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Dr. Pnina Ari-Gur is a professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at Western Michigan University. Her research focuses are materials science and engineering. Dr. Ari-Gur earned her doctor of science in Materials Engineering from Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. Dr. Ari-Gur has been faculty at Western Michigan University since 1985. Her experience also includes R&D in the aerospace industry, post-doctorate at the University of British Columbia, and sabbatical at University of Auckland in new Zealand. She has been working on magnetic shape memory alloys as smart materials and for alternative energy. She has years of experience working on a variety of materials. Her research has been funded by NSF, the Air-Force Office of Scientific Research, NASA, CRDF Global, and industry. Her research projects also benefit society such as her NSF grants where nano-ceramics were used as photocatalysts for cleaning contaminants from water and air or for developing ferromagnetic alloys for alternative energy. She has used grants from HP and NSF to develop virtual laboratory to enhance student learning. She is also engaged in a number of outreach activities. A regular presenter in math and science events geared toward females and underrepresented groups of middle and high-school students, Dr. Ari-Gur regularly mentors students from the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center. She has strong ties and outreach programs with community colleges and hosts students from HBCUs in her lab.

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Dr. Pavel G. Ikonomov has been working on virtual reality (VR) simulation for more than 20 years and in the area of micro/nano technologies for the past ten years. The main focuses of his works have been 3D modeling design and VR simulation in manufacturing and assembly, medical application. Dr. Ikonomov has participated in large scale dynamic simulations in research organizations in Japan such as Hokkaido University, TMIT and 3D Incorporated and Virtual Reality Center Yokohama, UCLA, and NIST. His most recent research contributions are related to use of VR for visualization and control of nanostructures and processes for assembly, and medical application including analysis of nanoparticles kinematics and dynamics modeling. Dr. Ikonomov has published over 100 papers as international journal and proceeding publications. He has given invited talks on his research at different institutions in USA, Japan, India, Russia, and Bulgaria.

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Dr. Roman Rabiej is a professor in the Mechanical and Aeronautical Department at Western Michigan University. Dr. Rabiej joined WMU in 1987.

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Peter Thannhauser is the laboratory supervisor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Western Michigan University.

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Dr. Hassan is the Performance Contractors Distinguished associate professor in the Department of Construction Management at LSU. Her areas of expertise are laboratory characterization and life-cycle assessment of sustainable infrastructure materials. Dr. Hassan employed life-cycle assessment techniques to determine the impacts of hot-mix asphalt construction operations including warm-mix asphalt. In 2003, she received the Architectural Research Centers Consortium King Medal for her work on sustainable technology at Virginia Tech. In 2008, she was awarded the Performance Contractors Professorship by the College of Engineering at LSU. Dr. Hassan has 31 refereed journal publications and 40 refereed conference proceedings as well as a book chapter. She is currently a member of the Transportation Research Board Committee AFH30: Committee on Application of Emerging Technologies to Design and Construction, AFD001: Pavement sustainability subcommittee, and the Design and Construction Group Young Member subcommittee (DCG YMS). She is also a member of the Construction Industry Institute (CII) academic committee and a friend of the Sustainable Pavement Technical Work Group (SPTWG). She supervised one Ph.D. student and five M.S. students to completion.

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Dan Litynski is the vice president for Research (VPR) for Western Michigan University (WMU) and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Since joining WMU in 1999, he has served as dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS), provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, and interim president of WMU. Dr. Litynski completed three years at the National Science Foundation as physics program director and acting division director for Undergraduate Education. He has served in numerous international technical and advisory capacities including member of the International Faculty of Engineering Advisory Committee at the Technical University of Lodz, Poland where he served as their first visiting professor.
Brigadier General Litynski (Ret.) served with armor and ordnance units in Asia and Europe and with several Department of Defense research and development organizations. Dr. Litynski served in the Physics and the Electrical Engineering departments at the United States Military Academy, and was head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Degrees include a Ph.D. and B.S. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in Optics from the University of Rochester. His national service education includes the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces of the National Defense University. He has been active in research and teaching in electrical engineering, optics, physics, and educational pedagogy for over thirty years. He is author or co-author of numerous international conference presentations, technical papers, book chapters, and a patent. Dr. Litynski is a senior member and past president of the IEEE Education Society, appointed to several honor societies, and a member of many professional societies. Honors include many military awards, the Polish Cavalier Cross of Merit, an NSF Director’s Award, and the ASEE Meritorious Service Award.

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Dr. Renee Schwartz is an associate professor of Biological Sciences and Science Education at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She earned her Ph.D. in Science Education from Oregon State University, M.S. in Molecular Biology from Wake Forest University, and B.S. in Biology from Purdue University. Dr. Schwartz’s research focus is teaching and learning about the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry. She explores effective practices of embedding NOS and scientific inquiry within science content courses for pre-service science teachers, undergraduates, and for professional development. She seeks to understand contextual factors such as science disciplines, authentic science research, and classroom-embedded scientific inquiry; and their effects on learners’ epistemological views of science. A current project engages pre-service secondary science education students in a science research internship, along with extended support structures to help translate the experiences into inquiry-based curricular materials and classroom practices for middle and high school students. She has been PI for an NSF-funded CCLI grant aimed at improving undergraduate level introductory biology and chemistry laboratory courses through curriculum and professional development. Dr. Schwartz has designed a course for college science teaching. This course emphasizes the integration of inquiry, nature of science, and subject matter through active learning strategies in STEM classrooms.

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