"Flying Circus of Physics"

Dr. Miron Kaufman is Professor and chair of the Physics Department. He is the author of more than 50 refereed publications on statistical physics and its applications to engineering and biology. Dr. Kaufman is developing pedagogical enrichment materials using the state of the art engineering software MathCAD for several physics courses: University Physics I and II, Environmental Physics, Conceptual Physics for Middle School Teachers, Thermal Physics, and Statistical Physics. He is displaying some of these materials on his web site. They are featured on the web collections of the American Association of Physics Teachers (Physical Sciences Resource Center), COMpadre.org and NSDL.org (National Science Digital Library). Dr. Kaufman has presented his pedagogical contributions at the 11th Global Warming International Conference and at the Gordon Conference on Physics Research and Education. Dr. Kaufman (with Dr. Streletzky) developed and taught the Flying Circus of Physics portion of CSU’s successful 2007 Summer Honors Institute.

Dr. Kiril A Streletzky has taught physics courses both at introductory and advanced levels at CSU since 2004. In his teaching, he emphasizes the real-life context of physics and engaged learning through interactive physics labs offering “exploratory hands-on” experiences. He used these ideas to propose and develop two physics courses for the University Honors Program (PHY 243H, 244H), which are currently being taught at CSU. Dr. Streletzky is actively involved in advising students both in his own lab and through the CSU Honors Program. He serves as a faculty advisor to the Society of Physics Students and is a member of the University Honors Council. He also participates in CSU community outreach activities by advising Horizon Academy students in their science projects. In fact, one of his secondary student’s physics projects (“Springs on Air Table”) won first prize at the North Eastern Ohio Science and Engineering Fair in 2005 (John Carroll U, March 28, 05). Dr. Streletzky (with Dr. Kaufman) developed and taught the Flying Circus of Physics portion of CSU’s successful 2007 Summer Honors Institute.

Dr. Jearl Walker, professor of physics at Cleveland State University, received his BS in physics from MIT in 1967 and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Maryland in 1973. His book, The Flying Circus of Physics, was published 30 years ago, has been translated into at least ten languages, and is still being sold world-wide. During his 13 years with Scientific American magazine, he wrote 152 articles for “The Amateur Scientist” section, which were translated into at least nine languages world-wide. In 1990, he took over the textbook Fundamentals of Physics from David Halliday and Robert Resnick and he has now published his fourth edition of the book. He has lost count of the number of times he has been on television and radio and interviewed for newspapers and magazines, but clearly remembers the 20 minutes he spent performing on the Johnny Carson show! Dr. Walker assisted with the development of last year’s successful 2007 Summer Honors Institute for which he also served as evaluator for students’ final presentations.

Dr. Theodore Wood, associate professor of physics at Cleveland State University, received a Ph.D. from Washington University in Saint Louis. He currently teaches courses on electronics and computational physics, and supervises all the teaching laboratories in the physics department. He regularly presents physics demonstrations for high-school students as part of the Physics Day at CSU.

Ms. Tara Panagopoulos holds undergraduate degrees in biology and physics. As laboratory manager for the physics department, she trains and supervises teaching assistants, and ensures compliance with all applicable human health and safety guidelines.

"Mathematical Kaleidoscope"

Ivan Soprunov & Jenya Soprunova received their Ph.Ds in mathematics from the University of Toronto. They currently teach mathematics at Cleveland State University. Ivan's research is in computational and combinatorial algebraic geometry. Jenya's field of research is real algebraic geometry. They both taught advanced mathematics courses for gifted high school students in Moscow, Russia. In the summer of 2001, with Kiumars Kaveh, the Soprunovs ran a geometry summer camp for gifted high school students at the University of Toronto.

"Arts on the Edge"

Mr. Jason Dooley is an art educator and artist in the Cleveland area. He has worked in multiple mediums from paints to pencils to jewelry and enamels. He has participated in various art shows throughout the Cleveland area and continues to work on his artistic style and skills. He is in his second successful year as a Cleveland art teacher at Whitney Young Magnet High School for Gifted Students and is completing his Master’s Degree in Gifted Education.

Ms. Amelia Joynes is presently teaching for the Art Department and Education Department at Cleveland State University where she also supervises the Art student teachers. She has also lectured and supervised the Art Education students at Case Western Reserve University. She is a Certified Praxis III Assessor for the Ohio Department of Education evaluating entry-level teachers. She is licensed in multiage Visual Art, with Gifted Validation and she has a Certification in Supervision of Curriculum. Ms. Joynes was involved in the early writing teams for the Ohio Arts Standards and Arts’ Assessment as part of the Department of Education, Educational Advisory Committee, and the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education. She is presently one of the authors of a book published in 2006 titled Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs Through Art (ed. Guay, Gerber). Professionally, she has mentored school districts on arts assessment and was an examiner for the National Professional Board of Teacher Standards Certification in Visual Art. Recently, she presented a video series for the Cleveland Museum of Art docents on Early Childhood Museum Experiences. She taught visual art in public school for over 25 years and has made numerous presentations at the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and regional programs focused on arts and special needs, arts assessment, and arts across the curriculum.

