Advisory Board
Julia Chamberlain, Ph.D.
Chemistry
jchamberlain@ucdavis.edu
Julia Chamberlain is a Lecturer with Potential Security of Employment (LPSOE) in the UC Davis Department of Chemistry. She completed her doctorate in solid state inorganic chemistry at Northwestern University in 2010, and postdoctoral studies in Chemical Education Research at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Chamberlain’s postdoctoral research on PhET Interactive Simulations included interface design, effects of guidance on students’ simulation interaction, and pedagogical roles and best practices for simulation use in large lecture learning environments. At UC Davis, her research focuses on course transformation in three significant areas: curricular change, instructional formats, and program-level supports for student engagement in active learning. Dr. Chamberlain teaches General Chemistry and coordinates a growing cohort of undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) for her courses.
Harry Cheng, Ph.D.
Engineering
hhcheng@ucdavis.edu
Dr. Harry H. Cheng is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Graduate Group in Computer Science, and Graduate Group in Education, and Director of the Integration Engineering Lab at UC Davis. He founded and directs the UC Davis Center for Integrated Computing and STEM Education (C-STEM). Over the last 10 years, he has pioneered the work on systemically integrating computing and robotics into K-12 formal math education with a focus on Algebra, the gatekeeper for STEM fields. He has taught computer programming, robotics, and engineering software design at UC Davis since 1992, authored and co-authored more than 180 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, and holds two U.S. patents.
Ozcan Gulacar, PhD.
Chemistry
ogulacar@ucdavis.edu
Ozcan Gulacar has a Master’s degree in Physical Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Science Education. For the last 18 years, he has worked at different educational settings including international high schools and doctorate and Master’s granting institutions. He has designed and taught several graduate and undergraduate chemistry and science education courses for a wide range of audience. Because of his strong interest in investigating the effectiveness of different teaching methods and tools, he has applied and received grants and established collaborations with colleagues from different fields and different countries. Besides teaching and running research projects, he has also developed and organized workshops about implementation of social constructivist methods and effective use of technological tools in science classrooms.
Margarita Jimenez-Silva
School of Education
mjimenezsilva@ucdavis.edu
Margarita Jimenez-Silva is an associate professor and director of teacher education at the School of Education in University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on preparing and supporting teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse learners, especially in addressing emergent bilinguals’ linguistic and academic content development. More specifically, her research strands include teacher education pedagogy and curriculum, educational policy, and family/community engagement. Prior to entering higher education, Dr. Jimenez-Silva worked with newcomer students as a middle-school math and science teacher in Oakland, California.
Susan Keen, Ph.D.
Biology
slkeen@ucdavis.edu
An author of numerous textbooks on Zoology, Dr. Keen is an evolutionary biologist interested in the role of asexual reproduction in life history. She is staunchly committed to maximizing the value of in-person instruction in her classes, and is pioneering new methods and technological approaches in course curriculum development.
Tim Lewis, Ph.D.
Mathematics
tlewis@math.ucdavis.edu
Dr. Lewis is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics at UC Davis, where he has been since 2004. Currently, he is the Vice-Chair for Undergraduate Matters in the Math Department. He is an active researcher in the field of Mathematical Biology and is deeply involved with several projects in Math Education.
David Osleger, Ph.D.
Earth and Planetary Sciences
daosleger@ucdavis.edu
Dr. Osleger is a geologist with special interests in reconstructions of sea level and climates of the past using the sedimentary record. He teaches a wide variety of classes at the undergraduate level and truly enjoys relating the relevance of the geosciences to all students.
Abigail Thompson, Ph.D.
Mathematics
thompson@math.ucdavis.edu
Dr. Thompson is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics, where she is currently department Chair. She directed the UC Davis Cosmos program from 2001-2017. Her research is in low-dimensional topology and knot theory.
Matt Wallace, Ph.D.
Education
mtwallace@ucdavis.edu
Matt has taught high school mathematics in California public schools, and has worked as a lecturer at UC Berkeley and California State University, East Bay. He has also served as the Director of Math for America, Berkeley, a professional development program for secondary math and science teachers. Currently, Dr. Wallace works as the secondary mathematics lecturer and supervisor in UC Davis’ Teacher Education Program. Dr. Wallace’s research and teaching interests include classroom assessment and formative assessment in particular, reform-based mathematics curricula and pedagogy, and teaching and learning with technology.
Dina Zhabinskaya, Ph.D.
Physics
dzhabinskaya@ucdavis.edu
Dr. Zhabinskaya is a Lecturer in the Department of Physics at UC Davis since 2013. She is committed to curriculum development and improvement of the Physics 7 series, an introductory physics course for biological science students. Her goal is to maximize student learning through an interactive and collaborative classroom experience. She is involved in projects in Physics Education such as developing an interactive online textbook and helping undergraduates gain teaching experience in a physics classroom.