The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation awarded the second cohort of Science Teaching Fellowships on June 1, 2003. For more information about our fellows, click on a picture.

Kevin Henson	Bradford Hill	Janae Pritchett
Emilie Rinner	Jennifer Stauffer

Kevin J. Henson

I grew up in the small town of Tabernacle, New Jersey, where I attended public grade school. Throughout my childhood science was something that always interested me.  For as long as I can remember, I have always been experimenting and testing things in the scientific manner. After graduating from Holy Cross High School, I pursued my undergraduate degree at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Throughout my elementary and secondary education, I experienced a great passion for the sciences as it was taught so passionately by my teachers.

While attending the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, I decided to study the subject of marine science, in particular oceanography, because it included many of the sciences that I already loved: physics, chemistry, and geology. It was also fascinating because it was a relatively new field that was not fully studied yet. While at Stockton I also minored in geology, and I was able to see many different parts of the East Coast by way of camping trips to study the geology. My favorite place to study was the Heldeberg Formation in the Lower Catskills of New York State.

  During my senior year at Stockton College I was a Teacher's Assistant for an undergraduate oceanography course. My responsibilities included setting up the course lab work, supervising and teaching the course material. I loved the idea of teaching students about the science of oceanography and being able to explain the material in such a way that made me understand it better. My oceanography and geology professors were passionate in what they did and this experience helped me realize that I wanted to be a teacher like them.  

My other interest outside of my course work at Stockton was soccer. I have been playing soccer since I was four years old. I was given the chance to coach soccer throughout my four years at Stockton. I volunteered in a youth recreational program and coached coed teams ranging in age from four to 16. Coaching was the final eye opener that was needed to show me that teaching was the career that I wanted to pursue. 

I received my Masters of Science in Teaching (MST) from Rowan University in Secondary Education and I am now in my fourth year of teaching chemistry and Earth science at Lenape High School in New Jersey.  I have used every experience with the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation in the classroom and it has helped me excel. I am currently living in Voorhees, New Jersey, with my wife Jennifer, who I met in high school, and eagerly looking forward to my fifth year as a Knowles fellow and the wonderful members who make this a unique and extraordinary opportunity.  I can be reached at hensonk@comcast.net.

Bradford Hill

I grew up in Minnesota always loving science and the outdoors.  I attended the University of Minnesota and earned a BS in physics. Through a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Grant from the National Science Foundation, I got my first taste of experimental physics and met a great mentor scientist and teacher. From there I went to the East Coast and earned my MS in physics at the University of Maryland, College Park, just outside of Washington, D.C. 

During graduate school I also became very involved in the University of Maryland Materials Research Science & Engineering Center (MRSEC) education outreach program. This was a pivotal experience for me as I later returned to the University of Maryland to direct the MRSEC education outreach program. During this same time I also began volunteer teaching the math and science curriculum of a GED course in Washington, D.C., and went on to teach a freshman physics course at Montgomery College. 

From there I headed to San Francisco where I earned my Masters in Science Education and had the pleasure to work with many other KSTF fellows at the University of California, Berkeley — go MACSMEs!  I’m now living near Portland, Oregon and teach at Southridge High School in Beaverton.  I am newly married to my wonderful wife, Ariel. We met playing ultimate frisbee, a passion we share.

Janae Pritchett

Growing up as a California girl, little did I expect that I would be northeast-bound after high school. Leaving San Francisco behind, I headed off to New Haven, Connecticut. At Yale University, I participated in numerous volunteer organizations, ran varsity cross country, was captain of the women's swimming team, and double majored in geology and environmental studies.  My early career adventures took me to the Geophysical Institute in Alaska to conduct seismology research, the National Park Service in Gunnison, Colorado, to conduct fish population and stream monitoring surveys, and to Yellowstone  to participate in wolf and coyote research.  Through these jobs, I realized that my passion lies more in communicating research to others and teaching it than in conducting research itself. I relocated to Crested Butte, Colorado, where I have been ever since.   

