Grand Maestro Award
Agere Systems,
Inc.
With
a workforce of
approximately 5,500 people and facilities around the world, Agere Systems
is a company backed
by industry-leading technology
and talent. Agere is a global
leader in the production
of semiconductors for storage,
wireless data, and public and enterprise networks. Its hardware and software
power a broad range of computing and communications applications, from cell
phones, computers, personal digital assistants, hard disk drives, and gaming
devices to the world's most sophisticated wireless and wire-line networks.
Agere and its employees are committed to the communities in which they have
a presence. Agere focuses its philanthropic mission on helping community partners
improve programs for grades K-12 - particularly those in math and science
- that help all young people reach their full potential. Agere's commitment
also includes volunteer programs, technical assistance, and funding of teacher
development programs. Agere supports a wide variety of programs in the Lehigh
Valley, including the Da Vinci Science Center and its Da Vinci Teacher Leader
Institute, the Technology Literacy Curriculum, the STAR Academy, Project Connect,
and the Fowler Technology Center. Agere has also developed a robust volunteer
program that pairs teams of employees with local agencies to improve community
life. These projects range from painting, yard work, and technical support
to working with "at-risk" young people.
Grand Maestro Award
Stephanie Polak
Agere Systems, Inc.
As
Community Relations Manager for Agere Systems, Inc. Polak has been highly
instrumental in the success of the Da Vinci Science Center through her coordination
of Agere's programmatic and financial support of the organization. She has
also served on a variety of Da Vinci Science Center task forces and committees.
Currently, she is Chair of its Marketing Advisory Committee. Polak has been
passionate about education throughout her professional life. She began her
career as a secondary school teacher and presently
teaches business communications courses at Lehigh Carbon Community College
along with her work at Agere. Polak is also co-chair of Education 2010! and
a commissioner of the Middle States Commission for Elementary Schools. Professionally,
Polak has held a variety of management positions over the past 20 years for
AT&T, Inc., Lucent Technologies, Inc., and Agere - specializing in human
resources and communications. She is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force
Reserves. Polak holds a bachelor's degree in education from Kutztown University
and a Master of Business Administration degree from Penn State University.
She is married to Stephen Polak and has a daughter, Tonya.
Spirit of Verrocchio
Award
Matthew R. Sorrentino, Esq.
Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino, P.C.
Mr.
Sorrentino served as Chairman of the Da Vinci Science
Center's Board of Trustees for five years until retiring from that
position in May 2006. During this period, the organization built and opened
its new demonstration facility, opened itself to the public
seven days a week and made a transition to a new Chief Executive Officer.
Sorrentino is a Founding Partner and of Tallman,
Hudders & Sorrentino, P.C. and is the firm's Managing Partner and
President. He is also a Board Member of Communities in Schools
of the Lehigh Valley; a member of the American, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County,
and Northampton County Bar Associations; Chairman of the Pennsylvania Disciplinary
Board's Hearing Committee 2.11; former President of the Pennsylvania Society
of Healthcare Attorneys; and General Counsel to the Lehigh Valley Hospital
and Health Network and Keystone Nazareth Bank & Trust. In Jan. 2006, he
was appointed Solicitor for Lehigh County. Sorrentino is an alumnus of Muhlenberg
College and Villanova University School of Law. He resides in Allentown with
his wife, Ronnie, a retiree from The Swain School of Allentown. The couple
has two grown children.
Spirit of Verrocchio
Award
James M. Miller, III
Argyle Capital Management, Inc.
A Founding
Trustee of the Da Vinci Science Center, Miller served as Board Secretary-Treasurer
for several years before stepping down from that position in May 2006. Miller
has also served as a Lehigh University Trustee, as President of the Lehigh
University Alumni Association, as a Director of the Lehigh River Foundation,
as a member of the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute, and as a member
of the New York and Philadelphia Societies of Security Analysts. Prior to
founding Argyle Capital Management, Inc. of
Bethlehem in 1983,
Miller spent 13 years as a Senior Portfolio Manager for the internally-managed
Bethlehem Steel Corp. pension fund. Miller is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy,
serving a tour of duty as a Naval Officer and retiring as a Lieutenant in
the Naval Reserves. Miller earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a Master
of Business Administration degree from Lehigh University. He lives with his
wife, Jayne, an elementary gifted teacher, in Durham Township, Bucks County.
The couple has three children. A collector of antique furniture, vintage farm
tractors, and other "old things," Miller enjoys country auctions
and finding treasures.
