The Station1 Founders and Leadership Team
Christine Ortiz, Ph.D.
Founder, Station1
Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Christine Ortiz is a higher education leader, professor, engineer, former dean, entrepreneur, corporate board director, and nonprofit trustee. As the Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she is an internationally recognized academic with expertise in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and biomaterials. She has given invited talks in over 40 countries, has over 200 scholarly publications and more than 8800 citations, and supervised the research projects of more than 100 students from 10 different academic disciplines. She has received more than 30 national and international honors including the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering which was awarded to her at the White House by U.S. President George W. Bush. Dr. Ortiz has served on over 50 scientific advisory boards and expert panels collectively overseeing in excess of $200M in research funds. Dr. Ortiz served as Dean for Graduate Education at MIT between 2010-2016 where she supported more than 7,000 graduate students from 100+ countries enrolled in 45 graduate degree programs in 5 academic schools. In 2016, Dr. Ortiz founded and serves as Chair of the Board of Station1 (www.station1.org). Station1 is a startup nonprofit higher education institution based in Massachusetts that has developed a new model of frontier learning and research — socially-directed science and technology. Dr. Ortiz serves as a corporate board director for the water infrastructure and technology company, Mueller Water Products (NYSA MWA, Market Cap $1.922B) and Enovis, a biomedical technology company (NYSA ENOV, Market Cap $3.61B). Dr. Ortiz received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering with a minor in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University. More information can be found in Dr. Ortiz’s Short Biography, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Ellan F. Spero, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Professor of the Practice, Station1
Instructor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ellan Spero is a historian of science and technology, educator, academic entrepreneur, and non-profit board director. Dr. Spero is Co-founder, and Professor of the Practice at Station1, a nonprofit higher education institution focused on socially-directed science and technology in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and an instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. At both Station1 and MIT, Dr. Spero develops and teaches an integrative, interdisciplinary curriculum bringing the history of science and technology and a material culture approach to collaborate with scientists and engineers. Dr. Spero’s research focuses on the ways that people envision human progress through the systems, institutions, objectives, and narratives that they create. As a historian working at the intersection of technology, business, and higher education, Dr. Spero’s research explores narratives of progress, systems of production, academic-industrial ecosystems, and interactions between humans and material infrastructures through technological landscape. Her current primary research project addresses the materiality of infrastructure systems, and technologies of resilience with a focus on water systems at the turn of the 20th century. Dr. Spero is active as an international collaborator, with partnerships in Italy at the University of Pisa and Ca’Foscari University in Venice. Dr. Spero was a visiting scientist at the Smart Living Lab at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Fribourg, Switzerland and prior a joint researcher between MIT and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Dr. Spero serves on the Board of Directors for the Lawrence History Center (Massachusetts) and the Watch Library Foundation (Switzerland). Dr. Spero holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in History, Anthropology, Science, Technology and Society. Spero also has a B.S. and M.S. from Cornell University in Fiber Science and Apparel Design, and a M.A from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in Museum Studies and Textile Conservation.
Instructors and Research Collaborators
Francisco Martin-Martinez, PhD (LinkedIn, Website)
Co-Instructor, Station1
Lecturer, Swansea University
Francisco Martin-Martinez is a Lecturer at the Chemistry Department of Swansea University, and Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Martin-Martinez is passionate about sustainability, people, data, and education. Dr. Martin-Martinez leads a research group focused on computational chemistry and artificial intelligence for the development of bioinspired biobased nanomaterials that tackle challenges to sustainable development goals, e.g., climate action, resilient infrastructure, precision agriculture, and energy storage. Social inquiry, inclusion, and equity are essential to sustainable development, and therefore Dr. Martin-Martinez advocates for social justice and socially-directed science and technology, collaborating with Station1, a non-profit higher education institution. Dr. Martin-Martinez is the Athena SWAN officer for the Chemistry Department at Swansea University. Outside academia, he is a member of the advisory board of Sweetwater Energy, and integrated biorefinery, Science Policy collaborator for the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK (SRUK), and has served as President of the Association of Spanish Scientist in the USA (ECUSA). Dr. Martin-Martinez is co-author of one the most recent and relevant books on Lignin and Lignans (Wiley, 2015). Dr. Martin-Martinez earned an MS in Chemical Engineering at University of Granada (Spain) in 2005, MS in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry in 2007, and PhD in Chemistry from the same University in 2011.
