Dr. Brant Miller- Principal Investigator
Brant G. Miller is an Assistant Professor of Science Education and Learning Technologies at the University of Idaho. He earned his Ph.D. in Science Education with a supporting area of Learning Technologies from the University of Minnesota in 2010. Brant’s B.S and M.S degrees are from Black Hills State University in the field of Elementary Education and Curriculum and Instruction respectively. Before pursuing his doctoral work, Brant was a middle school science teacher for six years in western South Dakota. Since then, Brant has led education and outreach initiatives for the purposes of science communication in Greenland and throughout Idaho. His research interests include Adventure Learning, how technology can be used to transform teaching, and authentic, sustained professional development for K-12 STEM teachers.
Mary Engels- Co-Program Coordinator
Water in all its forms has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. Competitive swimming occupied a good portion of my young life and carried me through both high school and college. After graduating from Colorado College with a BA in Biology, my interest in water shifted and I spent the next ten years working as a river guide throughout the Rocky Mountain West. During that time I completed a MS in Geology and Geophysics at the University of Hawaii, where my thesis work involved diving and drilling coral reefs around the island of Molokai. The next eight years I spent sailing as a shipboard scientist with the Sea Education Association. Based on that experience I came back to school to study freshwater, which is a critical issue on many of the islands I visited, and my current PhD research is trying to understand how the water balance of small low islands is impacted by climate change and species invasions. All these experience convinced me that water is a critical, complex, and timely issue and one that needs thoughtful and well educated advocates from all walks of life. I think The Confluence Project, with its focus on real world issues, is exactly the kind of program that will help develop the next generation problem solvers. I am thrilled to be part of this project!
Jyoti Jennewein Co-Program Coordinator
After graduating with my Bachelor of Science from Colorado State University in 2007, I joined the United States Peace Corps and served in the Republic of Niger. Through my work as a Community Health Agent I was first exposed to the world’s clean water crisis. In 2011, I returned to school to obtain a master’s degree, completing my first year at the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS) in 2013. While working at MOSS, I developed an interest in communicating science and environmental concerns to students in an accessible and engaging way. I built on these communication skills the following year when I was awarded a GK12 fellowship and taught Honors Biology at a local high school. My master’s research took place in the Trifinio Region of Central America, where I worked with a local research agency to conduct household surveys regarding local interest in participating in future integrated water resource management practices, as well as local perceptions of water quantity and quality. Currently, I am working as the Co-Manager of this year’s Confluence Project, and as a Hydrologic Technician for the Forest Service at a Rocky Mountain Research Station. These two jobs have allowed me to balance my passion for science and its communication to students. I believe that science should be accessible and understandable, not locked in an ivory tower of a particular discipline.
The Confluence Project 