Spirit of Leonardo
Award
Presented with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
Sally Gammon, CHE
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital
Under
Gammon's leadership, Good Shepherd has doubled its
size and budget and has expanded its scope of services, including
the creation of a licensed long-term acute care hospital for critically
ill patients, rehabilitation facilities at Easton Hospital and Pocono
Medical Center, a long-term care facility in Bethlehem, 13 new
outpatient centers throughout the region, an 18-unit independent
living apartment complex for disabled individuals with low incomes,
and the current $46 million expansion and transformation of its main
campus.
Grand Master Award
Jude Adams
Union Terrace Elementary School, Allentown
A fourth
grade teacher at Union Terrace Elementary School, Mr. Adams knows that fun
matters when teaching science. He even
encourages his students to get wet while they learn. Through his
work with the Da Vinci Teacher Leader Institute, a Da Vinci
Science Center professional development program, Adams
developed a research project requiring his students to visit a pond
frequently and, sometimes, to go into the water to investigate. The
students learned what kinds of animals live in the pond and concepts
such as water temperature, pH levels, and the dissolving of oxygen. A third-year
Da Vinci Fellow, Adams has integrated the Institute's inquiry-based methods
into his teaching, creating hands-on science lessons that challenge gifted
students. He also has integrated technology by using tools such as GLX probes
and dichotomous keys regularly. Adams has also developed an after-school science
club at Union Terrace. Adams earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education
from Kutztown University and a Master of Classroom Technology degree from
Wilkes University.
Grand Master Award
Michelle DiGiovanni
Round Valley Middle School, Lebanon, N.J.
A
seventh grade teacher at Round Valley Middle School, Ms. DiGiovanni has created
a classroom that more closely resembles a
bustling lab of young scientists than a traditional lecture hall. At any given
moment, her students can be found performing hands-on
assessments, writing lab notes, making observations, creating
graphs, and using computers. DiGiovanni's students learn how
science is fun and how it impacts their daily lives. Her famous "Cupcake
Quiz" brings the potentially dull topics of weight,
measurement, and mass to life. During the "quiz," students measure
the mass of the cupcake, then add an item to it, measure its mass again, subtract
the two figures to determine the mass of the added item, and repeat the process
several times. DiGiovanni's students also learn how science integrates with
other disciplines by using the eight Challenger Training Stations she created
in partnership with her fellow teachers. The hands-on stations combine science
with math and social studies and also strengthen students' reading and writing
skills. DiGiovanni earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and
a Master of Education Degree from Boston University.
Grand Master Award
Dianne Haberstroh
Orefield Middle School
For
more than a decade, Ms. Haberstroh has not only taught seventh grade science
at Orefield Middle School in a vibrant, inquiry-based manner, she has taught
vital life lessons and brought a community together. When Haberstroh decided
recently to clean
up and update the school's environmental lab, she recruited
volunteers, solicited funds from the state fish and game
commissions, and shaped the work into state curriculum-friendly
lessons for her students. It was not unusual to see Haberstroh, her
students, and volunteers there on weekends, after school, and during vacations.
Haberstroh also led an effort create a garden to honor a beloved retiree.
When they are in the classroom, Haberstroh's students continue learning actively
by writing songs about science, creating their own animal species, and practicing
web site design. Haberstroh's peers call her an inspiration and her principal
wrote in nominating her, "Sometimes I wish I were a seventh grader at
Orefield Middle School so that I could be in her class." Haberstroh earned
a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Kutztown University and has
won several accolades, including grants from PPL Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.
U.S.A.
Grand Master Award
Dr. Patricia L. Waller
Emmaus High School
Dr.
Waller teaches biology and integrated science for grades
9-12. Throughout her 30-year teaching career, Dr. Waller has
influenced countless students with her contagious enthusiasm
and by continuously embracing cutting-edge technology and
teaching techniques. In 2004, Dr. Waller created the integrated science course
to help immature or academically struggling ninth graders learn fundamental
science concepts by analyzing real-life scenarios. Last fall, the class studied
Hurricane Katrina, comparing
that storm to other devastating hurricanes. Her students also participated
in real-time interactions with scientists as they were exploring the Earth's
oceans. Dr. Waller's students improved their ability to analyze data and their
reading skills. Dr. Waller is the President-Elect of the Board of Directors
of the National Association of Biology Teachers and a three-time winner of
the Distinguished Teacher Award from the National Junior Science and Humanities
Symposium. In 1977, she won the State of Delaware's Outstanding Biology Teacher
Award. Dr. Waller earned her doctorate in education from Lehigh University.
She also earned a bachelor's degree from Montclair State University and a
master's degree in microbiology from the University of Vermont.
Apprentice Award
Timothy Fahy
Hopatcong High School, Hopatcong, N.J.
