The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation awarded the first Science Teaching Fellowships on June 1, 2002. For more information about our fellows, click on a picture.

Jennifer N. Barchie	Ben Buehler	Lisa J. Sitek

Jennifer N. Barchie

I am originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up with my parents and two sisters. As a young student, I attended Saint Bernard grade school and Mt. Lebanon High School. My love for science began in grade school and developed further in high school as I took as many science classes as possible.

I went to college at the University of Notre Dame, where I majored in Physics. I graduated cum laude in May of 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree. I treasure the great physics education that I received at Notre Dame.

After college, I jumped right into teaching part-time at a private high school because I wanted to share my love for science with young people. I spent two years teaching Conceptual Physics at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. These two years were certainly a learning experience for me with challenges and rewards. It was a challenge to explain physics in a conceptual way while keeping the attention of a room-full of teenagers. Yet, I truly found it rewarding when I could tell that I was really reaching the students.

I worked as a full-time physics teacher at W.T. Woodson High Public School in Fairfax County, Virginia, while I completed my graduate studies in secondary science education at The George Washington University.

After completing my MEd from GW, I took a job as a physics and math teacher at Mount de Sales Academy, a Catholic all-female high school in Baltimore Maryland, where I currently work.

I am proud to be among the first cohort of Knowles Science Teaching Fellows.

Ben Buehler

I grew up normal enough and attended school in Plainfield, Indiana. Upon graduation from Plainfield High School in 1998, I enrolled in the undergraduate physics program at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. During the 1999-2000 academic year at Ball State University, I worked in a physics and chemistry classroom at Burris Laboratory School, one of Muncie's local high schools. During my time at Burris, (I accidentally lit a student's hair on fire, and) I started to consider pursuing a career in science education.

The next summer I participated in a National Science Foundation sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. As part of this program, I conducted research on the laser cutting of various materials at the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. I learned a lot of science during this experience, but I also realized that my passion was teaching, not pure research.

After finishing my degree in physics, I immediately enrolled in a graduate program in education to learn the art of teaching. During the time I was working on a degree in education I met many people who have helped show me what it means to be a teacher. Among those people are folks from PhysTEC, PT3, the Knowles Foundation, and my future (now current) wife.

I am currently teaching physics and chemistry to the Vikings at Blue River Valley High School in Mt. Summit, Indiana. My goal is to be the kind of teacher that students really appreciate a couple of years after they graduate. I want to teach science, but I also want to positively influence the lives of my students in other ways. In addition to spending all of my free time planning and grading, I enjoy coaching tennis, spending time with my wife and daughter, home-brewing biodiesel, and playing Frisbee with friends.

Lisa J. Sitek

I grew up in Durham, North Carolina and graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics High School. I have a BS in biology from Davidson College, a BS in science education from NC State University, and a Master of Science for Teachers in physics and chemistry from the University of Vermont. While at Davidson I was elected to Omicron Delta Kappa, ran varsity Cross Country and Track, and organized the town of Davidson's yearly CROP Walk for Hunger. At NC State I was elected to Phi Kappa Phi and Kappa Delta Pi, and graduated Summa Cum Laude. During college I held several part-time and volunteer jobs in the public health sector. At UVM I was a graduate teaching assistant in the physics department.

From 1996-1999 I taught high school physics and physical science in Vermont and North Carolina. While teaching I participated in professional development workshops and took science, mathematics and education classes at NC State. I received a Target Teacher Scholarship in 1999 to help pay for my classes.

I have been teaching physics at Burlington High School in Burlington, Vermont since August 2002. In September 2003 I reorganized the local Physics Teachers Alliance, which is a collaboration between area physics teachers and the physics department at the University of Vermont. The Physics Teachers Alliance and the UVM physics faculty design and run the Green Mountain Physics Olympics for high school students each spring.

When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my one year old daughter, Jane, doing yoga, reading, photography, hiking, biking, and snowshoeing.