Bryn Bishop, Cluster 2:  Engineering Design & Control of Kinetic Sculptures

Bryn Bishop received her B.S. in Physics from UC Davis in 2005. After working in research in astrophysics for a couple of years, she discovered her passion for teaching and working with high school students.  She currently teaches Physics, AP Physics B, and Robotics at Westview High School in San Diego.  In addition to these, she has taught many other subjects including drawing, engineering, photography, English, and astronomy.  Bryn is an active member of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the California Science Teachers Association.  She is relishing every moment living in San Diego with her husband and one year old daughter and you can often find the three of them hiking, biking, and camping around California.

Megan Jones, Cluster 3: Living Oceans & Global Climate Change

Megan Jones is a native San Diegan who loves the diversity that the city offers. This is her second year participating as Teacher Fellow for Cluster 3. Megan graduated from San Diego State University with her B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in education. After earning her teaching credential and guiding students through field research in Bahia de los Angeles, Mexico she became hooked on engaging students in authentic science experiences. Megan has finished her fifth year of teaching and was the faculty advisor for both the Class of 2013 and the Adventure club at Crawford High School. She is excited about beginning work toward earning a Master’s degree in a new program through San Diego Zoo Global. When Megan has free time she likes to practice yoga, cook or hike with her husband and dog.

Bob Whitney, Cluster 4: Earthquakes in Action

Bob has been rocking the science classroom for 27 years, and currently enjoys his AP Environmental Science, Physics, and Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) students at Westview High School. He earned a B.A. in Earth Science from Northern Arizona University and an M.A. in Environmental Science Education from CSU San Bernardino. His wife teaches chemistry and physics at Mt. Miguel High School, his daughter is a sophomore Environmental Studies major and Field Hockey player at UC Davis, and his son is a junior soccer player also at Westview High, and is their varsity goalkeeper. Outside of school he participates on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Soccer Club and coordinates their TOPSoccer program for challenged athletes.  He continues playing in city basketball leagues and commutes to school daily on an electric bike. His family enjoys beach camping, traveling, and trying to live more sustainably. They have a black laborador retriever, two cats, and 4 city chickens. He also maintains an aquaponics garden has 27 fruit and nut trees in his back yard.

David Evers, Cluster 5: Bright Ideas:  Light at Work

David has taught physics for 11 years and has loved 95% of it.  He currently teaches at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad. He finds no other subject as interesting and as enlightening as physics, and he enjoys working with students as they learn more about the world around them.  He also enjoys the movies and traveling in his spare time, of which he says he has  very little.  David also has a three-year-old son and so his recent hobbies include trips to the zoo, building forts, and coloring (admittedly, he makes a mean fort and has finally learned to color inside the lines).

Justin McCabe, Cluster 6: Biodiesel from Renewable Sources

Justin grew up in Santa Barbara and attended UC San Diego for all of his undergraduate and graduate education.  He earned a B.A. in Environmental Chemistry, M.A. in Chemistry, and a PhD in Chemistry.  As an undergraduate, Justin became inspired to continue his science education while working at Scripps Institution of Oceanography reconstructing past sea surface temperatures and El Nino cycles.  His graduate research continued down a similar path that lead him to the South Pole in search of a record of ozone hole variability preserved in the Antarctic ice sheet.  In addition to the South Pole, his graduate research took him to France, Ecuador, and all over the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  After teaching high school chemistry and environmental science in Los Angeles for five years, Justin returned to San Diego this past year and is currently teaching at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad.  When he is not teaching, Justin loves to surf, brew beer, play golf, and work on his classic 1966 VW bus.  He is very excited to be working with the students in Cluster 6 on Biodiesel production from renewable resources.

Michael Robertson, Cluster 7:  Bioengineering/Mechanical Engineering: The Amazing Red Blood Cells

Dr. Robertson is pleased to participate in his third summer as a Teacher Fellow in the COSMOS Cluster 7 program and looks forward to a fun and engaging experience for all students. Dr. Robertson teaches International Baccalaureate chemistry as well as introductory chemistry and biology at San Diego High School, International Studies. This past year he also served as the SDHS Academic League coach and Chemistry club advisor. Dr. Robertson has a BA in chemistry from Case Western Reserve University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois and extensive experience in biomedical research that included 5 years as a visiting Research Scientist in Cambridge, England and 10+ years on the faculty of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla. A long-time resident of San Diego with two daughters, one is finishing her sophomore year at Pomona College and the other finishing the 11^th grade at Point Loma HS. Dr. Robertson is once again looking forward to an exciting program of working with students, faculty and COSMOS staff in the exploration of the amazing red blood cell!

Patricia Fowler, Cluster 8: Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Patty is currently an AP Biology and Biology teacher, and Science Olympiad and National Ocean Science Bowl Coach, at Scripps Ranch High School, San Diego City Schools, San Diego, CA. She earned a B.S. with a Biology Major and Chemistry Minor at The University of Iowa, and a Masters in Education, a Clear Credential in Biology with supplemental certification in Chemistry and English, and CLAD and GATE certification from National University. Patty performed biological research as an immunopathologist, mostly at The Scripps Research Institute, for 18 years prior to teaching for the past 12 years. In her free time she enjoys telling jokes, reading, hiking, playing games, spending time with her husband, who is also a scientist, and son, who is currently a junior at West Piont, and of course the twenty pets. She knows that this year Cluster 8 is going to be ‘GR8’ !