2007 Judge Biographies
Larry Abraham
Anne Beamish
Chris Bell
Bob Duke
Tom Edgar
Victor Edmonds
Orlando Kelm
Lawrence D. Abraham Ed.D. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin, a position he has held since 2000. He is jointly appointed as Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and has been on the faculty of UT Austin since 1975. Dr. Abraham currently serves as a graduate faculty member in programs in Movement Science (Kinesiology), Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, Science and Math Education, and Curriculum and Instruction. His research focuses on the coordination of movement, with particular interests in skill acquisition and in interactions between mechanical and neural (reflex and voluntary) components of movement. Drawing on his extensive background in biomechanical analysis of movement, he has developed several generations of computer-based instructional systems in human biomechanics. In Spring 2006 Dr Abraham received a IITAP Gold Award for his latest, web-based application. In 2002, as an Associate Dean for Teacher Education, he spearheaded a major initiative in instructional technology featuring a one-to-one computer laptop program for future teachers. Since 2003 he has served as a Co-Director of the UTeach Natural Sciences Program for preparing secondary science and mathematics teachers.
Anne Beamish is Assistant Professor in the Community and Regional Planning Program in the School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin. Her research and teaching interests include the social and spatial aspects of information and communication technologies; the design of online environments to support physical and virtual communities, interdisciplinary collaboration, and communication; urban design and public space; and the built environment in developing countries.
Until recently, she was Managing Director of ArchNet, an online community of architects, planners, designers, and scholars with a special focus on the Islamic world. She is currently Research Director for ArchNet.
Anne also worked for a number of years on building, urban upgrading, and educational projects in southern Africa (Mozambique, Lesotho, and Angola). She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Studies from MIT as well as professional degrees in architecture and planning.
Chris Bell is Associate Professor and John A. Wilson Fellow in Vertebrate Paleontology. His research centers on understanding the complex dynamics of vertebrate faunal communities during the Quaternary Period. Chris is interested in investigating patterns of vertebrate evolution, biodiversity and biogeography throughout the Quaternary, and the responses of different vertebrate groups to the various changes in climate that took place during the last two million years. Two major current research areas are: 1) the study of early and middle Pleistocene (Irvingtonian) North American arvicoline rodent biochronology, and 2) the study of anatomy and systematics of extant and fossil turtles and squamate reptiles (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians).
Robert A. Duke is the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Centennial Professor in Music and Human Learning, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Director of the Center for Music Learning at The University of Texas at Austin. A former studio musician and public school music teacher, he has worked closely with children with disabilities and children at-risk, both in the public schools and through the juvenile court system. He currently directs an active research program in motor skill learning and procedural memory at UT, where he also oversees the undergraduate teacher preparation program in music and holds the title Elizabeth Shatto Massey Distinguished Fellow in Teacher Education. He lectures frequently on topics related to human learning and behavior, presenting workshops and teaching demonstrations throughout North America. His most recent book is Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction.
Thomas F. Edgar is Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and holds the George T. and Gladys Abell Chair in Engineering. Dr. Edgar received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. For the past 35 years, he has concentrated his academic work in process modeling, control, and optimization, with over 200 articles and book chapters. Edgar has co-authored two leading textbooks: Optimization of Chemical Processes (McGraw-Hill, 2001) and Process Dynamics and Control (Wiley, 2004). He has received major awards from AIChE (Colburn, Computing in Chemical Engineering, Lewis) and ASEE (Chemical Engineering Division, Westinghouse, and Meriam-Wiley). Recently he has carried out modeling and control research projects jointly with six industrial companies. He was also President of AIChE in 1997.
Between 1996 and 2001, Dr. Edgar was Associate Vice-President of Academic Computing and Instruction Technology Services, and he established the Center for Instructional Technologies in 1996, which is now part of DIIA.
Victor Edmonds is the director of Educational Technology Services, the central campus resource for the application of learning technologies at UC Berkeley. His university-wide responsibilities encompass the Sakai based collaboration and learning environment, faculty training and consulting, learning tool development, user interface design, multimedia services, and participation in the IMS Global and Sakai consortia. The organization includes the University Videoconference Center, the campus TV facilities, KALX-FM and the global resource Webcast.Berkeley. His organization provides technical support for major university events and designs, installs, and maintains learning technologies in over 240 classrooms and auditoriums with emphasis on supporting faculty in effectively integrating on-line and on-site environments. Edmonds is an instructional designer with a Ph. D in educational communications from the Ohio State University. Former positions in higher education include director of telecommunications, director of media services and associate professor of communications.
Orlando Kelm(Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 1989) is Associate Professor of Hispanic Linguistics in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas at Austin. His professional interests include language for special purposes, such as Business Spanish and Business Portuguese. His current research focuses on the creation of task-based instruction, including the use of video in language instruction. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Business Language Programs for the Center for International Business Education and Research at UT, Austin. Dr. Kelm may be reached at orkelm@mail.utexas.edu.