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Meet the Team

Renee Cole

Renee Cole

Project PI and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Iowa

Dr. Renee Cole earned a B.A. in chemistry from Hendrix College, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physical Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma. She completed a postdoctoral research position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in chemistry education research. Her research focuses on issues related to how students learn chemistry and how that guides the design of instructional materials and teaching strategies as well on efforts related to faculty development and the connection between chemistry education research and the practice of teaching. She is actively involved in the POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) project at a national and international level, having served on the steering committee and conducting workshops and seminars around the United States and in Australia. Dr. Cole is also an associate editor for the Journal of Chemical Education.

Juliette Lantz

Juliette Lantz

Project PI and Professor of Chemistry at Drew University

Dr. Lantz earned a B.S., Honors in Chemistry from Loyola University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her research focuses on the development, implementation and assessment of active learning strategies in analytical chemistry, particularly in the areas of cases studies, role-playing laboratories and POGIL. Juliette Lantz was the PI on the NSF-funded project that recently produced POGIL material for analytical chemistry: Analytical Chemistry: A Guided Inquiry Approach - Quantitative Analysis Collection, and Analytical Chemistry: A Guided Inquiry Approach - Instrumental Analysis Collection. She is an active participant in the POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) project, and a member of the POGIL steering committee.

Suzanne Ruder

Suzanne Ruder

Project PI and Professor of Chemistry at Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Suzanne Ruder earned a B.A. in Chemistry from the College of St. Benedict and a Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from Washington State University. She completed a postdoctoral research position at Brown University in the area of organic synthetic methods. Her research interests are in the area of developing and assessing active learning strategies and student process skills (soft skills) in the large classroom. She has been active in the POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning) project for over 10 years, using POGIL in large organic chemistry classes, facilitating faculty workshops across the United States and in Australia, and serving on the project steering committee. Dr. Ruder has authored two books, "Clickers in Action: Increasing Student Participation in Organic Chemistry" and "Organic Chemistry, A Guided Inquiry."


Katie Mauger-Sonnek

Katie Mauger-Sonnek

Graduate Student in Chemistry Education at the University of Iowa

Katie Mauger-Sonnek earned a B.A. in biochemistry and a M.S. in chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa. She is currently finding ways to promote undergraduate chemistry student process skills in Dr. Renee Cole's research group. She will be graduating with her Ph.D in chemistry this summer from the University of Iowa.




Leslie Bolda

Leslie Bolda

Graduate Student in Chemistry Education at the University of Iowa

Leslie Bolda earned a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Spanish from Virginia Commonwealth University. At VCU, Leslie’s organic chemistry professor introduced her to chemistry education research. Her passions for both chemistry and Spanish inspired her to continue exploring chemistry education as a graduate student. Ultimately her goal as a researcher is to investigate teaching strategies that will most effectively help underrepresented and underserved students, including those with language barriers.

Project Collaboration Team

Project Collaboration Team

  • Chris Bauer, Professor of Chemistry
    University of New Hampshire
  • Teresa Bixby, Associate Professor of Chemistry
    Lewis University
  • Patrick Brown, Associate Professor of Health Sciences
    East Tennessee State University
  • Caryl Fish, Professor of Chemistry
    Saint Vincent College
  • Jill Guerra, Preceptor
    Harvard University
  • Stanley Lo, Associate Teaching Professor of Biological Sciences
    University of California, San Diego
  • Chris Mayfield, Associate Professor of Computer Science
    James Madison University
  • Brandon Myers, Lecturer in Computer Science
    University of Iowa
  • Rebecca Sansom, Associate Teaching Professor of Chemistry
    Brigham Young University
  • Eunice Yang, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology
    University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

Former Team Members

Jennifer Schmidt-McCormack

Jennifer Schmidt-McCormack

Assistant Professor of Chemistry at St. Ambrose University

Dr. Jennifer Schmidt-McCormack earned a B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota Morris and a Ph.D. in Chemistry Education from the University of Iowa. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan working with Professor Ginger Shultz and Professor Anne Ruggles Gere. She previously completed her graduate work in Dr. Renee Cole's group where she helped develop the problem solving product rubric.




Courtney Stanford

Courtney Stanford

Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rochester

Dr. Courtney Stanford earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the Rochester Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Connecticut and a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry Education from the University of Iowa. She completed a Postdoctoral Position at Virginia Commonwealth University working with Dr. Suzanne Ruder. In addition to focusing on the assessment of process skills, Courtney has conducted research on the influences of instructor facilitation on student argumentation and the propagation of STEM educational innovations.

Doug Czajka

Doug Czajka

Assistant Professor of Earth Science at Utah Valley University

Dr. Doug Czajka earned a B.S. in Geology from North Carolina State University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Geoscience Education from North Carolina State University. He completed a Postdoctoral Position at Virginia Commonwealth University working with Suzanne Ruder. Doug’s research focuses on assessing, eliciting, and improving process skills (e.g. teamwork, critical thinking, metacognition, etc.) among introductory geoscience students. He is also interested in the teaching practices and beliefs of geoscience instructors, the interplay between the two, and the impacts they have on student learning.


Gil Reynders

Gil Reynders

Professor of Chemistry at Sauk Valley Community College

Dr. Gil Reynders earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Lake Forest College, an M.S. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in chemistry education from the University of Iowa. He completed a Postdoctoral Position at Virginia Commonwealth University working with Dr. Suzanne Ruder.