Katherine Ellins

Kathy Ellins is the program manager at The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG). As part of her responsibilities, Kathy oversees the Institute's funded educational outreach efforts and serves as UTIG's Public Information Officer. She has a Bachelor's degree in Geology from Skidmore College, a Masters in Science Education from New York University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University (LDEO).

Kathy has taught K-8 (primarily 5th and 7th grades) at St. David's School in NY, where she also served as the chair of the science department, and graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Florida where she was a faculty member in the Department of Geology from 1988-1994. From 1994 -1998 Kathy worked in the Ocean Drilling Program's JOIDES Office, first alongside Rob Kidd in Cardiff and then with Susan Humphris and Bob Detrick at WHOI. She was the JOIDES Office Liaison to the ODP Site Survey Panel.

Currently, Kathy is a member of the IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) Education and Outreach Committee and the Science Communication and Marine Public Information network. She is active in supporting K-12 Earth science education in Texas and in nurturing the national Revolution in Earth and Space Science Education through projects that provide professional development for educators and promote diversity in the geosciences. Previously, she served as the interim chair of the EarthScope Education and Outreach steering committee and was a co-convener of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Education and Outreach Workshop (February 2004).

Current Grants:

• UTIG/Huston-Tillotson Diversity Project. NSF Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG NSF-04590).

• UTIG/Huston-Tillotson Diversity Project (a companion project to the NSF OEDG grant). Jackson School of Geosciences.

• The Earth Science Collection-K-16 Geoscience Learning Activities. The University of Texas at Austin UTOPIA Project. The project prepares UTIG's K-12 curriculum activities for the UTOPIA Project's web site, renders them compatible with other digital libraries, especially the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE), and makes them easily searchable by Google-type search engines to achieve the widest possible dissemination.

• GK-12 : An Interactive program Linking Graduate Fellows in Environmental Science with K-12 Students and Teachers. NSF Crosscutting Programs.

• Texas Teachers in the Field (TTIF). Teachers participate alongside scientists in UTIG-led field projects.

Previous Grants (recent):

• Cataclysms and Catastrophes - the Role of Science in Natural and Human-induced Disasters. NSF Geoscience Education.

• Geosciences in the Classroom: Professional Development for Texas Teachers Using Materials Developed for the NSF-Sponsored Cataclysms and Catastrophes Project (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Teacher Quality Grants).

Membership in Professional Organizations: AGU, GSA, Science and Marine Policy Information Network, National Association of Science Writers.