Meet the AAAS-IUSE Staff

Travis T. York, Ph.D.
Director, Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity & Diversity (ISEED), IUSE Principal Investigator
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Iris R. Wagstaff, Ph.D.
STEM Program Director
IUSE Co-Principal Investigator
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Thomas Veague
Project Director, IUSE Co-Principal Investigator
American Association for the Advancement of Science
AAAS-IUSE Advisory Board

Ann E. Austin, Ph.D.
University Distinguished Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education, Associate Dean for Research, College of Education
Michigan State University

Neal Grandgenett, Ph.D.
Associate Dean & Dr. George and Sally Haddix Community Chair of STEM Education, College of Education
University of Nebraska at Omaha

Sandra Laursen, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher and Director, Ethnography & Evaluation Research (E&ER), Center to Advance Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences (CARTSS)
University of Colorado Boulder

David McConnell, Ph.D.
Professor, Marine, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
North Carolina State University

Marco Molinaro, Ph.D.
Executive Director for Educational Effectiveness & Analysis
University of Maryland

Olga Pierrakos, Ph.D.
Founding Chair and Professor, Department of Engineering
Wake Forest University

Bryan Kent Wallace, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics, Director of Physics Laboratories & Coordinator of Rocketry, Dept. of Life and Physical Sciences
Fisk University
NSF IUSE Program Officers
The Organizations Behind this Initiative
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more.
AAAS Inclusive STEM Ecosystems for Equity & Diversity (ISEED) programs advocate for and contribute to high quality and comprehensive STEM education to achieve a scientifically literate public and diverse STEM workforce. Efforts develop and facilitate STEM experiences in the community and classroom. With ten projects reaching learners, families, educators, scientists, and volunteers, we aim to: support science learning and instruction, build a foundational love for the curiosity of STEM, promote STEM education research and use of evidence-based practices, showcase inventors to inspire, inform and influence thought leaders, and create pathways of interest, engagement, and learning that will lead to a stronger STEM workforce and science-literate public.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…” NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future. It is a primary driver of the U.S. economy, it enhances the nation’s security and advances knowledge to sustain global leadership. NSF has an annual budget of more than $7.5 billion (FY 2017) and is the funding source for approximately 24 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities.
The Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), within the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) at NSF, has as its mission to promote excellence in undergraduate STEM education for all students. It seeks to accomplish its mission by providing leadership, supporting curriculum development, preparing the workforce, and fostering connections. Its programs constitute a comprehensive approach to strengthening STEM education at two- and four-year colleges and universities by improving curricula, instruction, laboratories, infrastructure, assessment, diversity of students and faculty, and collaborations.
To learn more about the NSF IUSE: EDU program, visit the Proposal Preparation Toolkit page.