NSF ADVANCE ASCEND
Midwest Alliances
Administrators
Dr. Rebecca Drenovsky
John Carroll University • University Heights, OH
Dr. Rebecca E. Drenovsky is Interim Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Biology at John Carroll University. In the Office of Academic Affairs, she leads faculty development initiatives, supports faculty and student research efforts, co-chairs the University Committee on Educational Policies, and serves as the academic liaison for various committees and initiatives. As Dean of Graduate Studies, she has worked to centralize graduate operations across the university, increase graduate student enrollment, identify new programs and certificates to launch, and improve the student experience. She also leads two STEM scholarship programs on campus, a National Science Foundation Scholarships in STEM award, which supports low income, high potential students to succeed in STEM disciplines, and an Ohio Department of Higher Education Choose Ohio First Grant, which supports high achieving Ohio residents to thrive in STEM majors and careers. An active researcher, she has mentored more than 25 undergraduate and 13 graduate student researchers at John Carroll. She also has served as a panel member (2015) and Panel Chair (2015-2018) for the Living Earth proposal review committee for the French National Research Agency, and she is a corresponding editor for Plant and Soil and an associate editor for the American Journal of Botany. She also is a Catalyst for a National Science Foundation-funded ADVANCE ASCEND project (Midwest Region), in which she works collaboratively with other administrators and faculty to create a more equitable and just campus culture, promoting the retention and advancement of a diverse faculty and student body. She earned her Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the University of California, Davis.
Dr. Sherri Morris
Bradley University • Peoria, IL
Dr. Sherri Morris is a professor of biology and the Associate Dean of Curriculum and Faculty Excellence in the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Bradley University. She is the former co-director of the Center for STEM Education (2012-2022) and the former chair of the Biology Department (2014-2022). She has a PhD. from Ohio State University, and a BS and MS from San Diego State University. Dr. Morris has been active in research, teaching and service at BU since hired in 2000. Over the last twenty years, she has received grants for research, research with undergraduates and graduate students, and informal science education from the Department of Energy, NSF, and Illinois American Water. Her research focuses on basic and applied science and STEM education. Since arriving at BU she has worked on the impacts of land use change on soil organic matter dynamics. She has an active research lab and works extensively with undergraduates in both basic and applied research on local soils. Her STEM education research focuses on evaluating student engagement and achievement in Biology Core courses.
Dr. Bryan Smith
Heidelberg University • Tiffin, OH
Dr. Bryan Smith is the Dean of Allied Health, Behavioral, and Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at Heidelberg University. He is also the Susan C. Wolf Endowed Chair for the Natural Sciences. In his role he oversees the work of 32 faculty and research scientists. He earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Wyoming. He enjoys gardening, birdwatching, and spending time with his family.
Biology
Dr. Rachel Bergstrom
Beloit College • Beloit, WI
Dr. Rachel Bergstrom is Associate Professor of Biology and Faculty Co-director of the first- and second-year Advising and Mentoring Program at Beloit College. She earned her PhD in Biomedical Sciences – Neurobiology of Disease from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2012. Dr. Bergstrom joined the Beloit College Faculty in 2014, where she teaches and advises students in the Biology, Biochemistry, and Health and Society programs. She currently serves as Faculty Director of the Advising and Mentoring Program, a college-wide program for first- and second-year students centered on whole-student advising and mentoring during a critical period of transition for students. Her research interests include signal analysis for epilepsy and the structures and practices surrounding group work in STEM classrooms.
Dr. Melinda Faulkner
Bradley University • Peoria, IL
Dr. Melinda Faulkner is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Department of Biology at Bradley University. She teaches introductory and upper-level courses including Molecules to Cells, Microbiology, Bacterial Pathogenesis, and Introduction to Biomedical Science. Dr. Faulkner is dedicated to providing engaging research experiences to undergraduate students, regularly mentoring several students each semester. Consistent with this, Dr. Faulkner serves as co-organizer of the Bradley University Student Scholarship Expo since 2018. This is a University-wide celebration where students present posters of their research, scholarship, or creative production projects to judges from Bradley and the surrounding community. Dr. Faulkner is also the chair of a departmental committee responsible for funding undergraduate student research projects, regularly serves as a poster judge at conferences and local science fairs, and has served as a mentor at panel discussions to those seeking jobs at primarily undergraduate institutions. Dr. Faulkner earned her PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University.
