Our Team

Suzi Taylor, Director

408 Reid Hall
Phone: (406) 994-2336
[email protected] 

Suzi Taylor is Director of the Science Math Resource Center. She has a long history of leading outreach programs for Montana State University, including serving as MSU lead for Montana NSF EPSCoR's Track 1 projects, and partnering with faculty on programs funded by NASA, USDA, the Department of Energy and other agencies to create outreach projects that support the citizens of Montana. Suzi has a special interest in reaching youth in Montana's smallest and most rural communities. Her favorite projects have included launching a geospatial skills camp for rural Montana youth; working with 40 Montana classrooms as they virtually followed an MSU geology expedition to Mount Everest; and leading a statewide geocaching project tied to the Montana Climate Assessment.

Suzi also serves as executive director of the Montana Science Teachers Association and as co-leader of the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative, a statewide network of adults who collaborate to engage and inspire girls. She also served on the advisory board for The STEM Effect, a National Science Foundation-supported project that examines the long-term impacts of STEM programs for girls.

Dr. Fenqjen Luo, Associate Director

118 Reid Hall 
Ph. (406) 994-5950
[email protected]

Fenqjen Luo is the Associate Director of the Science Math Resource Center and Director of the Montana Mathematics Circle, a club for aspiring mathematicians in Montana middle and high schools.  Fenqjen oversees the administration of American Math Competitions and Math Summer Camps on the MSU campus.

She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a faculty member at the MSU Department of Education.

Madison Boone, Project and Communications Lead

409 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

Madison Boone serves as a Project and Communications Lead with the Science Math Resource Center. She supports communication, outreach, and coordination activities for SMRC and its partners, including the current Montana NSF EPSCoR Track-1 project, the Consortium for Research on Environmental Water Systems (CREWS). In her position, Madison is especially interested in science communication, education, outreach, and how she can help community-researcher partnerships flourish.   

Before coming to SMRC, Madison was the Program and Communications Manager for the Montana Institute on Ecosystems at MSU and a Big Sky Watershed Corps member with One Montana and MSU-Extension in Gallatin County. In addition to her SMRC role, she is also a Ph.D. student with Dr. Sarah Church in the People-Places-Water Lab at MSU. 

Dr. Jeannie Chipps, Educator Professional Development Lead

412 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

Jeannie Chipps facilitates professional development at the Science Math Resource Center. As a former high school science teacher and after school science team coach/makerspace director, she enjoys working with teachers to create learning environments that support diverse learners. She has been leading professional development for the Next Generation Science Standards with a focus on environmental chemistry since 2017.

Jeannie completed her Doctorate in Education from Johns Hopkins University in the summer of 2022, with an emphasis in Mind, Brain & Teaching.

Jill Joyce, Program Coordinator II

412 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-3733

Jill moved to Montana from Vermont in 1989 to earn her Civil Engineering degree from Montana State University.  Upon graduation, seeking a hands-on experience rather than an office environment, Jill learned the trades of log building and timber framing; crafting with chainsaws and chisels for nearly a decade in the booming ski town of Big Sky. 

As a single Mom of three, Jill launched a STEM children’s program with LEGOs™ and managed a small business in Bozeman.  Jill brings to the SMRC a Jill-of-all-trades approach with talents in marketing, management, team building, hospitality, project development, technical writing, and more. 

When not in the SMRC office, you can find Jill at the master's alpine ski race circuit, volunteering for a myriad of her children’s activities, or enjoying the vast Montana landscape in her restored vintage camper. 

Julia Wente, Program Coordinator I

409 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

Julia Wente serves as Program Coordinator I for the Science Math Resource Center. She supports various projects, including the Geospatial Skills Camps for Rural Montana Youth, the NSF EPSCoR SMART FIRES project, and the Quantum Core education and outreach program. Julia also coordinates MSU’s Citizen Science Network.

Julia earned her bachelor’s in biology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Science Education at MSU. Her current research interests are focused on using citizen science data to analyze trends in humpback whale abundance within the Main Hawaiian Islands.

Kayce Williams, Instructor Sensing for Science

230C Linfield Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994.7463

Kayce Williams is an MSU instructor in Technology Education and Industrial Technology where he teaches Materials and Processes, Computer-Aided Drafting and Manufacturing, Electrical and Power Systems, Construction Technology.

Kayce helped develop and teach an Arduino-coding workshop at the STEM Summer Institute that he then developed into a self-paced online video-based course for teachers as part of Montana NSF EPSCoR's Sensing for Science program. Teachers who complete the training can receive STEM equipment for their classrooms. Learn more about the Sensing for Science program.

Graduate Student

Lateefat Sanni, STEM Education and Outreach

413 Reid Hall, Lending Library
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

Lateefat Sanni is a graduate student in Curriculum and Instructions and a graduate assistant in the Science Math Resource Center (SMRC). She oversees the STEM lending library. She holds a bachelor's degree in science education from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. After graduation, Lateefat has served in different organizations as an educationist and a curriculum developer. Her focus is on the intersection of using technological tools to aid and improve teaching and learning in society.

