Resume

Summary

Veteran educator and engineer with experience on both sides of the classroom. I draw upon years spent teaching and learning to help students maximize their potential, serving as both a teacher and an advocate.

Experience Highlights

Upper School Math Faculty, abington friends School, 2022-present

  • Teaching Honors Algebra II, Precalculus, and AP Calculus BC for grades 9-12.

  • Coaching the RooBotics Team. Our 2023 robot placed 21st at the FIRST ® Robotics Competition Mid-Atlantic District Championship and 420th at the FIRST ® World Championship, both school records.

  • Assisting the Student Support Team at AFS to help students manage their work/life balance.

Upper School Math Faculty, Oak Knoll School, 2019-2022

  • Taught Algebra through Pre-Calculus for grades 8-12.

  • Coached the Forensics Team.

  • Certified faculty and staff in Youth Mental Health First Aid.

Private Tutor, Self-Employed, 2013-2019

  • Broke down complex concepts to individual learning levels.

  • Honed students' math and verbal skills and their ability to identify and correct their own mistakes.

  • Created tracking system for students’ progress to monitor improvements.

  • Earned numerous recommendations from students and parents for effective help with test prep and school subjects.

Upper School Math Faculty, Saddle River Day School, 2018-2019

  • Taught Algebra I Honors, College Prep Geometry, Precalculus, and Calculus Honors from an interdisciplinary standpoint, ensuring that students gain real-world experience.

  • Developed cutting-edge curriculum for new Applied Math course.

  • Coached the inaugural MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge teams at SRDS.

Graduate Research Assistant, Rutgers University, 2016-2018

  • Awarded four opportunities to conduct high-tech research using energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) facilities at Argonne National Laboratory.

  • Discovered unique, never-before-seen behavior in bismuth ferrite when manufactured via flash sintering at record low temperatures.

  • Spearheaded the 1st Annual STEM Community Outreach Symposium at Rutgers as president of the graduate section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

Engineering Instructor, County College of Morris, 2013-2016

  • Revolutionized the engineering department’s orientation program to increase retention of women.

  • Consistently rated as one of the top educators in the engineering department by students.

  • Founding adviser to the Society of Women Engineers chapter.

STEM Teacher, Huntington Learning Center, 2013

  • Smashed students’ goals and increased SAT scores by at least 300 points.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Rutgers University, 2018

Materials Science & Engineering

Master of Science, Rutgers University, 2018

Materials Science & Engineering

Master of Engineering, Rutgers University, 2010

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Bachelor of Science, The College of New Jersey, 2007

Mechanical Engineering
Minor: English

Teaching Statement

Diversity Statement

Research Statement

Curriculum Vitae available upon request.

Core Competencies

  • Trailblazer and role model promoting women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields.

  • Extensive experience with curriculum development, specializing in all levels of mathematics and engineering solid mechanics.

  • Advocate for experiential learning.

  • Intimate working knowledge of diverse student populations in various environments, from community college to private school.

  • Expert in sustainable energy.

  • Proficient in MATLAB programming.

Honors

Recipient, Research Funding, 2016-2018

Office of Naval Research
Contract N00014-15-1-2492-438700
Contract 4104-78982-820133

Fellow, Leadership Capacity Building Program, 2014-2015

National Science Foundation
Advanced Technological Education Grant

Trainee, Renewable Energy Solutions for the 21st Century, 2012

National Science Foundation
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)

Associate Trainee, Nanotechnology for Clean Energy, 2008-2012

National Science Foundation
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)

Certificates

Instructor, Youth Mental Health First Aid, 2021

National Council for Behavioral Health

Mental Health First Aid Responder, 2015

National Council for Behavioral Health

Engineer-in-Training, 2007

New Jersey State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Publications

M.A. Wassel, L.A. Perez-Maqueda, E. Gil-Gonzalez, H. Charalambous, A. Perejon, S.K. Jha, J. Okasinski, T. Tsakalakos, “Anisotropic lattice expansion determined during flash sintering of BiFeO3 by in-situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction,” Scripta Materialia, 162, 286-291 (2019).

L.A. Perez-Maqueda, E. Gil-Gonzalez, M.A. Wassel, S.K. Jha, A. Perejon, H. Charalambous, J. Okasinski, P.E. Sanchez-Jimenez, T. Tsakalakos, “Insight into the BiFeO3 flash sintering process by in-situ energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (ED-XRD),” Ceramics International, 45(2B), 2828-2834 (2019).

M. Wassel, E. Gil-Gonzalez, L.A. Perez-Maqueda, S. Jha, T. Tsakalakos, “Flash Sintering of Bismuth Ferrite in situ with EDXRD,” Denver X-Ray Conference, Big Sky, Montana, ICDD-D-60. (2017)

R.E. Riman, S. Gupta, Q. Li, V. Atakan, C. Vakifahmetoglu, J. Krishnan, M.A. Wassel, L. Tang, L. McCandlish, N. DeCristofaro, “Hydrothermal Processing for High Performance Building and Infrastructure Materials,” International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies 2013, Suntec, Singapore, ICMAT13-A-2443. (2013)

K.A. Cook-Chennault, N. Thambi, M.A. Bitetto, E.B. Hameyie, “Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting: A Green and Clean Alternative for Sustained Power Production,” Bulletin of Science Technology Society 28(6), 496-509 (2008).