A senior
at Hopatcong High School, Timothy has already found more ways to utilize his
skills and creativity to help his community than most men and women find in
their entire lives. For the last
three years, Tim has led an independent study project in which he
and a friend introduce computers and software to senior citizens.
Tim says he is dedicated to this cause because he believes that
every person deserves the opportunity to use technology, whether
he or she is 18 years old or 80 years old. Tim has served as
President of his class for four years and has worked as the audio and visual
technician for a recent fundraising basketball tournament benefiting the victims
of Hurricane Katrina and several student theater productions. Tim is an active
Boy Scout who has earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He also competes on his
school's varsity cross country and track teams and is a member of the National
Honor Society. Tim plans to attend the New Jersey Institute of Technology
this fall.
Apprentice Award
Rachel Licht
Moravian Academy
A senior
at Moravian Academy, Rachel has always been devoted
not just to success, but to excellence. That dedication is apparent
in everything she does. In ninth grade, Rachel began a three-year
streak of First Place awards from the Pennsylvania Junior Academy
of Science for research projects in Physics. In 11th grade, Rachel
produced an independent study of air friction and terminal velocity. This
year, Rachel has been investigating high-speed photography to capture rapidly
occurring events, constructing the circuit and
associated apparatus entirely from scratch. During the past two summers, Rachel
participated in collegiate-level programs at Johns Hopkins University and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Through these programs, she has
discovered a love for engineering. Rachel is also a National Merit Scholarship
Finalist, a tutor for children and co-founder of Civic In Action, an improvisation
group at her local community theatre. Rachel will attend M.I.T. in the fall,
majoring in chemical engineering. She hopes to eventually earn a doctorate
in that subject.
Apprentice Award
Daniel Lim
Emmaus High School
While
he is not yet a physician, Daniel already devotes his time
and energy in helping others protect what he calls their most
valuable possession: their health. A senior at Emmaus High School,
Daniel spent the summer of 2005 on a mission trip to Costa Rica,
during which he spent time distributing medicine to villagers. Daniel has
also been a student intern at the Lehigh Valley Orthopedic
Group at Sacred Heart Hospital - where he observed a variety of
surgeries, helped file prescriptions and dispense medications - and
part of a research team at the Lions Vision Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital
that studied the effects of blue-light filters on visual performance in conditions
with very little light. Currently, Daniel is working at the Woodlands Healing
Research Center in Quakertown, investigating the public's knowledge of the
H5N1 avian influenza virus. Daniel is fluent in English, Korean, and French,
and acts as a translator for his family's dry-cleaning business. He is also
an accomplished piano player, taking first place in the 2004 Voorhees Concerto
Competition. Daniel will attend either Cornell University or Brown University
in the fall.
Apprentice Award
Rebecca Lineman
Bishop McDevitt High School, Wyncote
Rebecca's
life goal is to contribute to the world with her scientific research and discoveries.
While only a high school senior, Rebecca
is already making her goal a reality. This year, Rebecca has built an arterial
peristaltic pump powered by synthetic muscles, which could
possibly be implanted into a leg to improve circulation. Last year,
she built a wave generator hooked to a volt meter to measure the
energy generated by ocean waves. She discovered that more energy
was produced by the receding waves. Rebecca has won several
awards for her work, including the Yale Science and Engineering Award for
the Most Outstanding 11th Grade Exhibit, and the Penn State Women in Science
and Engineering Award. Rebecca is also a National Merit Scholarship Finalist,
a Girl Scout troop leader, a Community Service Corps participant, and a member
of her school's chapters of Students Against Destructive Decisions, the National
Honor Society, and the National Spanish Honor Society. Rebecca plans to study
medical or engineering research in college in the fall.
Apprentice Award
Katherine Osenbach
Allentown Central Catholic High School
A
senior at Allentown Central Catholic High School, Katherine
has enjoyed several adventures in her academic career, all of which have nurtured
her love for biology and physics and will help her
pursue her goal of being a scientific researcher. Through her independent
research projects and her participation in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy
of Science, Katherine has enjoyed many different field experiences, including
pulling horse teeth alongside a veterinarian and wading in streams to collect
water
samples for anion testing. Katherine has also participated in the National
Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Boston and in an atomic fusion research
project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Katherine is also a
devoted musician, having played with the Lehigh County Honors Band and the
Allentown Diocesan Band along with her school's Liturgical Music Ensemble,
marching band, and concert band. She has been able to combine her interests
in science and music with one of her projects, titled Does Mozart Motivate
the Mind? Katherine, who lives in Kutztown, is also a Gold Award winner of
the Girl Scouts, a National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist, and Vice President
of her school's National Honor Society chapter. She will attend the University
of Scranton this fall, majoring in biology.
