The COSI STEM Star initiative honors ordinary people doing extraordinary STEM work, highlighting the scientists that live among us and provide us with a deep connection to the community-wide spirit of the festival. STEM champions showcase exemplary work to leverage the power of science to improve the quality of life for us all, in Central Ohio and beyond.
2021 STEM STARS
Amanda Fountain
Upper ArlingtonEducator at Upper Arlington Highschool
Amanda Fountain is a Communications teacher and advisor for the WARL - Upper Arlington High School’s television broadcast station. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she provided her students an authentic service-learning opportunity that is benefitting the UA community. Amanda submitted a grant request to the Upper Arlington Education Foundation to purchase live streaming equipment; those students learned to operate the new equipment, and acquired technical, communication and problem solving skills along the way
Meghan Federer
Heath
Director of STEM Education at The Works
Meghan Federer is the Director of STEM Education at The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology (Newark, Ohio). Meghan was previously a part of The Ohio State University’s Center for Life Science Education and Department of Teaching and Learning where she taught introductory biology and worked with pre-service teachers in math and science. Originally an arachnologist and cave ecologist, she has her BS in Biology and Psychology from Alma College and her MS in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology from The Oh
Grace Brown
Reigning Miss Franklin County and a Biology pre-health student at The Ohio State University
Grace Brown is the reigning Miss Franklin County and a Biology pre-med student at The Ohio State University. She is the Founder/CEO of Girl2Girl, a non-profit organization that promotes uniting and inspiring girls and women to “CHOOSE, PERSIST, and SUCCEED in STEM.”
Kati Serbu
Worthington
Director of Programs and Engagement at Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington
Kati Serbu is the Director of Programs & Engagement at the Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center (MAC) of Worthington. At MAC, Kati serves as the primary contact for education, community engagement, and all programming including the performing arts series.
Winifred Simpson
Whitehall
Lead Coordinator for Afterschool Enrichment for Whitehall City Schools
Winifred Simpson is the Lead Coordinator for Afterschool Enrichment for Whitehall City Schools. Winifred goes out of her way to ensure that the kids she works with have a solid foundation in science and does at least one new science experiment a week with the youth in the YMCA.
Elisabeth Eddy
Westerville
Retired Science Teacher & Westerville Volunteer
Elizabeth (Beth) Eddy has recently retired from Westerville City Schools as a Chemistry & Materials Science teacher, and is an active tutor and volunteer within Westerville. Her contributions to Westerville City Schools includes, but is not limited to: organizing a Science Partners program for Westerville South’s Interact Club; facilitating the American Society for Material Science "Teacher Tuesday”; organizing a long-running STEM Club at Westerville South HS; and forming "Family Science Nights" for el
Rob Niedermeyer
Reynoldsburg
Innovation Lab Teacher (engineering and design), Hannah Ashton Middle School, Reynoldsburg City Schools
Rob Niedermeyer is the Innovation Lab Teacher (engineering and design) at Hannah Ashton Middle School, Reynoldsburg City Schools. Recently, Mr. Niedermeyer launched a new STEM elective at Hannah Ashton Middle School (HMS): the Innovation Lab engineering class. In this class, students use the design cycle and the maker tools in the lab to solve problems they see around them. Even in the pandemic, Mr. Niedermeyer's students have been collaborating both
Amanda Ferguson
Gahanna
Ohio Herb Center Coordinator
Amanda Ferguson is the Ohio Herb Center Coordinator and is an instructor for its DIY Series. The Ohio Herb Center is an educational facility dedicated to the study and use of herbs. Amanda has been studying plants and their uses for over 20 years and is a Certified Ohio Pollinator Advocate.
Jonathan Meier
Franklinton
Owner & Operator of Rain Brothers, LLC
Jonathan Meier is the owner of Rain Brothers, which was started in Franklinton and still has their offices there today. They provide rain barrels to help people harvest rainwater that can do everything from simply being available to water a garden, to something complex in scope that can provide water to do laundry, flush toilets, etc., to conserve that most precious resource. Rain Brothers also does large commercial jobs that help large developments harvest and conserve water as well.
Varun Chiviteli
New Albany
Student at New Albany High School and Member of New Albany Robotics Team
Varun Chiviteli is a student at New Albany High School and has spent several years both learning and teaching STEM skills in FIRST Robotics. He has participated in FIRST Lego League, FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition. He has taught himself to use SolidWorks CAD software and has also learned to design and program robots. He has also shared these skills with other students on FIRST teams, as well as in summer camps and workshops.
