technologies that could be
applied to my work. Conferences are great places to
learn and meet others. Breaks provide the opportunity
to engage with people from different cultural
backgrounds who have varied skill sets. I always return
to work with fresh ideas and treasured relationships—
friends and future collaborators.
I was thankful for the opportunity to attend SC’12
where I learned new things, met interesting people, and
helped to spread the word about STEM-Trek!
Wa Yuan, PhD (Materials Science)
STEM-Trek Secretary
Passion and experience matter…
VET-Trekker
Walter M. Walker, Jr.
Military Adviser, Treasurer
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Army Senior MILES Training Analyst at Yorktown
Group, Inc;
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US Army Command and General Staff College,
Graduate studies in operations management;
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Helps STEM-Trek navigate military channels in an
effort to identify need and collaborate with
existing nonprofits to help veterans who require
technology training or solutions;
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Experienced comptroller—STEM-Trek treasurer.
Passion and experience matter…
Proposal-Trekker
Bio and photo forthcoming. Welcome
Alana! 
Alana Romanella, Virginia Tech
Proposal mentor and STEM-Trek adviser
Passion and experience matter…
SADC-Trekker
Bio and photo forthcoming.
Welcome Happy! 
Happy Sithole, PhD: CHPC/SADC
Adviser and mentor
Passion and experience matter…
InSPIREd-Trekker
Steve Newhouse, PhD: EMBL-EBI (EU)
European research community adviser
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Head of Technical Services, EMBL-EBI (Europe)
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Former Director, EGI.eu organization—supported
grid-enabled research at 350 sites in 50
countries throughout Europe and beyond;
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Former Director, EGI-InSPIRE project;
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Former Chair, Open Grid Forum—establishes
international standards for grid and distributed
computing;
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Greatly enhances STEM-Trek’s knowledge
network and reach as an ambassador for global
initiatives.
Passion and experience matter…
ED-Trekker
Diane Baxter, PhD
Education Adviser
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Education Director,
San Diego Supercomputer Center at University of
California, San Diego;
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Nearly three decades of experience with
developing, funding, teaching, and administering
environmental science and technology education
programs for students of all ages;
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Has a broad vision for the future of education at
multiple levels.
Passion and experience matter…
ENVIRO-Trekker
Baha Mirghani, PhD: Brown & Caldwell
Engineering Industry Adviser
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Engineering professional who applies highperformance computing simulation and
optimization methodologies to the practice
of civil and environmental engineering and
operations research (water reclamation);
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Frequent traveler—Originally from Sudan,
he now hangs his hat in the southeastern
US. The world is his office;
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STEM-Trek donor;
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Has mentored a computer science
graduate student from the largest
historically black university in the US.
Passion and experience matter…
DATA-Trekker
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Research and development specialist at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL)—a multiprogram science and technology
laboratory for the US Department of Energy.
John Cobb, PhD (ORNL)
Data and Outreach Adviser
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Member of the US National Science
Foundation’s DataONE/DataNet
projects (working toward a federated
data management solution);
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Assists with the California Digital
Libraries’ efforts to improve data
curation;
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Past roles include security specialist,
CIO, ORNL Principal Investigator and
education/outreach ambassador for
the TeraGrid project;
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Advises STEM-Trek on best practices
related to data management.
Passion and experience matter…
XSEDE-Trekker
John Towns, XSEDE/NCSA
US-HPC Community Adviser
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Director of Persistent Infrastructure at the US National
Center for Supercomputing Applications;
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TeraGrid Forum Chair;
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Currently leads XSEDE, one of the most
comprehensive technology research environments in
the world (US National Science Foundation’s eXtreme
Science and Engineering Discovery Environment);
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Experienced with the architecture and support of
advanced technologies, federal policy, global
engagement, and strategic planning;
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Experienced soccer (aka football) coach.
Passion and experience matter…
EU-Trekker
Catherine Newhouse
EU research community adviser
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Served as Deputy Director for the European Grid Infrastructure
(EGI) which supported grid-enabled research at 350 sites in 50
countries throughout Europe and beyond;
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Studied Materials Science at Oxford University and Science
Communication at Imperial College;
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Worked for the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE project at CERN
before joining EGI in the Netherlands in 2010;
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Project coordinator for e-ScienceTalk, which highlights the
success of Europe's e-Infrastructure via websites, blogs and
videocasts;
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Identifies partners and need from regions represented by EGI;
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STEM-Trek EU dissemination director.