Dr. Neal Chandler directs the Creative Writing Program at Cleveland State University. With a Ph.D. from Princeton University, he taught at Lake Erie College and Case Western Reserve University before coming to Cleveland State University in 1989 to teach Creative Writing and administer the Creative Writing Program. He is the author of Benediction, a short story collection, Appeal to a Lower Court, a three-act play, and various published stories and essays. At CSU he has run the program’s reading series, introduced symposia on Baseball Writing and on Writing and Mental Health, created partnerships with community arts groups and area schools, proposed and helped to design the Northeast Ohio Masters of Fine Arts (NEOMFA) in creative writing. This is the only consortial MFA Writing Program in the country, combining writing faculty from Cleveland State, Kent State, Youngstown State, and the University of Akron. In 1991 he co-founded with novelist Karen Joy Fowler the Imagination Writer’s Workshop and Conference, now entering its 17th year. He also introduced Imagination/2, an annual workshop series for "beginning and resuming" writers.

Mr. Jonathan Fairman is the Chairman of the English and Reading Department at the Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA). He teaches Creative Writing and English and co-directs the CSA New Plays Festival (an annual showcase for student plays at the Cleveland Play House). In 2002 and 2004, he was a workshop leader for the Imagination/2 Teen Writing Workshops hosted by Cleveland State University. In 2001, he was recognized as an Outstanding Arts and Writing Educator by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. He was chosen CAVS-Sportsnet Teacher of the Year (2001) and was named the Greater Cleveland Rotary Club’s Outstanding Educator (2003). In 2005, he received the President’s Award from the Greater Cleveland Rotary Club. Mr. Fairman has served on the State Board for the Power of the Pen, the Performing Arts Committee of the Cleveland Music School Settlement, Ohio Department of Education’s Reading Standards Committee for the Ohio Graduation Test, and Proficiency and Achievement Test Rangefinder Committees for writing and reading. He is an in-service presenter on numerous topics including Writing and Standards, Creative Writing Techniques, Technology Infusion in the Classroom, and Internet Resources for Teachers. Jonathan G. Fairman has a B.A. and an M.Ed. from Cleveland State University.

"Political Science"

Dr. Rodger M. Govea has been teaching political science at Cleveland State University since 1978. He is an expert on the use of simulation in teaching, and has authored articles on the teaching of political science. He has also been a negotiator for the Cleveland State University teacher’s union on several occasions. For over ten years, he participated in the Cleveland Council on World Affairs’ programs for high school students, including visits to high schools throughout Northeast Ohio, and the “University for Young Americans”, which brought high-school students from all over the country to the Cleveland area for issue-oriented sessions on international politics.

Mr. Louis J. Erste has been Chief Operating Officer for school districts in Cleveland, Ohio and Washington, DC. He currently manages a network of charter schools for Mosaica, Inc. During his graduate studies at the University of Michigan, he was honored by the university for his innovative teaching using simulation. He is also an experienced negotiator, having served on administration negotiation teams in Cleveland and Washington, DC.

"Making Connections"

Dr. Susan Rakow will direct this portion of the program and also serve as the Institute Director. Her biographical information appears in the Institute Director and Gifted Education Expert section below.

Mrs. Lynn Proegler is Supervisor of Services for Talented and Gifted for the Geauga County ESC. Mrs. Proegler has extensive experience with programs for gifted students. From 1988 to 1994, she was the Coordinator for the Center for Talented and Gifted at Eastern Michigan University. Her job entailed serving as a liaison to public schools, Dual Enrollment Facilitator, and Director of Summer Quest, a two-week residential academic program for high ability secondary school students. Summer Quest courses included chemistry, physics, journalism, creative writing, computer aided design, computer animation, instrumental music, theater workshop, entrepreneurship, and video production. In the capacity of Summer Quest director, her responsibilities included all aspects of program management from hiring faculty and staff to arranging for residence halls to preparing the final program evaluation. Mrs. Proegler helped develop the curriculum for and the facilitation of CSU’s 2007 Summer Honors Institute.

Dr. Mary Motley is Coordinator of CSU’s Undergraduate Programs in Health, Physical Education, Sports Management and Exercise Science. She co-designed and taught the Honors Sport Appreciation course. Dr. Motley has been at Cleveland State for more than 30 years.

Ms. Lauren Davis is the University Scholars Academic Advisor in the Honors Program at Cleveland State University. She has worked with high school and college students for the past three years as a graduate student academic advisor and currently as a professional advisor. She has a B.A. in English Literature and an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel from Kent State University. As an academic advisor, she assists students in their transition from high school to college and focuses on helping them achieve their personal, educational, and occupational goals. Ms. Davis will assist with the Making Connections components of the Institute as well as serve as the Residence Hall Supervisor for the residential week of the Institute.

Administrative: Gifted Education Expert/Institute Director

Dr. Susan Rakow: After a career of over 30 years as a teacher in several school districts and as gifted teacher and coordinator in Beachwood City Schools, Dr. Susan Rakow is now a Clinical Assistant Professor of Curriculum, Instruction and Gifted Education at Cleveland State University. She designed and developed Beachwood’s middle and high school gifted programs and her doctorate focuses on secondary gifted education. She is the author of Educating Gifted Students in Middle School: A Practical Guide (Prufrock Press, 2005), Teaching to the Top (NMSA, 2007), and numerous articles. She is a consultant in gifted education for many school districts and a frequent presenter at state and national conferences in both middle school and gifted education. She served as director and gifted education expert for Cleveland State’s 2007 Summer Honors Institute and provides a valuable bridge between the P-12 gifted community and the university.

Co-Director Dr. Barbara Margolius will assist Prof. Rakow as needed in administrative duties related to running the Institute this summer. Dr. Margolius joined the Cleveland State University mathematics department in 1996. She has served as an associate professor of mathematics and director of the University’s Honors Program since its inception in Fall of 2004. Dr. Margolius’s research interests include queuing theory and classical probability problems. She is presently working on developing a series of calculus vodcasts (video podcasts) for a calculus course to be delivered as an online course in the fall.