Irene Porro, Director
Irene Porro is the Public Education and Communications Officer for the MIT Kavli Institute (MKI) and she is the Director of the MKI Education and Outreach Group. In her work, Irene is able to combine a background in physics and astrophysics, with an interdisciplinary approach to science learning and a strong commitment to promote science learning outside of the traditional classroom.
Irene Porro obtained a Ph.D. in Space Science and Technology from the University of Padua in 1996. Her research work focused on ground and space-based stellar interferometry and was carried out during a three-year fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In her early academic career she attended, first a student and then teaching assistant, the International Space University, a multidisciplinary program in space related disciplines, where she nourished and developed her interdisciplinary approach to science.
As the Director of the Education and Outreach Group, Irene's main goal is to create and promote out-of-school time (OST) initiatives to make science education resources available to urban youth. She contributes several years of experience in leading OST astronomy learning initiatives funded through the NASA Space Science EPO Program and the National Science Foundation Informal Science Education program. She has been focusing on adapting and making available high-quality science education resources for use in OST, and in establishing partnerships with local OST organizations such as Boston 2-to-6 After-School Initiative, Gear Up in Boston, the Timothy Smith Network. These efforts have been bringing valuable science programming to OST environments, and provide motivated underserved youth with the opportunities and the tools to pursue high quality science learning.
Irene also collaborates with local educators to design and offer professional development programs that specifically meet the needs of Massachusetts' science teachers. One of her most successful teacher programs is an astrobiology course. Searching for life elsewhere in the universe is a very exciting topic that allows Irene to engage her audience in scientific inquiry out of curiosity and to expose teachers (and their students) to the interdisciplinary nature of science. Irene is glad to be able to bring her personal passion for the arts into her education efforts and she also serves on the Advisory Committee of the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT.
Mark Hartman, Education Specialist
As someone with a background in science and experience in education, Mark's professional goal is to help link the education world with captivating research from the scientific community as a way to motivate interest in science and technology as a career and in every day life.
After graduating from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland with a bachelor of science in physics, he spent a year working in industry as a staff scientist for a small imaging company in Rochester, NY. He enjoyed the challenge of building optical prototypes and interacting directly with customers in a teaching capacity.
In 2001, he moved to Cambridge to study astronomy at Harvard University. His research focused on observational cosmology: what is the distribution of the intrinsic brightness of galaxies in the local universe? Why should you care? (Always a good question to ask...) This observation helps to constrain models of how gravity has created the structures we see in the universe (including us!) over the past 13.7 billion years. In addition, he worked with the Science Media Group at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on a teacher training video series about physical science, and spent 10 hours per week for 3 years in the classroom of ninth grade physics teachers in the Cambridge public school system as part of the National Science Foundation "Graduate Students in K-12 Science Education" (GK-12) program. His goal as "classroom scientist" was to help the students see the connection of the science they were learning to the real world and as the foundation for cutting edge science and technology. Armed with this experience and a master's degree in astronomy, his work as an EPO specialist is aimed at showing the relevance of a scientific and quantitative viewpoint for every day life: he wants you to understand what the numbers in that USA Today poll are really telling you!
Ross Barros-Smith, YAA Fellow
Ross had been active in astronomy education and outreach as an amateur astronomer for events in the Boston area and surrounding suburban communities. After many positive experiences sharing the sky with schools and other community groups, the opportunity to turn a hobby into a profession was one he jumped upon. Of particular interest to him is engaging youth in observations of the actual sky and developing practical observation skills. He maintains that even under the city lights, knowledge of astronomy is something that can be applied and enjoyed whenever there is an opening in the clouds. Ross continues to pursue astronomy as an interest in his personal life as a member of a major local area club and a regular nighttime observer who is careful not to stray far from a pair of binoculars when the Sun is down.
Nicole Cina, YAA Fellow
Nicole comes to the YAA Program from 7 years living and working in Vermont. During this time she attended Green Mountain College in Poultney Vermont, and received her degree in Environmental Studies, focusing on Agriculture and Ecology. From there, she began working for a non profit, Smokey House Center, in the small town of Danby, where she began her teaching endeavor and spent three years providing job training and environmental education for 'at risk' youth in an outdoor setting. Nicole spent many Vermont nights taking advantage of the dark skies for stargazing and is excited to teach such a wonderful and exciting astronomy program to youth in the Boston area!
Margaret Hart, YAA Fellow
Coming from 4 years as a science teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School where she taught Physics and Astronomy, Margaret is excited to be joining the YAA program and is looking forward to working in an out-of-school setting with Boston-area youth.
Besides teaching, Margaret spends time working as a photographer in the Boston area. She has photographed concerts, dance performances, as well as weddings and every-day life. She also had the wonderful opportunity to teach photography to Cambridge youth, both after school and as part of the Mayor's Youth Summer Employment Program. Margaret feels that working with youth outside the classroom allows more freedom to focus on fostering youths' skills and not just content.
Tim Prol, YAA Fellow
Originally from northern New Jersey, Tim grew up in a town with excellent star gazing opportunities, as it has only one traffic light in the town center, and eighty square miles of woodlands. Tim attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where he studied psychology and philosophy. He enjoyed the breadth of topics touched on in the field of psychology, and the challenge of attacking major questions and arguments within his philosophy major.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Tim decided to join Americorps, serving the community of South Boston by teaching at an after-school center for middle school students. He brought new science classes to the center, one being the After School Astronomy Program. Following two years of service, Tim sought to expand his involvement with the program. Now as an YAA fellow, he is ready to bring this exciting and engaging curriculum to more students in the Boston area.