Kevin Cougler
Kevin Cougler is the host of This Week in Science and Education (T-WiSE) and the National Program Manager for the Virtual Researcher On Call (VROC) based out of London, Ontario.
Kevin is a private IT Consultant who has been working in the IT industry for 20 years. His specialty is in managing IT projects from inception to completion and has been working with VROC for five years. As part of his role Kevin consults with over 35 Canadian Universities and Colleges and over 50 Canadian School Boards and Districts. Kevin owns two IT companies besides his VROC role and is actively engaged as an expert in IT Project Management speaking engagements on a regular basis as well as holding a Professional Videoconferencing Engineer designation.
This Week in Science and Education is the first of many internet shows that Kevin will be creating and hosting through VROC programming.
Thomas Merritt
A transplanted American, I grew up in the northeast of the US (Connecticut), but lived throughout the US before settling in Northern Ontario, brought north by my love of the cold. OK, that’s not true. I really – REALLY – don’t like the cold, but I love my wife – Dr Jackie Litzgus – and she wants to live in Ontario. My wife and I met while we were PhD students and are now lucky enough to both have faculty positions at Laurentian University. I am an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where I have a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Genomics and Bioinformatics. I did my undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina, MSc at Oregon State University, PhD at University of South Carolina, and postdoctoral research at Stony Brook University.
My research focuses on the connection between genotype and phenotype. What are the biological changes associated with genetic change? How do genetic changes impact biology? The answers are sometimes surprising and almost always complex. Much of my work uses the laboratory genetic model, Drosophila melanogaster – the fruit fly – but my work also includes other invertebrates, fish, and recently bacterial communities. In the past few months, I’ve been focusing on a novel mutation I found in fruit flies collected from our home composter. Seriously, I’m not making that up.
I do manage to get out of my office and lab. I have a wonderful new baby daughter – Lila Elizabeth – and I run a rowing program for people with disabilities through the Sudbury Rowing Club (check out: http://www.sudburyrowingclub.ca/). I still row some – although since Lila joined us in June I see a lot less of the water than I used to.
I have a growing research program and am always willing and interested in talking with new students and other researchers and educators.
You can find more about my research at: http://web.mac.com/tjsmerritt
Colin Jagoe
Colin is a K-12 Educator in Ontario, having earned a Bachelor of Science (Biology) from Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS, before obtaining a Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Western Sydney in Australia.
He started teaching in Toronto in 1997 and then moved to Brighton, Ontario in 1999 to teach science at East Northumberland Secondary School. He taught there till 2008 teaching a variety of subjects and serving as science department head for the final 3 years there. For the past 2 years, he’s worked as an Instructional Leadership Consultant – Science and Technology K-12 for the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. His current assignment is one of Curriculum Specialist supporting schools in the implementation of projects and programs.
A long time proponent of using technology to engage students, Colin was an early adopter of videoconferencing technology working with organizations such as VROC to bring experts into the classrooms of science students across the province. He advocates for students engaging in inquiry based learning in the classroom.
He is excited to be joining the TWISE team to further support science education in Ontario and worldwide, and is looking forward to the challenge and fun!