Passion and experience matter…
GRID-Trekker
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More than 20 years of experience with
grant-funded research and technology
administration;
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Member of high-energy physics research
community and active with the CMS Project at
CERN (one of two research groups to identify
the Higgs Boson-like particle);
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Founding member of the Open Science Grid
which enables US researchers to engage with
advanced technologies in the US and Europe,
including the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
Paul Avery, PhD
US Open Science Community Adviser
Passion and experience matter…
SIM-Trekker
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Software Engineer/Makani-GoogleX
Postdoctoral Scholar, Performance Modeling for Scientific
Computing at Argonne National Laboratory
Leadership Computing Facility;
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Developed open-source research tools that are gaining
a wide user community;
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Initiated and organized multiple international scientific workshops;
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Interested in the design of virtual training experiences with a
humanitarian purpose;
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Experience with multinational humanitarian initiatives:
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Melton Foundation Fellow;
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Red Cross, Student Chair (Zhejiang University, China);
Eco-friends volunteer (Kanpur, India);
Habitat for humanity (US);
Volunteered to teach in rural elementary schools (China).
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Jiayuan Meng, PhD (GoogleX)
Training Environment Adviser
Passion and experience matter…
FUND-Trekker
James E. Holtzman, MBA
Financial Adviser
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Experienced Chief Financial Officer;
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Sectors include cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS),
high-tech manufacturing, and telecommunications;
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Experienced with the rapid scaling of businesses in massive
growth phases, business and corporate development, sales and
equity, and debt fundraising with tranches ranging from $2.5
million to over $300 million;
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Has participated in the growth of businesses ranging from $1
million to $1.5 billion in annual revenue;
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Specialties include early stage companies, corporate
development, business development, cloud computing, SaaS,
not-for-profit, international, and more.
Passion and experience matter…
PRACE-Trekker
Thomas Eickermann, PRACE/JSC
EU-HPC Community Adviser
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Project manager of the European Union’s
PRACE-1 IP project;
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Head of Division Communication Systems
at Jüelich Supercomputing Centre,
Germany since 2002;
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1994 Ph.D. in Physics from University of
Düsseldorf;
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Interests and activities include EU
communication, security, system
administration, grid computing, and
networking.
Passion and experience matter…
GRANT-Trekker
Contractual Consultant, non-voting.
Bio and photo forthcoming.
Welcome Cathy!
Highly skilled in P&L management, budgets, funding
strategies, marketing analysis and contract
negotiations. Proven record of accomplishment of
increasing income, collections, developing public
relations, market plan execution, capital asset
oversight, cost containment, budgeting and finance,
developing and improving donor and
client/consumer relations.
Cathy Wilhite, Grants Administrator
and TechTopia Major Domo
Passion and experience matter…
GLOBE-Trekker
Ian Foster, PhD
Global Engagement Adviser
Founding adviser, inactive.
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The Father of Grid Computing and
co-founder of Globus Online;
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Co-architect of the US National Science
Foundation’s Extreme Science and Engineering
Discovery Environment (XSEDE);
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Director of the Computation Institute at the
University of Chicago and Argonne National
Laboratory;
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Liaison between STEM-Trek and researchers who
use advanced technologies to develop solutions
to the world’s big problems.
Passion and experience matter…
SOCIAL-Trekker
Noshir Contractor, PhD
Social Dynamics Adviser
Founding adviser, inactive.
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Northwestern University, Jane S. & William J. White
Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Departments of
Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences,
Communication Studies, and Management and
Organizations;
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PI or co-PI on more than $15 million in grant
funding since 1990 including two grants from the
US Army Research Institute;
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Advises STEM-Trek on matters of organizational
management and communication;
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Benefactor who paid-it-forward by donating points
to support STEM-Trek’s first travel award.
Passion and experience matter…
www.stem-trek.org
Passion and experience matter.