Ed Sandoz
Marysville
Honda - Senior Engineer, Upperbody Design Group
Ed Sandoz is a Senior Engineer - Upperbody Design Group at Honda Development & Manufacturing of America in Marysville, Ohio. Sandoz was involved in a motorcycle accident 24 years ago that left him paralyzed from the chest down. At the time, he was working as a mechanic and racing motorcycles as a hobby in his home state of Massachusetts. After the accident, Sandoz went back to school to get a degree in mechanical engineering, and he eventually took a job at Honda in Ohio to continue his passion for cars. At
Elizabeth Landingham
London
7th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at London Middle School
Elizabeth Landingham is a 7th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at London Middle School. She is dedicated to creating engaging classroom lessons and STEM opportunities for her students, which includes leading those students in programs like Future Problem Solvers of America; OHIO STEM Learning Network Design Challenge; Lab hour “Genius Hour”; Jason Learning; and ROTO Design Tour.
James Lester
Grove City
Former Chemistry I and Advanced Chemistry teacher at Grove City High School
James Lester has given a lifetime to the science education of Grove City high school students. For over 40 years, Jim taught Chemistry I and Advanced Chemistry to an untold number of students at Grove City High School. Inspiring countless students to enter science careers, he showed his students how to evaluate ideas based upon the scientific method and the logic of problem solving.
Courtney Porter
Dublin
RN Clinical Leader, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dublin Urgent Care
Courtney Porter is the Nurse Lead at the Dublin Urgent Care location. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Courtney has been Dublin Urgent Care’s resource to keep staff up-to-date on proper personal protective equipment (PPE), infection control, and equipment cleaning protocols to keep our environment safe in the urgent care for all.
Jonathan Davis
Circleville
Superintendent of Circleville City Schools
Previously he was the district's assistant superintendent for three years and assistant principal at Circleville High School from 2011-2013. He started in education as a social studies teacher at Pickaway-Ross in 2004.
Bryana Ross, AFO, CPRP, CPO
Columbus
Health & Wellness Manager, Columbus Recs & Parks
Bryana Ross manages the health and wellness programs for Columbus Recreation & Parks Department, which includes aquatics and fitness programs. She’s adapted wellness programming to meet the community’s needs by leveraging her experience in athletics administration. With her leadership, the department was able to keep residents safe and healthy via virtual and social distant programming.
Haley Kuproski
Bexley
Founder of Gateway to Technology
Haley Kuproski is the President and Founder of Gateway to Technology, which works with businesses and partners to repurpose their End of Life technology, such as desktops, laptops and iPads. She is a graduate of the Columbus School for Girls and is currently a student at The University of Miami.
2020 STEM STARS
Penelope (Penny) Hartley
Upper Arlington High School
Upper Arlington
Penny has been an integral member of Upper Arlington High School’s FIRST robotics team for the past three years. She has been a leader of the mechanism development sub-group and has excelled in utilizing CAD software, after teaching herself. An advocate for women in STEM, Penny also became involved with The Ohio State University Society of Women in Engineering and decided to start a sister chapter of the Society of Women in Engineering at Upper Arlington High School.
Dr. Michael Triplett
Lattice Biotech
New Albany
Dr. Michael Triplett is Chief Executive Officer of Lattice Biotech. In 2017, he co-founded a company specializing in gene therapy to treat limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a group of progressive, debilitating musculoskeletal diseases. Dr. Triplett was also named VentureOhio’s 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year.
Taj Bakare
CT Consultants
Delaware
Taj is the Chief Bridge Consultant with CT Consultants who works hard to inspire many students to pursue careers in engineering and more. He leads the Second Ward Community Initiative (SWCI) STEM Program in the community of Delaware and has mentored a growing number of students over the past few years.
Ryan Comisford
The Boeing Company
Heath
Ryan is a Materials, Process, & Physics Engineer with The Boeing Company located in Heath, Ohio. Through Boeing’s community outreach initiatives, he has been actively involved with STEM-related events at COSI, The Works, and local school districts sharing his knowledge of science to inspire young people.
Dr. David McCann
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Reynoldsburg
Dr. McCann is a plant pathologist at the Ohio Department of Agriculture. While investigating an unnamed disease that was causing decline in beech trees in northeast Ohio, he discovered the presence of a microscopic worm called a nematode that was previously unknown in the United States. Through his work, Dr. McCann was instrumental in determining the cause of Beech leaf disease. The pest he identified is a subspecies that will soon be named after him.