Beyond her academic pursuits, she loves to watch soccer and movies. 

Sumaila Yakubu, Math Camp Coach

234 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

Sumaila Yakubu is a PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction with a strong interest in mathematics education. He was born and raised in Tamale, a town in Northern Ghana. Sumaila holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Education Winneba in Ghana, and he currently serves as an MSU Graduate Teaching Assistant for K-8 Math Methods. His passion for education has been evident through his work as a high school mathematics teacher and a teaching assistant following the completion of his bachelor's degree.

Sumaila Yakubu is committed to leveraging his academic background and teaching experience to make a meaningful impact in the field of mathematics education. He has a research interest in mathematical thinking and connections. Outside academia, Sumaila enjoys watching and playing soccer, and video games.

Undergraduate Students

Savanah Olson, Science Communications Intern - Montana NSF EPSCoR and Montana Girls STEM Collaborative

412 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

Savanah is a senior at MSU studying environmental science and land rehabilitation. She is from Tacoma, Washington. Savanah enjoys crocheting and skiing in her free time. She would love to work with the Forest Service in the future, but she said, "Whatever I do I want to be working to help others!"

Addie Rohlman, Science Olympiad Intern

412 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

From Addie: Growing up, I always had an interest in science; however, living in rural Montana, there were very limited opportunities for students like me to explore science outside of the classroom.Science Olympiad was an amazing opportunity for me to understand a true sense of science, and I am grateful for the experience I had in the program at Corvallis High School. When I heard about the opportunity at MSU to become a student intern for Science Olympiad, I was thrilled with the idea of helping high school and middle school students in Montana experience Science Olympiad as I had.

As a student at Montana State University, I am majoring in Medical Laboratory Science with the goal of attending medical school after my undergraduate degree. I am a student of the Honors College and am also considering a minor in Hispanic Studies. In the few moments of spare time that I have, I like to read books, binge-watch TV shows, and try to convince myself that I enjoy running.

Lesl Schoenberg, NASA AREN Intern

412 Reid Hall
[email protected]
(406) 994-7476

Lesl is a freshman at Montana State University majoring in Plant Science with an emphasis in Crop Science.  She grew up on the family ranch in Reed Point, Montana.  In her free time she enjoys hiking, fly-fishing, and spending time on the family's ranch.  In the future, she hopes to serve as a Montana Ag Extension Agent, where she can give back to her community.

As the center's NASA AREN Intern, she oversees outreach projects with K-12 Montana schools to help excite students on the value of learning and STEM education.

Mia Troska, Curriculum Development Intern

[email protected]

Mia Troska is a senior at MSU majoring in K-8 Education with a minor in K-12 Reading Education. Originally from Minnesota, Mia has fallen in love with Montana and plans to stay here and teach for a few years after graduation. 

In the summer of 2023, she participated in the MSU Research Experience for Teachers where she was placed in Nick Borys’s quantum physics lab. Along with the lab researchers and her colleague Hilary Lozar, Mia helped to create the first successful photodetector produced in the lab since its inception. 

Previous Student Interns

Chloe Moreland, Citizen Science

smrc@montana.edu

Chloe Moreland is from Snoqualmie, Washington, and graduated in 2023 with degrees in Cell Biology & Neuroscience and English. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, climbing, reading, and skiing. In the spring of 2022, in tandem with the SMRC, she received one of the seven seed grants awarded by MSU’s Outreach and Engagement Council to promote outreach and engagement between the university and the community. The project, entitled 'Engaging Montana Youth in Citizen Science' partners with the Montana Afterschool Alliance, Eagle Mount, and Aspiring Educators of MSU. The grant supports the creation of adaptive and engaging techniques to communicate and involve MSU youth and young educators in citizen science. The main goal is to be more inclusive and create adaptive lessons involving citizen science for varied audiences while also allowing aspiring educators to gain teaching experience and expand their STE(A)M teaching tools.

Drew Burke, Science Communications

My love of science and writing initially guided me to MSU as an aspiring science journalist. However, as an undergrad, I've slowly fallen in love with health, medicine, and the innate beauty and sophistication of the human body. I now plan to attend med school after college. Med school is daunting, yet, I find solace in the challenge and the conviction that, although the problems plaguing people are complex, and I don't pretend to have answers, I won't back down from trying to provide people with tools to grapple with the adversities of the human condition.

My love of science and writing persists, and I feel privileged to scratch that itch by working at the SMRC. I can't wait to highlight the research, programs, and people at MSU and beyond that are changing lives and inspiring a new generation of people in STEM.

Inmy free time, you can find me binging games on chess.com, reading, enjoying nature, or having existential dread about getting into med school.