Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering Program Kicks Off with Fourth Cohort

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On Monday, June 30, the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering program launched its fourth cohort, welcoming eight middle and high school educators. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), RET is a six-week immersive program that provides K–12 teachers with research experiences in engineering, and led by Erin Solovey (PI), Kathy Chen (co-PI) and Donna Taylor. Participants are enhancing their disciplinary knowledge and developing classroom activities and curricula to broaden students’ awareness of and engagement with computing and engineering pathways.

2025 RET Participants

(L-R) Demetrios Kennedy, Jesse Drozd, Abigail Prisby, Em Beeler, Tiffini Cornock, Deborah Baird, Michael Nixdorf Jared Quinn

This year’s cohort includes two recent WPI graduates, Demetrios Kennedy and Michael Nixdorf, who completed the Teacher Preparation Program (TPP), as well as TPP alum ‘22, Em Beeler. The educators are mentored by WPI faculty members Scarlet Shell, Adam Powell, Andrew Teixeira, Michael T. Timko, Geoffref Tompsett, and Yihao Zheng .

In addition to their research projects, RET teachers are participating in weekly professional development sessions led by the STEM Education Center. These sessions support the integration of their research experiences into real-world, standards-aligned STEM instruction, all while connecting to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and strengthening partnerships among WPI, K–12 schools, and industry.

2025 RET RESEARCH PROJECTS

Research Project (UN SDG #)	Research Project	WPI Faculty Mentor, Department	Teacher, Licensure, School	Teacher, Licensure, School/Major
#7 – Affordable & Clean Energy	Magnesium Production and Recycling for Clean Energy	Adam Powell (Mechanical & Materials Engineering / Chemical Engineering)	Jared Quinn (Life Sciences, Overlook MS, Ashburnham)	Demetrios Kennedy (HS Chemistry, WPI Chemistry)
#3 – Good Heath and Well-Being	Antibiotic Resistance in Mycobacteria	Scarlet Shell (Biology & Biotechnology)	Abigail Prisby (HS Biology, Groton-Dunstable HS)	Em Beeler (HS Math, Burncoat HS, Worcester)
#13 – Climate Action	Removing PFAS from Contaminated Soils	Andrew Teixeira & Mike Timko (Chemical Engineering)	Tiffini Cornock (HS Chemistry, Carver MS/HS)	Jesse Drozd (HS Chemistry, WPI Chemistry)
#3 – Good Heath and Well-Being	Engineering Bench-Top Testing of Interventional Devices for Cardiovascular Diseases	Yihao Zheng (Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering / MME, RBE & BME)	Deborah Baird (MS Broad Meadows Middle School)	Michael Nixdorf (MS Math, WPI Applied Physics)

People

Erin Solovey

Associate Professor, Computer Science

My research is in human-computer interaction and human-AI interaction, exploring how people and intelligent systems can work together in both high-stakes and everyday environments in ways that are natural, empowering, and aligned with human goals and values. One focus of my res [...]

Adam Powell

Professor, Mechanical & Materials Engineering

Adam C. Powell, IV is a Professor in the Mechanical & Materials Engineering department who joined the WPI faculty in August 2018. His field is materials processing, and research focuses on greenhouse gas emissions reduction, elimination, and drawdown. Current projects aim to [...]

Scarlet Shell

Associate Professor, Biology & Biotechnology

I have a passion for understanding how living systems work, as well as for sharing my love of biology and research with the next generation of scientists and informed citizens. The central goal of my lab is to understand the regulatory mechanisms that underlie mycobacterial stres [...]

Andrew Teixeira

Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

Andrew is a classically trained chemical engineer with with specialties in the fields of chemical reaction engineering and materials science. He received his B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2009, and continued to pursue his Ph.D. with Professor Dauenhauer at the Univ [...]

Michael Timko

William B. Smith Professor and Department Head of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering

Sharing that “ah hah” moment with a student struggling and suddenly mastering a difficult concept; helping expand the intellectual horizons of an aspiring engineer; tackling and solving problems that challenge the energy, economic, and environmental security with passionate stude [...]

Yihao Zheng

Associate Professor, Mechanical & Materials Engineering

My research focuses on medical and manufacturing innovation. I apply manufacturing science and technology to enhance healthcare. I contribute fundamental knowledge of tissue mechanics and imaging properties, provide novel computational modeling methodologies to simulate and under [...]

Donna Taylor

Associate Director, Academic Services, STEM Education Center

Donna Taylor Associate Director, Academic Services Email: dltaylor@wpi.edu Phone +1 (508) 8316278 Department : STEM Education Center [...]

Kathy Chen

Exec Director, STEM Education, STEM Education Center

Kathy Chen joined The STEM Education Center at WPI after 15+ years as a professor in Materials Engineering at California Polytechnic (Cal Poly) State University, San Luis Obispo where she served as Department Chair and lead many K-12 and community STEM outreach activities. In her [...]