Dr. Amy McElhinney
University of Mount Union • Alliance, OH
Dr. Amy McElhinney is in her 12th year of service at the University of Mount Union. She teaches classes in introductory cell & molecular biology as well as upper level classes in developmental biology, marine biology, and molecular biology. In addition to her work teaching classes in biology and environmental science, she also co-chairs a gender inclusive working group tackling issues of gender equality and inclusivity on campus. In August 2022 she took on the role of campus sustainability coordinator for the campus community. She loves interacting with students in any capacity (advising, instruction, research mentorship, field trip exploration, etc.) and knows that her work with undergraduates helps her to continue to feel young and excited about the possibilities that life holds.
Dr. Kristy Wilson
Marian University • Indianapolis, IN
Dr. Kristy Wilson is an Associate Professor of Biology at Marian University in Indianapolis. In this role, she teaches molecular genetics and biochemistry, and serves to support research as a consultant for faculty interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning where she provides mentorship and presents workshops. She is a Co-PI for the S-STEM grant titled: “STEM Scholars: Supporting Graduation of Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics Majors by Developing Their STEM Ethical Knowledge and Identity as Scientists.” She on the editorial board for CBE-Life Science Education where she was inaugural co-editor for the Evidence-Based Teaching Guide (EBTG) feature. EBTGs lowers the barriers for faculty to incorporate evidence-based practices into their teaching by identifying literature associated with a specific pedagogy which are distilled to provide practical recommendations (https://lse.ascb.org). Her research investigates best practices for educating scientists/health professionals by using model-based instruction and understanding the role of research ethics in the development of student science identity. She earned her PhD at Purdue University in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program and did her post-doc in Emory University’s Fellowship in Research and Science Teaching (FIRST) program with mentored teaching experience at Morehouse College.
Chemistry
Dr. Teresa Bixby
Lewis University • Romeoville, IL
Dr. Teresa Bixby, Professor of Chemistry, received a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry and Physics from Susquehanna University in 2003 and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2009. After a 3-year postdoctoral research fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Dr. Bixby began a tenure-track position in the Chemistry Department at Lewis University in 2012. In her time at Lewis she shifted from experimental physical chemistry research to chemical education research. She was a member of the Primary Collaboration Team for the ELIPSS Project, directs research for an NSF S-STEM grant Project Synergy, and is co-PI on an NSF Robert Noyce Teaching Scholarship grant. Over the years she has deepened her engagement with university assessment and will transition to an administrative position for academic effectiveness in the Provost’s office in 2024.
Dr. Mary Konkle
Ball State University • Muncie, IN
Dr. Mary E. Konkle is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Ball State University. She returned to her alma mater in 2017 after achieving tenure at Eastern Illinois University where she served for 7 years. Dr. Konkle is a protein biochemist with an active research laboratory consisting of primarily undergraduate student researchers. Dr. Konkle is an advocate for increasing access and participation in undergraduate research as a high impact practice. She advocates through her position as a Chemistry Councilor in the Council of Undergraduate Research and as a mentor in the Indiana Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Dr. Konkle is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana and received her B.S. (Chemistry) from Ball State University and her Ph.D. (Chemistry) from Vanderbilt University and Medical Center.
Dr. Sunshine Silver
North Park University • Chicago, IL
Dr. Sunshine Silver is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Co-Chair of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at North Park University in Chicago. She earned her BS in Chemistry from St. Cloud State University, a PhD in Biochemistry from Montana State University, and held a Postdoctoral appointment at Argonne National Laboratory in the Solar Energy Conversion group. Dr. Silver teaches a variety of introductory and upper-level chemistry courses including Allied-Health GOB courses, Inorganic Chemistry, and an upper-level Biochemistry sequence. She is currently enjoying advising students and performing undergraduate research on select metalloenzymes. Dr. Silver serves on the faculty senate at NPU and is a Co-PI on a NSF-S-STEM grant which aims to prepare students for science careers through an urban immersion program connecting students with industry opportunities. Dr. Silver is active in the Chicago Section of the ACS, serves as an ACS Science Coach, and is active in her community.
