Project Team

Principal Investigator

Tirupalavanam Ganesh, Ph.D., has degrees and experience in engineering, computer science, and education. He has brought this experience to bear in previous research that examined the use of technologies in K-12 settings with diverse students. In his prior position as faculty at the University of Houston he has worked with the Children’s Museum of Houston on the development and implementation of Roboticsbased STEM programming for urban youth. He will coordinate the activities of the project and work with various constituents to ensure that the project goals are met.

Co-Principal Investigators

Dale Baker, Ed.D., is an international expert in equity issues in science education. She was honored in 2006-07 as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for this body of work. Her role for this project is in curriculum design: with a focus on science content, alignment of activities with State and National Standards, creation of formative and summative assessment, and observation and interview of project participants. She will oversee data analysis and preparation of findings for project publications.

Monica Elser, M.S., M.Ed., is the education manager for ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS). She has expertise in ecology and sustainability education, and administering after-school science clubs. She developed and administers the award-winning Ecology Explorers program and Service at Salado project. At GIOS, she directs the sustainability education programs for the NSF-funded Decision Center for a Desert City. For this effort, she will oversee the implementation of the urban and desert sustainability-related projects.

Jay Golden, Ph.D., is a faculty member in ASU’s School of Sustainability and codirector of the National Center of Excellence on SMART Innovations for Urban Climate and Energy. He will work with the GIOS education team to bring current engineering research on sustainability in the urban environment to this effort.

Sheri Klug, M.S., is the formal education lead for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Public Engagement Team with is administered on behalf of the NASA Mars Exploration Program. She is the Director of the ASU Mars Education Program and located within the ASU Mars Space Flight Facility. She is the Education and Public Outreach Element Lead for the NASA HQ Humans to Mars Working Group. Her team will deliver the Imagine Mars portion of this project that will allow students to create a community on Mars for 100 individuals in the year 2030.

Steve Krause, Ph.D., is professor of Materials Science and Engineering. His research in engineering education has focused on misconceptions and he has expertise in the development of concept inventories that we will use to assess student learning. He will ensure the coherence of engineering content as it relates to emerging K-12 Engineering standards and articulation with related science, mathematics, and workforce standards.