Jingjie Yeo, PhD. (LinkedIn)
Co-Instructor, Station1
Assistant Professor, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University
Jingjie Yeo is an Assistant Professor at Cornell University, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Head of the J2 Lab for Engineering Living Materials. Dr. Yeo’s research focuses on computations in materials and engineering of dynamically-responsive, living materials through interdisciplinary studies of material and biological phenomena with multiscale computational methods for engineering and medical applications. Prior, he was a postdoctoral scholar at Tufts University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and a Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Prior Yeo was an A*STAR-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT since March 2016. Prior to this appointment, he was a research scientist in the Institute of High Performance Computing, A*STAR, Singapore, working on Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Biological and NanoMaterials. He received his B.Eng in 2010 from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, majoring in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Business. He received his Ph.D in 2014 from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NTU, after obtaining the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Graduate Scholarship, under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Ng Teng Yong (NTU) and Dr. Liu Zishun (ICAM XJTU). His Ph.D. research focused on the Modeling and Simulation of the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Ultralight Materials.
Alina Gavrilov (LinkedIn)
Professional Advancement Instructor, Station1 Fellow Alumni (2018), Station1
Engineer In Training, City of Columbus Ohio
Alina Gavrilov is interested in equity-centered sustainability and renewable energy technologies as a bridge between engineering design and community development. Gavrilov first joined Station1 as a Station1 Frontiers Fellow (2018), where she worked with Data-Smart City Solutions at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She continues to be an active member of the Station1 Alumni community. Alina worked with Station1 founders on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator International Digital Workshop: Research, Translation, and Education Socioresilient Infrastructure. She is currently an Engineer-in-Training with the City of Columbus, Ohio in the Department of Public Service, Division of Infrastructure Management, Bridge Management Program Alina received her BA in Humanitarian Engineering from Baylor University in 2021.
Thomas Rúa (LinkedIn)
Research Assistant, Station1 Fellow Alumni (2021) Station1
Undergraduate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Thomas Rúa first joined Station1 as a Station1 Frontiers Fellow (2021), where he worked with The Ipswich River Watershed Association based in Massachusetts. He is now an active member of the Station1 Alumni community. Rúa worked with Station1 founders on Futures in Socially-Directed Science & Technology: Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing A cross-sector & cross-disciplinary virtual workshop. He received an Associates in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Middlesex College (2022) and is currently an undergraduate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Innovation and Corporate Engagement
George Whitfield, PhD (LinkedIn, Website)
Co-Instructor (2019), Lead Mentor, Station1
Co-Founder & CEO at FindOurView
I co-founded FindOurView because I believe technology should bring out the best in humanity. With our Review Insight Platform, we are helping commerce writers and editors understand consumer needs more thoroughly and write better product guides to address them. We are using breakthroughs in AI/NLU to distill insights from online product reviews and help consumers make better-informed buying decisions. Engineering and entrepreneurship have been a way of life since I came to MIT. My career to date has been in start-up companies as a founder and early-stage employee. Drawing upon a highly technical background, I built computational solutions to a range of interdisciplinary problems. I am passionate about creating organizations that innovate and improve our quality of life. I also love to teach and am constantly inspired by highly motivated students who want to change the world. I believe in human potential to achieve the unimaginable.