Dr. Laura Wysocki
Wabash College • Crawfordsville, IN
Dr. Laura Wysocki is the Edwin J. Peck/David A. Phillips Professor and the Chair of the Chemistry Department at Wabash College. She specializes in Organic Chemistry and her collaborative undergraduate research program focuses on the synthesis and study of fluorescent dye derivatives that can be used as sensors or enzyme substrates. Additionally, Dr. Wysocki’s scholarship includes an interest in chemical education, specifically related to science communication. She is currently the PI on an NSF-IUSE Award to support this research. Dr. Wysocki earned her Ph.D. in natural product synthesis at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Janelia Research Campus before joining the faculty at Wabash College in 2011. She has always been inspired by the interdisciplinary nature of science and enjoys working with undergraduates in her laboratory and classroom exploring new ideas.
Engineering
Dr. Megan Conrad
University of Detroit Mercy • Detroit, MI
Dr. Megan Conrad is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and recipient of the Clare Boothe Luce Professorship at the University of Detroit Mercy. She holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University. As head of the Assistive Technologies Lab her research interests center around the assessment of human performance in healthy and disabled populations as it pertains to therapy, work and product design. Specifically, she studies hand and arm function with the goal of identifying techniques that will allow elderly and disabled individuals to remain independent at home and work.
Dr. Jacqueline Henderson
Bradley University • Peoria, IL
Dr. Jacqueline Henderson is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Bradley University. She is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University (BS Mechanical Engineering) & Wayne State University (MS Mechanical Engineering /PhD Biomedical Engineering). After completing her doctoral studies, she joined the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Mayo Clinic. Currently, she is able to connect students to the medical field through research of musicians, musculoskeletal biomechanics and human resting muscle tone through engineering application. Additionally, the development of a course integrating human centered design principles and biomedical engineering has provide an opportunity for students to design and evaluate in areas of rehabilitation. Dr. Henderson is the department transfer advisor as well as for selected students in the biomedical concentration. While serving as the chapter advisor for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), she is the Director of the Bradley University/ Detroit Area Pre-College Program (DAPCEP) STEM Program that is committed to sharing STEM with the local 5th -8th graders.
Dr. Michelle Marincel Payne
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology • Terre Haute, IN
Dr. Michelle Marincel Payne is an assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, her M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and her B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. At Rose-Hulman, Michelle is co-leading an Undergraduate Research Community to support undergraduates’ learning through research, efforts to integrate open-ended problems and ethics throughout the civil engineering curricula, and development of appropriate technology courses with strong emphasis on social sustainability. She also leads undergraduate research to remove stormwater pollutants in engineered wetlands. For her work in bringing appropriate technology topics to the undergraduate classroom, Michelle received the Leo T. Jansen Best Paper Award at the Engineering Education for Sustainable Development conference. Michelle was a 2018 ExCEEd Fellow, and was recognized as the 2019 American Society of Civil Engineering Daniel V. Terrell Awardee for her paper on the value of diversity and inclusion statements in professional codes of ethics.
Dr. Katharine Polasek
Hope College • Holland, MI
Dr. Katharine Polasek, professor and chair, earned a B.S.E in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 2001 and her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 2007. She joined the faculty at Hope College in 2010 after a post-doc at Case Western. At Hope, she started the biomedical engineering concentration and is also the faculty advisor for the campus chapter of the Society for Women Engineers. Katharine specializes in neural engineering, with a focus on restoring function to people with neurological disorders. Her current research is looking at developing a therapy to treat phantom limb pain for people with amputated limbs. Katharine has become more involved in campus governance and is looking for more professional development opportunities.
