Paving a path for science

Allen has been at the forefront of the implementation of PBL at UD and has worked with colleagues to promote its adoption and development on campus and beyond, including with faculty in Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Egypt, France, Guyana , Iceland, Japan and Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.

Although the first PBL course she taught at university was Physiology for Medical Scientists, a required course for students preparing for medical or dental school, she said the standout PBL course she taught was Introduction to Biology .

“It was unique because it was part of a National Science Foundation project to introduce PBL to introductory science, something that was not being done in the United States at the time in the early 1990s,” Allen said.

During her assistant professor career, Allen served as director of the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning and of the Institute for Transforming University Education and its division of the national Center for Integration of Teaching, Research, and Learning. Previously, she was a science education program officer at the National Science Foundation.

Allen received her doctorate in biological sciences from the University of Delaware and is co-author/editor of several books describing PBL and other active, inquiry-based, and team-based instructional strategies. She is a founding member of the journal’s editorial board CBE-Life Sciences Education and a recipient of UD’s Excellence in Teaching Award and of the American Society for Cell Biology’s 2013 Bruce Alberts Award for Excellence in Science Education. She has also served as a Fulbright senior specialist in Peru to assist in the development of a high school environmental science PBL program.

Recently, Allen received another major honor: She was elected to the AAAS Council, the association’s governing body, which represents the Education Section.

Rodrigo Vargas, leader of environmental research

Vargas studies “carbon dynamics,” which he defines as the way carbon, a fundamental building block of life, moves through Earth’s ecosystems.

“I study how the planet ‘breathes’ as ecosystems absorb and release carbon, which affects everything from ecosystem function to global climate,” Vargas said. “My research has allowed me to explore deserts, wetlands and forests around the world, each offering unique insights into how nature maintains its delicate balance.”

As an ecosystem ecologist who studies how nature-based solutions can help address global environmental change in both terrestrial and coastal ecosystems, Vargas uses a variety of research methods, including data mining, machine learning, remote sensing, greenhouse gas flux measurements, and modeling techniques for forecasting applications.