Core Team
Dr. Nancy Ruzycki
Principal Investigator
Dr. Nancy Ruzycki is an Instructional Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Laboratories, and the Principal Investigator on the EQuIPD Grant at the University of Florida within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. She has received over 7 million dollars in funding for her work. Her research is focused on engineering education and the use of models, process maps, and system thinking in teaching. Dr. Nancy Ruzycki holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Tulane University, is a certified teacher, and holds National Board Certification in Physics. She is a “Modeler” and has trained at Florida International University for Modeling Physics.
Dr. Krista Dulany
Program Manager and Designer
Dr. Krista Dulany is the Data Science and AI Program Designer and Coach. She was previously the Lead Instructional Specialist on the EQuIPD grant working with K12 teachers across Florida, mainly in Palm Beach and Okeechobee counties. She excels in using a system thinking approach to support teachers in creating conceptual models, designing coaching systems, developing frameworks and lessons, and preparing professional development. Her research interests include STEM education, system thinking, conceptual modeling, and coaching.
Dr. Lorelie Imperial
Program Designer
Dr. Imperial’s research interest is focused on advancing STEM learning environments by providing support for teachers through the design and implementation of professional development structures. Within EQuIPD, she is responsible for conducting research on the facilitative coaching model and other PD structures. She joined the team bringing with her research and teaching experiences in Education and Chemistry.
Teacher Leaders
Districts: Orange and Sarasota Counties
Karen Hart teaches 6th-8th grade Computer Science at Booker Middle School in Sarasota. She has been teaching STEM education for 19 years. She previously taught in North Carolina and Texas before moving to Florida in 2016. Karen was an intervention teacher in the EQuIPD grant.
Districts: Orange and Palm Beach Counties
Jared Carter combines his passion for mentoring adolescents with his love of technology as a middle school technology education and robotics teacher. Through group work and design projects, students from all backgrounds discover and hone their knowledge of computers, coding, 3D printing, and more. Jared was an instructional specialist for the EQuIPD grant.
District: Palm Beach County
Eusebius Williams is a science teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in West Palm Beach, Fl. He is currently in his 23 year of teaching. His objective as a science teacher is to help his students develop a love of science that will translate to them being able to live and thrive in society through science and technology. Eusebius was an intervention teacher in the EQuIPD grant.
Districts: Escambia County
Wayne Stinnard is Second grade Elementary Education teacher at Dawson Elementary School in Riverview. Over the course of 22 years, Mr. Stinnard has been Teacher of the Year, Founder of the National Elementary Honor Society at Dawson, Team Lead, Intervention teacher for the EQuiPd grant at the University of Florida, Business Liaison for Dawson Elementary, Fundraising Lead, Science Trainer for Hillsborough County and Community Relations Lead. One of his greatest accomplishments is raising over $20,000 for Dawson Elementary School’s Sun Shade. Mr. Stinnard’s main passion is the use of robotics in the classroom and after-school program, where students boost their knowledge of technology.
Undergradute Student Coordinators
School: University of Florida
Districts: Orange County
Areesha Razi is an Undergraduate Research Associate for the EQuIPD grant. Areesha’s work focuses on introducing new coding software such as Microsoft Microbit and Scratch to K12 students and faculty. She creates and integrates new coding tutorials for students and teachers to help implement technology from a young age. Areesha is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Florida.
School: University of Florida
Districts: Escambia and Palm Beach Counties
Olivia Lancaster is a second-year Material Engineering Major from Jupiter, FL. Her goal is to work with students to inspire them to pursue material engineering and spark their passion for learning and problem solving
School: University of Florida
Districts: Sarasota and Palm Beach Counties
Michael Roberts is a third-year Materials Science and Engineering student at the University of Florida. His research experience comes from Engineering Education and studying Magnetic Barkhausen Noise (MBN) in HY80 steel. He is the newest addition to the EQuIPD team and he is excited to refine his teaching and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning skills.
School: University of Central Florida
Districts: Orange County
Sophia Cathey is a first-year undergraduate student at The University of Central Florida, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and a minor in Cyber-Security. She loves to paint, stay active, and explore the outdoors in her free time. Her goal is to aid in conveying theoretical and discipline-specific knowledge to other students in order to discover creative solutions to problems.
School: University of Central Florida
Districts: Orange County
Charles is a sophomore at UCF studying Information Technology. His interests outside of school are video games, cars, and football. Charles is motivated to do Information Technology as he believes the field will play a big part in the future and will consistently be in demand.
School: University of Florida
Districts: Palm Beach County
Summer Hane is a 4th year Materials Science and Engineering student at UF. She is working towards obtaining the Certificate of Polymer Science, as she hopes to pursue research and a career in the field. Besides academics and research in the entomology lab, she is treasurer of the women’s club flag football team. In her free time, she loves eating, watching sports, and learning new things. She is excited to help inspire the next generation of learners to pursue a career in STEM.