BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

ROBERT R. GOTWALS, JR. – Computational Science Educator, The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

4/96-Present - Computational Science Educator, The Shodor Education Foundation, Inc, Durham, NC.
Responsible for the development and implementation of authentic and appropriate education materials in computational science for a diverse audience. Specialties include computational chemistry, environmental sciences, medicine and biosciences, and science for hearing- and visually-impaired students. Responsible for fund-raising, technical and scientific training.

9/92-4/96 - Training and Education Specialist, North Carolina Supercomputing Program, MCNC, RTP, NC.
Responsible for the management and coordination of a state-wide learning programs (K-16) involving high-performance computing and communications (HPCC) technologies and microelectronics technologies. Responsible for fund-raising, technical and scientific training.

4/84-Present - Naval Intelligence Officer (Lieutenant Commander), United States Naval Reserve Intelligence, Norfolk, VA.
Intelligence analyst for USACOM/CINCLANTFLT-directed activities, including development of exercise scenarios, both real-world and computer-simulated. Have also served as technical translator/editor (Russian) and have been involved in classified work using large computers.

7/88-5/92 - Chemistry Teacher, Blair High School Magnet Program, Silver Spring, MD
Responsible for teaching introductory and advanced chemistry to highly gifted secondary students. Advanced courses include analytical/instrumental chemistry, physical chemistry, and research methods. Served as faculty advisor to numerous individual student research projects. Served as coach and coordinator of SuperQuest supercomputing teams.

9/83-6/88 - Science Instructor, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC
Taught general science to college hearing-impaired students. Designed, acquired funding, and built complete science lab facility for a new program. Instrumental in establishing Associate degree program involving computer technology.

9/82-8/83 - Chemistry Teacher, New York State School for the Deaf, Rome, NY
Instructed secondary hearing-impaired students in chemistry and physics. Established use of computers as an integral component of curriculum through classroom activities, extracurricular activities, and in-service for faculty.

EDUCATION:

University of Rochester/ Rochester Inst. of Tech. MS.ED. 1982 - Science/Deaf Education
East Carolina University, Greenville NC B.S. 1982 - Chemistry

INVITED PAPERS:

Gotwals, R. (1992). Computational Science in Secondary Schools. Poster session at American Chemical Society national conference, Washington, DC.

Gotwals, R., Sabelli, N. (1991). Supercomputing for Secondary Students. Presented at the National Science Foundation Project directors conference, Washington, DC.

Gotwals, R. (1990). Supercomputing for Secondary Students. Presented at the conference on Supercomputing for University People, Penn State University, PA.

Gotwals, R. (1989). High-Performance Computing in Secondary Schools. Keynote address to New York State Science Teachers conference, Cornell University, NY.

Gotwals, R. (1995). Scientific Visualization for Teaching Secondary Chemistry. Chapter for a monograph on scientific visualization for secondary teachers.

PRESENTATIONS:

Gotwals, R. (1997). Environmental Computational Science. North Carolina Environmental Educators Conference, RTP, NC.

Gotwals, R. (1987). Using Systems Dynamics and STELLA. Maryland Computing Teachers Association National Conference, Baltimore, MD.

Gotwals, R., Doerr, H. (1992). Computational Science for Secondary Students, National Science Teachers Association National Conference, Boston, MA.

Gotwals, R. (1989). SuperQuest and Computational Science in the Secondary School, Supercomputing conference, Gainesville, FL.

WORKSHOPS:

Gotwals, R. (1998) Explorations in Computational Quantum Chemistry A 30-hour hands-on workshop for academically gifted secondary students. Project SUCCEED and Duke University Talent Identification Program.

Gotwals, R. (1998) Computational Medicine and Biosciences A 30-hour hands-on workshop for academically gifted secondary students. Project SUCCEED and Duke University Talent Identification Program.

Gotwals, R. (1995) Environmental Modeling using STELLA A 15-hour hands-on workshop for academically gifted secondary students. Duke University Talent Identification Program.

Gotwals, R. (1994) A Day in the Life of a Computational Scientist: Excursions in Supercomputing and Visualization. A daylong workshop for teachers, MCNC, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Gotwals, R. (1994). Internet for Educators. A two-day workshop, MCNC, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Fleischmann, E., Gotwals, R. (1992). Introduction to Computational Chemistry. A two-day hands-on workshop, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.

Gotwals, R., Verona, M. (1991). Computational Science for Teachers. A two-day hands-on workshop, Cornell University, NY.

Haney, M., Gotwals, R., Piper, L. (1988). Using Systems Dynamics and STELLA. A one-day hands-on workshop, Maryland Computing Teachers Association National Conference, Baltimore, MD.

MEMBERSHIPS:

American Chemical Society
National Braille Association

MISCELLANEOUS:

NSF Reader for NIE and AAT Programs
Two-time SuperQuest Finalist Coach (1989, 1991)
Invited to serve on SuperQuest Institute staff (1990, 1992)
Junior Officer of the Year, Naval Reserve Intelligence Area 19, 1987
Junior Citizen of the Year, West Chester Chamber of Commerce, 1973
Eagle Scout, 1970
Experienced free-lance sign language interpreter and teacher
Experienced braille transcriber and teacher
Ability to read/translate technical Russian

Questions? Send e-mail to cal@ucar.edu
Broken links? Send e-mail to dpetter@ucar.edu

LAST UPDATED: 03/30/2000