My first full-time opportunity to teach science was at a local college preparatory school. For a year and half, I taught biology, chemistry, physics and math. I also developed and led the school's Earth science program. I love instilling excitement and curiosity in students. In addition, I thrive on the challenges of making science fun and understandable. This teaching experience provides the basis for my teaching passion and my love of working with teenagers.   

After leaving the private school, I pursued a career in public education. I am currently teaching middle and high school math at the Crested Butte Community School. When I'm not at school, I love to spend time with my husband Ben, and this fall our new baby as well. My greatest passions emerge in my athleticism. I compete on a national level in mountain biking, triathlons, snowboarding and telemark skiing.  I am honored to be a part of the second KSTF cohort and always look forward to our time together. The staff and other fellows have been a tremendous support network for me and the skills and tools I have brought back to the classroom from KSTF are invaluable.

Emilie Rinner

I was born in Topeka, Kansas, and lived there until I was 10, but I consider myself a "Coloradan" because it is where I’ve spent the majority of my life. I am the middle child in my family – my older sister and younger brother both set wonderful examples and inspire me constantly. I am also grateful for my parents, who always encouraged me to do my best in school and in life.  My family moved to Colorado, and after I graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 1998, I decided to stay in-state for college. 

My academic strengths are in science and math, and when I realized that I can use those talents to help others, I knew I wanted to be a science teacher.  I truly enjoy the intellectual challenge of physics and found myself explaining the concepts to others. While I was at the University of Colorado, I also participated in an a cappella group and a men and women's choir. I was actively involved in my sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, gave campus tours to prospective students, and participated in the Catholics on Campus student group. Outside of school, I enjoy traveling, singing, playing golf, skiing, hiking and kayaking. In 2001 I studied abroad on Semester at Sea; we visited 10 countries around the world, relating our classroom learning to first-hand experiences in each country. The people I met in the program and in the countries made the 100-day journey incredible.   

In May 2003 I graduated with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa honors with a BA in physics. I also received my diploma in education as the School of Education's "Outstanding Graduate." A year later, I completed my MA in science education at the University of Colorado. (GO BUFFS!) Before teaching full-time, I tutored freshman physics students, student-taught in physics and physical science at a high school in Louisville, Colorado, and taught a semester of high school chemistry and AP chemistry.   

Jennifer Stauffer

My family has been centered in Oregon, Illinois, for as long as I can remember. State parks, prairies and farms abound. While growing up, I did develop an affinity for nature walks and prairie conservation, but never quite took to porcine waste management on the family farm. So, when given the opportunity, I packed my bags, said goodbye to the farm, and enrolled at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.

During the course of my undergraduate career, many a science professor encouraged me to pursue science and keep taking classes in their respective area. I'd always had a strong inclination toward science, so I took their advice. A bit too literally. I graduated after five years of course overloading with majors in chemistry, physics and biology, and a minor in biochemistry.

Though tending toward blatant overzeal when it comes to science, I decided to give myself a graduation gift of a yearlong breather. I had all but finalized plans to go backpacking in Europe when I received a phone call from Augustana's chemistry department chair. Dr. DeWit asked if I would be willing to fill an undergraduate teaching position. I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to be at the other end of the red pen that I accepted on the spot. I attended a few departmental meetings with my former-professors-turned-colleagues and was soon underway teaching general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry labs. And loved it.

Though, the job was only temporary. To follow my "year off," I had made arrangements to join Yale's biophysical chemistry PhD program. What could be a more appropriate path given my background in biology, physics and chemistry? At the time it seemed a rhetorical question. Over the course of a year and a half, I took some challenging courses, earned a master's degree, joined a research lab and continued toward a PhD. My research centered around investigating the bioinorganic role of titanium in A. ritteri, a small marine invertebrate. I spent an extraordinary summer in Monterey, California, hunting for and studying A. ritteri (I found the correct species only after many a 4:30 a.m. low-tide search.) But, as interesting as my research was, I missed teaching. Enough so, that I decided I'd rather teach high school students than pursue a PhD in chemistry.

I currently teach chemistry and biology at Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut. With the assistance of KSTF, I started a certification program in the summer of 2005. When not tutoring or otherwise engaged in science, I enjoy the company of my two Old English Sheepdogs, Lizard and Tater, while working in my art studio.