The University of New Hampshire welcomes Laura M. Nickerson as the new director of the UNH STEM Teachers’ Collaborative. The collaborative is an interdisciplinary effort to coordinate and strengthen STEM education, with the primary goal of increasing K-12 teachers’ expertise in computing, engineering and technology, and extending the impact of excellent STEM teachers to more students throughout the state.
Nickerson will help coordinate STEM professional development for teachers statewide, drawing from expertise across UNH. She says she looks forward to working with teachers and school districts on their specific STEM professional development needs.
Nickerson received a B.S. in physics from Valparaiso University, spending undergraduate summers conducting high-energy physics work through Los Alamos National Laboratory. She received an M.S. in physics from Northern Illinois University, where her master’s work involved sound production in musical instruments.
With the exception of one year as a fellow at Tufts University’s Wright Center for Science Education, Nickerson has spent the last 17 years in public and private high school classrooms teaching physics, engineering, astronomy, programming and other STEM subjects. Most recently she taught at Windham High School in Windham, New Hampshire.
The STEM Teachers Collaborative is the result of a university-wide collaboration including partners from The Joan and James Leitzel Center for Mathematics, Science and Engineering Education; the Department of Education; the STEM Discovery Lab at UNH Manchester; UNH Cooperative Extension; the science and engineering colleges; and the office of the senior vice provost of engagement and academic outreach. The collaborative was established as a 100Kin10 partner through a generous donation from Albany International in Rochester, New Hampshire.
Follow Nickerson on Twitter @UNHSTEMTeach.
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Written By:
Kristi Donahue | The Joan and James Leitzel Center
