Conference Presenters

Dr. Carol Kim, Director of the University of Maine’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and Associate Professor at the University of Maine Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology. Dr. Kim received her Ph. D. at Cornell University. Kim has turned to zebrafish as models for the study of immunity, and infectious viral and bacterial disease. Key to Kim's work is the identification of the genes and molecular processes involved in innate immunity — the natural ability of multicelled organisms to ward off pathogens. Her studies of infectious disease in zebrafish bridge the biomedical and applied application fields because they have the potential to lead to a better understanding of disease development, resistance, diagnosis and treatment in other vertebrates, including humans and fish. Kim's interest in applying molecular virology and microbiology to benefit the biomedical field and aquaculture industry brought her to the University of Maine in 1998, where she set up the state's first and now largest zebrafish facility

Dr. Amy Arnett, Associate Professor of Biology at Unity College, Amy is the author of many research articles focused on the ecology, evolution and conservation of insects. Amy is co-founder and past director of the Women's Environmental Leadership (WE LEAD) program at Unity College that helps undergraduate women develop skills to become leaders in environmental fields. Amy has recently received a Fulbright Scholar Award to teach and conduct insect research at the University of Maribor, Slovenia. Amy's talk will address her path to a science career, challenges of being a female scientist, and the importance of getting young people involved in environmental studies.

Dr. Mary Madden, Associate Research Professor at the University of Maine Center for Research and Education, Mary has a B.S. in Health and Family Life, an M.Ed. with a concentration in Human Development and a Ph.D. in Education and Human Development with a concentration in Women's Studies. Mary facilitates courses for Research Seminar and Girls’ Development and Education. Mary has conducted research on such issues as adolescent girls' development and education, gender issues in education, hazing in postsecondary institutions, and effectiveness of youth suicide prevention and intervention programs

Professor Karen Horton joined the MET faculty in the Fall of 1997 from Bath Iron Works where she worked for five years in Noise, Shock and Vibration building Aegis Destroyers. Prior to pursuing her Masters Degree she spent three years as a Mechanical Engineer at the Naval Coastal Systems Center in Panama City, Flordia, then taught Math and Electronics for a year at Ramstein American High School, Germany. Prof. Horton teaches Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Technology, Strengths of Materials, Engineering Materials, Industrial Vibrations, and independent study courses. She has also taught Technical Drawing, Manufacturing Technology, Introduction to CAD/CAM, Fluid Flow Technology, CAD/CAM Projects, and Virtual Preservation of Archeological Structures. She coordinates CAD (Computer Assisted Design) Camps for high school students in the summer. Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D., is Professor of Education and Human Development at Colby College in Maine. She writes extensively on the relational life of girls; the influences of race, class and gender on girls’ lives; the impact of media, and girls’ feelings of anger, self-knowledge, loss, hope, and desire. Dr. Brown, a founding member of the Harvard Project on Women's Psychology and Girls' Development and co-creator of the nonprofit Hardy Girls Healthy Women (www.hardygirlshealthywomen.org), has written four books on girls’ social and psychological development. Meeting at the Crossroads with Carol Gilligan, Raising Their Voices: The Politics of Girls' Anger, Girlfighting: Betrayal and Rejection Among Girls , and Packaging Girlhood with Sharon Lamb. Dr. Brown earned her Ed.D. at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. She has been Henkels Visiting Lecturer at the University of Notre Dame, a recipient of the Maine Women’s Fund Sarah Orne Jewett Award, American Association of University Women Educational Foundation Scholar-in-Residence, and winner of a National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship for encouraging healthy resistance in girls. Her intense study of girlfighting garnered a Henry A. Murray Research Center Radcliffe Postdoctoral Research Award and other research grants.

Patricia Bernhardt, BA in Biology (1979) and a MA in Curriculum (1988) and Instruction for California State University, Patricia Bernhardt has been teaching for 21 years at the high school and middle school levels, and is currently a grade seven life science teacher at James F. Doughty Middle School in Bangor, Maine. During her time at the James F. Doughty Middle school, she has coached spring track at the middle school level and field hockey at both the high school and middle school level. She has been student council advisor, started a science club, and ran science fair when there was a state competition. Additionally, along with her 8th grade science colleague she started an aquaculture tank which students keep in operation to demonstrate the fragility and stability of ecosystems. She has written two funded grants for the aquaculture tank. Before moving back to Maine, Patricia taught at the Bryant Alternative High School where she chaired the one person science department. During this time, the school had on site day care to accommodate the number of students already parenting. As a result, there was a large gender imbalance (mostly women) in her classes. One of the goals of this program was to encourage students to continue their education. The population of this school was culturally and ethnically diverse.