Mathematics
Dr. Rebecca Fang
John Carroll University • University Heights, OH
Dr. Rebecca Fang is an Associate Professor of Mathematics, Computer Science and Data Science at John Carroll University. She earned her PhD in Mathematical Science from Michigan Technological University in 2013. Her research interests are applied statistics, education, and data analytics. She has been teaching for more than ten years. Currently, Dr. Fang serves as a Co-PI on an NSF S-STEM program. She also has been a Mathematical Association of America Project NExT fellow since 2015. She is committed to providing engaging teaching and independent research experiences for her students.
Dr. Kelly Jabbusch
University of Michigan - Dearborn • Dearborn, MI
Dr. Kelly Jabbusch is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and German from Willamette University in 2000 and her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Washington in 2007. She held postdoctoral positions in Germany (University of Cologne and University of Freiburg) and Sweden (KTH), as well as a visiting position at Valparaiso University before joining the faculty at the University of Michigan – Dearborn in 2012. Her area of research is algebraic geometry, in particular notions of positivity for vector bundles and toric varieties. Dr. Jabbusch teaches at all levels of the mathematics curriculum, from calculus to abstract algebra. For multiple summers, she has mentored undergraduates from across the country at the UM-Dearborn REU, leading groups on projects related to error correcting codes arising from toric varieties.
Dr. May Mei
Denison University • Granville, OH
Dr. May Mei is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Denison University, as well as the department chair. She received her PhD from the University of California, Irvine and her BA from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research involves the application of dynamical systems to mathematical physics. Additionally, she has worked on integer sequences, the Game of Life, the epistemology and cognitive science of mathematics, and modeling mollusk growth. Dr. Mei is an engaged and enthusiastic instructor who treats teaching as a craft and hones her pedagogy intentionally.
Dr. Sara Quinn
Dominican University • River Forest, IL
Dr. Sara Quinn is currently Associate Professor of Mathematics at Dominican University. She earned a BS in Mathematics from Loyola University Chicago and MS and PhD degrees in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame in the field of mathematical logic. Dr. Quinn served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Northwestern University prior to her appointment at Dominican University. She is involved in the recreational mathematics community as an organizer of regular recreational mathematics paper sessions at MathFest and the Joint Mathematics Meetings and as a member of the Math Horizons editorial board. As a faculty member at a Hispanic-Serving Institution, Dr. Quinn is an advocate for increasing the success and persistence of underrepresented students in mathematics and engineering. As a mother of five children, she is also passionate about issues of work and family within academia, particularly as they affect women.
Physics + Engineering
Dr. Kalyani Nair
Bradley University • Peoria, IL
Dr. Kalyani Nair is currently an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Bradley University. She earned her PhD from Drexel University in 2008, and started working at Bradley University in the Fall of 2008. Over the last twelve years she’s taught introductory and major undergraduate and graduate level courses in mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering. Dr. Nair’s educational and research interests are in the areas of biomechanics, tissue engineering, medical device development, computer aided design, and finite element analysis. She’s been the coordinator of the biomedical engineering concentration in mechanical engineering at Bradley University since 2008. Dr. Nair has received awards in recognition of teaching excellence and research from the college of engineering at Bradley University.
Dr. Britt Scharringhausen
Beloit College • Beloit, WI
Dr. Britt Scharringhausen, Associate Professor, has a B.S. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Iowa and a PhD in Astronomy from Cornell University. Her research focus is photometric modeling of Saturn's rings, including the F ring, in edge-on observations. She is the first woman who was granted tenure in the physics department at Beloit College, and the first woman to chair the department. Her hobbies include running long distances slowly, knitting, drawing, and table-top board games and roleplaying games.
Dr. Deborah Walter
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology • Terre Haute, IN
Dr. Deborah Walter is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Her areas of expertise include design, and medical imaging. She started college at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park. After receiving her PhD at the Pennsylvania State University, she went to work for GE at the Global Research Center. She was in the Computed Tomography laboratory where she helped to design new x-ray CT systems for medical diagnostic and industrial inspection applications. She is a named inventor on 12 patents related to x-ray CT. helped found the Rose Building Undergraduate Diversity (ROSE-BUD) program. She is keenly interested in the design of medical technologies for low-resource settings.