Professional Collaborations
Camila Barrios-Camacho (LinkedIn)
Program Assistant, Collaborative for Fostering Equity in STEM Education, Station1
NIH-IRACDA PennPORT Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Camila Barrios Camacho, PhD is an NIH-IRACDA PennPORT Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. As a postdoc in the Greg Bashaw's lab, she studies nervous system assembly in Drosophila, and specifically how the intracellular domain (ICD) of the Fra receptor orchestrates the transcriptional networks involved in axonal midline crossing. A graduate of Grinnell College and alumna of the Posse Foundation, Camila is passionate about undergraduate education and mounting impactful, interdisciplinary research programs at small liberal arts institutions. She has over a decade of experience in teaching, facilitation, anti-oppression workshop and curriculum development, youth development, and community organizing. A student of the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, Camila is also passionate about transforming academic institutions to better serve, elevate, and instruct students from non-hegemonic backgrounds. She is deeply invested in and informed by critical pedagogy and liberatory principles of education. Her academic training has focused on the humanities (philosophy of science; history of science; ELSI of genomic research; early modern philosophy; and theoretical biology) as well as the natural sciences (regenerative medicine; systems biology; developmental biology; mechanisms of neurogenesis).
Lauren Anne Cove (LinkedIn)
Facilitator and Researcher, Collaborative for Fostering Equity in STEM Education, Station1
Associate Director of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement, Southern Methodist University
Lauren Anne Cove is a higher education professional with over a decade of experience who serves as a Residential Community Director at Southern Methodist University (SMU). She has a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Human Rights and Social Justice from SMU. Cove has a Master’s degree in Educational Administration with a focus on College and Student Personnel Administration from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in English and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Lauren has served as a Co-Lead Facilitator for LeaderShape, Inc. a non-profit organization with a mission to create a more just, caring and thriving world. Lauren is a 2011 graduate of the Social Justice Training Institute (SJTI).
John Sannella, CPA (LinkedIn)
Financial Manager, Station1
John has provided assurance and business advisory services exclusively to the not-for-profit industry for the past 30 years. These services have been provided across industry sectors including health care, education, human services, membership and various religious organizations. John’s experience includes the provision of accounting and advisory services on various reporting and management issues including state and federal regulatory requirements, consolidations and tax exempt financing. He also provides guidance on the improvement of internal controls including recommendations for efficiency in financial processes and procedures. For the past six years, through the establishment of Sannella & Associates, John has provided bookkeeping, accounting and financial reporting services for small to medium not-for-profit organizations. John is also a frequent presenter on various topics including understanding financial statements and board governance for not-for-profit organizations. Prior to establishing SA, John was a partner and a member of the national not-for-profit industry leadership group within the Boston office of an international accounting firm. He also led the development of services to a newly formed not-for-profit practice in a regional firm. John obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Boston College and a Master of Science Degree in Taxation from Bentley College. John is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Nonprofit Section, the Not-For-Profit Committee of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Treasurer of the Board of the Long Term Care Finance Association, the finance committee of the Salem Country Club and the Finance Council of St. Theresa’s Church of North Reading.
Guest Instructors
Sunand Bhattacharya, Ph.D. (LinkedIn)
Guest Instructor, Station1
Associate Vice Provost, Design and Innovation Strategies at Boston College
Having a positive impact on the future of making and learning via design based education is my area of interest and expertise. As a learning architect, I catalyze the integration of creative mental tools, critical design processes and digital technology skills to better prepare current and future learners for jobs that have yet to exist. With 30 years in the public and private sectors related to design and engineering education, I managed Autodesk's Learning Futures team by interweaving its emerging cloud based design technologies to academia through applied research, thought leadership and faculty fellowship programs. Prior to Autodesk, I was the principal and co-founding partner of Arjuna Learning Designs LLC., a firm specializing in the creation of interactive learning objects to enhance quality of teaching and learning for name brand publishing houses. I have also been a tenured professor and department head of industrial design at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Kathleen Flynn
Guest Instructor, Station1
Head Researcher, Lawrence History Center
Kathleen Flynn was an early supporter of the Immigrant City Archives (now the LHC) during the 1980s and 1990s, volunteering and serving in several board capacities, including president. A graduate of Regis College, she received advanced degrees from Northeastern University in counseling and Fitchburg State College in educational administration. Kathy was a founding member of the Bridge Over Troubled Waters Program in Boston, MA. After 33 years of service she retired as an administrator from Whittier Regional Vocational Tech High School in Haverhill, MA. Currently she supports LHC as a volunteer and researcher and also authored Sacred Spaces, a history of St. Mary and Immaculate Conception Cemeteries. She is a board member and annual walker for the Just’Cause 60-mile Walk for Breast Cancer.
