PI: Dr. Regis Komperda (ORCID)
Professional Experience
- Associate Professor, San Diego State University, 2024—present
- Assistant Professor, San Diego State University, 2019—2024
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Barbera Group, Portland State University, 2016—2018
- Lecturer in Chemistry, Wright State University, 2010—2012
- High School Chemistry & Physics Teacher, Minooka Community High School, 2008—2010
Education
- PhD in Chemical Education, Bunce Group, Catholic University of America, 2016
- MS in the Teaching of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008
- BS in Chemistry, Minor in Secondary Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007
About Me
I have spent my entire career combining chemistry and education both as a teacher and a researcher. I am from Illinois and started my academic career at the University of Illinois where I was also a member of the Marching Illini piccolo section. After spending time teaching at both the high school and university level, I went back to school for a PhD in Chemical Education. During this time I fell in love with quantitative statistical methods, particularly those using latent variables (factor analysis and structural equation modeling), as well as the open source statistical software R.
After completing my PhD I moved to the west coast for a postdoctoral position with Dr. Jack Barbera and ultimately started a faculty position in the San Diego State University (SDSU) Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. In these roles I began to focus my research on issues of measurement and assessment in a chemistry education context, which is the focus of much of my current research.
From my experiences as a graduate student, postdoc, and now faculty member I also focus on supporting graduate students in their development as educators and researchers. In addition to teaching CHEM 100: Introduction to General Chemistry at SDSU I teach courses related to the professional development of graduate students as researchers (CHEM 695: Graduate Education in Chemistry) and educators (CHEM 781: Scientific Approaches to Teaching and Learning). I currently serve as the SDSU graduate advisor for the Mathematics and Science Education Doctoral (MSED) program, which is a joint PhD program with University of California San Diego.
In my time outside of research and teaching I continue to play my flute and piccolo with the Kearny Mesa Concert Band.
Postdoctoral Scholar: Dr. Jungwon Kim
- PhD in Education, University of California Los Angeles, 2022
- MA in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, Boston College, 2012
- BA in Psychology, Handong Global University, 2010
Current Project: Community of Inquiry
Website: https://sdsu.academia.edu/jungwonkim
Graduate Student Group Members
Abel Sekone
Undergraduate/Post-baccalaureate Group Members
Yrah Parfiles (Interdisciplinary Studies)
Former Group Members
Dr. Katherine Lazenby (Postdoctoral Scholar) – currently Senior Research Scientist at NWEA
Dr. Adriana Corrales (MSED Graduate) – formerly a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas in the Department of Chemistry in the Atkinson Research Group
Dissertation: Exploring graduate student identity development and the intersection of multiple sub-identities
Dr. Tina Marcroft (MSED Graduate) – currently an NSF STEM Education Postdoctoral Fellow at Texas State University
Dissertation: Taxonomic organization and evolutionary relatedness understanding in experts and novices
Sharai Mendez (Chemistry & Biochemistry MS Graduate) – currently a Lecturer in the SDSU Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Thesis: Influencing Agents: A qualitative study and characterization of undergraduate research experiences with chemistry and biochemistry students
Paulina Cortez (Biology BS Graduate & of Dual Language & English Learner MS Gradaute)
Alissa Alyase (Academy of Our Lady of Peace High School)
Briana Enriquez (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Bryanna Mendenhall (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Duong Vo (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Erica Sisouphanthong (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Tyree Baker (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Dylan Alcazar (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Eleanor Quirk (University of California San Diego, Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Allison Phillips (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Victoria Delgado (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Jan Lipovaca (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Grace Trinh (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Lule Yan (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)
Michelle Nguyen (Chemistry & Biochemistry, BS)