Dr. Plass is the director of the Program in Educational Communication & Technology as well as the director of the Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education (CREATE) at New York University. His research explores the intersection of cognitive science, computer science, and design to further our understanding of the effective use of multimedia and the web for learning and instruction. He has recently written about cognitive load in multimedia learning and has been studying the effects of individual differences on second language acquisition and on the comprehension of scientific materials. His interests also include the design and development of instructional multimedia and web applications, and particularly issues of information architecture, interaction design, and information design. He is a member of the editorial board of several academic journals, including Journal of Educational Psychology, Educational Technology Research and Development, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, and Computers in Human Behavior.

Dr. Bruce Homer is an an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Dr. Homer is a Faculty Affiliate and Director for Research at the Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education (CREATE). Dr. Homer’s research explores how biological, cognitive and cultural factors influence developmental changes in children’s mental representations. Specific areas of research include: Literacy and Metalinguistic Awareness in Bilingual Students; Language and Symbolic Understanding in Young Children; Theory of mind; and Learning in Multimedia Environments.

Catherine Milne is Assistant Professor in the Science Education program within the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. After teaching in high schools for almost 15 years, Catherine left teaching in the Northern Territory of Australia in order to study questions about the philosophical and historic origins of school science. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in chemistry education at the University of Pennsylvania before beginning teaching and research at New York University. Her research interests include urban science education, the nature of representations in learning science, the nature of self-assessment, teaching and teacher education, and the role of history and philosophy of science in school science.

Dr. Jordan is Associate Director of the Morse Academic Plan, NYU’s general education curriculum, with responsibility for the Foundations of Scientific Inquiry program. He regularly teaches non-majors science courses including Energy and the Environment, Human Genetics, and The Molecules of Life. Dr. Jordan is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry. His teaching and research interests focus on creative approaches in science education, especially for undergraduate liberal arts students. These include curriculum design, molecular simulations, and exploring the connections between science and societal issues. Dr. Jordan has received NYU’s Outstanding Teaching Award and his work has received grant support from the National Science Foundation and The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation.

Yan Wang joined CREATE and the Educational Communications and Technology Program in 2007 as a Post Doctoral Scholar. Her research focuses on cognitive and cultural factors affecting learning from multiple perspectives in problem solving. She earned her Ph.D., Ed.M., and MA in Instructional Technology and Media at Teachers College and received her BA in International Economic Cooperation from Xi'an Foreign Language University in China.

Juan Barrientos is a fifth-year Educational Communication & Technology doctoral student, and a Research Assistant on the Molecules & Minds grant. A native of the borderlands region of South Texas, he is interested in the application of instructional technologies to enhance the educational infrastructure and intellectual capital of historically underserved populations. As a doctoral student, he has been examining the design of animations and simulations in the context of Cognitive Load Theory and various principles of multimedia design. He returns to NYU this semester after a year as Title V Grant Director at Sul Ross State University in South Texas. Prior to the academic setting, he served in the public sector, including six years as staff administrator for Governor Ann W. Richards.

Yoo Kyung Chang, Research Assistant on the Molecules & Minds program, is a doctoral student at Educational Communications & Technology program. With her background in computer programming and cognitive psychology, Yoo Kyung's interest lies in understanding how multimedia technology influences human cognition through learning.

Elizabeth Hayward is a Research Assistant on the Molecules & Minds project. She is a doctoral student in School Psychology program in the department of Applied Psychology, and holds a M.Ed in Human Development from the University of Pennsylvania. She has previously worked as a Research Assistant on the Evaluation Team of the Early Reading First Project and the Summer Academy Project, funded by the School District of Philadelphia. Her reserach interests focus on how the development of representational cognition impacts functioning in social and educational contexts.

Ruth Schwartz is a doctoral candidate in the Educational Communications and Technology Program whose current research focuses on the implications of different types of interactivity in learning from computer simulations. Her professional background includes documentary filmmaking, animation, and secondary education for students with severe learning disabilities. She holds an EdM. in Human Development and an A.B. in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University.

Minchi Kim joined the Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education (CREATE) and the Educational Communications and Technology Program in 2006 as a Post Doctoral Scholar. Her research focuses on scaffolding students’ scientific problem solving with technology-enhanced learning environments, advancing pedagogical framework for learning and teaching in technology-rich classes, and integrating emergent technologies into K-12 classes. Previously, she worked on several NSF and DOE funded projects as a Research Assistant at the Learning and Performance Support Laboratory. She earned her Ph.D. and M.Ed in Instructional Technology at University of Georgia and her B.A. at Ewha Woman’s University. Her research has been published in numerous journals such as Journal of Computing in Higher Education, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Instructional Science, and Distance Learning.

Reneta D. Lansiquot, Research Assistant, designs chemistry simulations and designed and maintains this M&M site.  She also redesigned and maintained the Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education (CREATE). A doctoral candidate in the Educational Communication and Technology program at NYU Steinhardt, Reneta is currently collecting data for her dissertation research, studying how interactive iconography in a multimedia environment impacts the development of multiple perspectives and critical thinking in social studies and writing. Previously, Reneta was a Web developer and designer and still does consulting work, most recently producing multimedia and ecommerce environments for Afghan media and telecommunication companies. She received her Master of Science in Integrated Digital Media from Polytechnic University.