Amita Kiley, B.A.
Guest Instructor, Station1
Collections Manager and Research Coordinator, Lawrence History Center
Amita Kiley was raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts and graduated from Northeastern University with a B.A. in American History in 2004. Her experience growing up in Lawrence fostered a love of the city and a strong sense of wanting to preserve its history. In 2001, as part of Northeastern’s Co-operative Education program, she began working at the Lawrence History Center (LHC) as a preservation assistant. She continued her professional career after graduation at the archive. In 2014, she moved into her current role as collections manager and research coordinator. She works closely with LHC’s director and local historians, coordinates and supervises volunteers, handles walk in visitors and school groups and manages membership correspondence from the LHC office. She is a member of the New England Archivists and has presented at some of their recent meetings.
Ceasar L. McDowell, Ed.D. (LinkedIn)
Guest Instructor, Station1
Professor of the Practice of Community Development and Civic Design, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ceasar L. McDowell is Professor of the Practice of Community Development and Civic Design at MIT. He holds an Ed.D. (88) and M.Ed. (84) from Harvard. Ceasar's current work is on the development of community knowledge systems and civic engagement. He is also expanding his critical moments reflection methodology to identify, share and maintaining grassroots knowledge. His research and teaching interests also include the use of mass media and technology in promoting democracy and community-building, the education of urban students, the development and use of empathy in community work, civil rights history, peacemaking and conflict resolution. He is Director of the global civic engagement organization dropping knowledge international Dropping Knowledge International, MIT's former Center for Reflective Community Practice (renamed Co-Lab) and co-founder of The Civil Rights Forum on Telecommunications Policy and founding Board member of The Algebra Project Algebra.
Rickey A. Caldwell, Jr. Ph.D. (LinkedIn)
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Merrimack College
Founder, President, and Director, Roots and STEM Educational Outreach Foundation
Rickey A. Caldwell, Jr. is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts with expertise in mechatronics, modal analysis, robotics, dynamics, and vibrations. Prior, he worked at The MITRE Corporation, Center for National Security, National Security Engineering Center (Bedford, Massachusetts) as Senior Mechanical Engineer where he supported the acquisition, design, and analysis of various complex systems. Professor Caldwell also worked at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (Laurel, Maryland) in the dynamics’ section of the Air and Missile Defense Department. Professor Caldwell has extensive experience in engineering education, diversity, and inclusion, including the Michigan State University, Diversity Programs Office, Michigan Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (MI-LSAMP), Engineering and Science Summer Academy (ESSA). Professor Caldwell has a B.S, M.S., and Ph.D. all in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan).
Yari Golden-Castaño, B.S. (LinkedIn)
STEAM Outreach Coordinator & Speaker, Systems Engineer MIT Lincoln Labs, Mars One 100 Candidate, Storyteller
By day, I am a systems engineer at MIT Lincoln Laboratory advancing technology for National Defense and Space. By night, I am one of 100 aspiring Mars settlers from around the world preparing and training for a one-way trip to settle on the red planet.
I am a strong advocate for girls in STEAM, I organize and run hands-on workshops to introduce girls to engineering, and speak at schools, universities, and professional organizations about the importance of following your dreams, space exploration and the Mars One Project.
Tiziana Smith, Ph.D. (LinkedIn)
Water Research Specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
I am a young professional interested in the intersection of environment, water management, and economic development. My academic training focuses on interdisciplinary analysis of environmental science and policy. I have recently completed my PhD at MIT in Environmental Engineering. My research focused on understanding the constraints of land and water availability on food production in China. My studies are complemented by two years of field experience with the World Bank in Vietnam working with the government from central to local level on climate change policy development and on water resources management projects.