Stephanie Matson
Thomas Worthington High School
Worthington
Stephanie is the coach of the Thomas Worthington High School Science Olympiad team. Through her coaching, her team went to state competition for the first time in many years and placed fourth. As a teacher, Stephanie works to bring science alive to her students including students who are learning science and English simultaneously.
Adlai Stein
Central Ohio School for Metalwork
Franklinton
Adlai is an avid metal worker who started off at Idea Foundry in Franklinton. Since then he has founded the Central Ohio School for Metalwork where he puts his passion to work teaching metal working and STEM skills to others.
Andy Harris
Pickerington Schools
Pickerington
Andy was nominated by his community for his passion for STEM education. He is the STEM Biomedical Science Coordination and currently teaches at Pickerington North and the Pickerington OhioHealth Medical Campus.
Jean Trimble
Westerville City Schools – Innovation Space Manager
Westerville
The city of Westerville nominated Jean because she is an outstanding innovator who create the first Westerville City Schools makerspace at Walnut Springs Middle School, developed the "Trash to Fashion" and "Lyrical Westerville" student competitions at the Starry Night Art and Science Festival and is now the Innovation Space Manager for the entire Westerville City School district.
Diane Mankins
Marysville Exempted Village School District Superintendent
Marysville
Diane was nominated by her community because of all that she has done for STEM education in Marysville. She was a major driver of the Straight A grant that was awarded to Marysville Schools in 2013, and shortly thereafter, she brought the vision of a STEM Early College High School to life.
David McIntyre
Police Officer
Circleville
Officer McIntyre was nominated for his leadership with Foundations4Youth, which works to positively impact children through hands-on experiences around science, such as training around building gardens, teaching about livestock, participating in crafts, and explaining healthy eating.
Dr. Lora Thrun
Engineer at TOSOH
Grove City
Grove City leadership selected Lora for her engineering excellence and dedication to developing new technology and products. She also supports STEM values through mentoring young engineers and scientists.
Dr. Lou Kramer
London City Schools Superintendent
London
Lou was nominated by the city of London for his work to broaden the STEM programs and College Credit Plus courses throughout the school district.
2019 STEM STARS
Te’Lario Watkins II
Tiger Mushroom Farms
COSI
Te’Lario was nominated by COSI team members for his spectacular entrepreneurship to develop a business around growing a farm utilizing mushrooms and the environment
Audrey Strickling
Upper Arlington FIRST Robotics Team - Bearbots #6964
Upper Arlington
Audrey was nominated by her community for starting a First Robotics club as a sophomore in high school. She put the structure in place, found a teacher-sponsor, sought out funding, recruited team members and more.
Deborah Eberhardt
Beechcroft High School
Columbus
Deborah was nominated by Columbus City Schools for her commitment to mentoring the VEX Robotics team, TEN80 Student Racing Challenge, KIDWIND, and more.
Dennis Blair
Blair IT
Westerville
Dennis was nominated for his longtime support of technology and the arts in the community by offering internships at his local business, supporting Starry Night, and the Augmented Reality Sandbox for the schools that he helped design.
Grant Boone
Eagle Scout
Reynoldsburg
Grant was nominated for his Eagle Scout project at Civic Park which focused on water quality in Blacklick Creek and educating local residents on the importance of maintaining a healthy ecosystem in our creeks.
Jim Grote
Edge Innovation Hub
Gahanna
Jim and the Edge Innovation Hub were nominated for connecting food industry partners and driving food technology to the edge to create a future where food is accessible, healthful, sustainable, and delicious for all.
Aaron Westbrook
Form 5 Prosthetics
New Albany
Aaron was nominated for his entrepreneurial spirit and his dedication to give back to others by making their lives easier through 3D generated prosthetics. See the video.
Dom Tiberi
Maria’s Message
Dublin
Dom was nominated for his leadership in educating high school students and their families on the dangers of distracted driving. See the video.
Paul and Lois Kolada
Priority Designs
Bexley
The Koladas were nominated for their industrial design firm that is brimming with creative inventions and cutting-edge projects.
Jake Kuttothara
Knockout Concepts
Franklinton
Jake was nominated for his amazing and innovative work with mobile 3D scanning software.
Meredith Richards
Northwest Library
Worthington
Meredith was nominated for inspiring curiosity as a librarian. She hosts Battle Bots, teaches coding and helps raise chicks and butterflies every year.
Chief Preston Moore
Whitehall Division of Fire
Whitehall
Chief Moore was nominated for his rocket building workshops with area youth.
Justin Walls
Built The Traditional Way
Grove City
Justin was nominated for engineering excellence with his award-winning, self-engineered, hand-crafted motorcycle.