Michele Darienzo

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Stakeholders Relations Office
Bldg. 400C
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-7246
mdarienzo@bnl.gov

Expertise | Education | Highlights

Expertise

Michele Darienzo has been working in informal education for over a decade. She began her career during college as an educator for a program that provided access to extracurricular STEM activities to underrepresented middle school students and then moved on to work in Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Office of Educational Programs after her degree in science education was complete.

Michele has spent years designing and implementing STEM programming for students of all ages, teachers (both current and pre-service), and visitors to the lab. Her expertise in physics education and knowledge of computer science has been invaluable in the development of K-12 curriculum and instruction in these areas that highlights the work done at Brookhaven National Laboratory, with a focus on providing this content to underrepresented students whenever possible. She also spends time mentoring undergraduate students and coaching members of our scientific staff to support them in their journey to become successful science communicators at a variety of educational outreach events.

Michele has also fostered many collaborations with strategic partners that serve communities that are typically underrepresented in the STEM field. In addition to working with these groups, she is also an active member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, Science Teachers Association of New York State, and the National Informal Science Education Network.

Michele is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Science Education at Stony Brook University to complement her master’s degree in Seconday Physics Education and further her ability to provide STEM programming to the students who need it most.

Education

(in progress) Ph.D. in Science Education – Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
M.A.T. in Secondary Education (Physics) - Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
B.S. in Physics – Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Research Highlights

Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., Schneble, D., & Darienzo, M. (2024, July 18-20). Cognitive and Affective Experiences of Precollege Women in Quantum Information Science and Technology Outreach [Conference presentation]. Network Gender & STEM Conference, Heidelberg University, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Darienzo, M., Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2024, March 17-20). Professional Development for Improving Precollege Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Teaching Quantum Information Science and Technology [Paper presentation]. Annual Conference of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Denver, CO, United States. 

Kelly, A. M., Darienzo, M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2024, March 17-20). Improving High School Students’ Attitudes Towards Quantum Information Science and Technology in a Summer Program [Paper presentation]. Annual Conference of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Denver, CO, United States. 

Kelly, A. M., Schneble, D., Wei, T. C., & Darienzo, M. (2024, March 3-7). Conceptual and Mathematical Challenges in Quantum Information Science & Technology Outreach [Conference presentation]. American Physical Society March Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, United States. https://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR24/Session/Q61.6

Kelly, A. M., Schneble, D., Wei, T. C., & Darienzo, M. (2024, January 6-8). Development of a Quantum Information Science and Technology Concept Inventory [Conference presentation]. American Association of Physics Teachers, New Orleans, LA, United States. https://aapt-wm.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/66/sessiongallery/2798