We help College of Natural Sciences instructors teach more effectively, offering practical tools, evidence-based strategies and collaborative support that fuel student success. Our team brings diverse expertise in STEM, education and research, united by a commitment to evidence-based teaching and innovative instructional design.
STEMx Mission
STEMx supports CNS instructors through accessible, responsive professional development and instructional guidance. By collaborating with departments and college leadership, we advance innovative, evidence-based approaches to STEM teaching, empower educators and create environments where students thrive.
STEMx Vision
We envision a future where every CNS instructor embraces undergraduate teaching as a joyful, scholarly pursuit—and where a culture of continuous improvement fosters transformative learning environments. We aim for students to gain the STEM knowledge, skills and mindsets to thrive, lead and change the world.
Our Team
General inquiries may be directed to stemx@cns.utexas.edu.
Kristin D. Patterson
- Associate Professor of Instruction
- Assistant Dean for STEM Education Excellence
- Molecular Biosciences
- Biology Instructional Office
- College of Natural Sciences
Kennedi Davis
- Senior Program Coordinator for Career Education
- College of Natural Sciences
Keely Finkelstein
- Associate Professor of Instruction
- Faculty Director for Instructor Development in STEMx
- Astronomy
- McDonald Observatory
Amanda Hager
- Professor of Instruction
- Faculty Director for Teaching Assessment in STEMx
- Mathematics
- College of Natural Sciences
Jo-anne Holley
- Associate Professor of Practice
- Faculty Associate for Instructor Development in STEMx
- Freshman Research Initiative
- Integrative Biology
Jo-anne Holley leads the Bugs In Bugs undergraduate research lab as part of the FRI. Her research focuses on interactions between host-restricted symbionts and their insect hosts, particularly social bees and wasps, and on the ecological and evolutionary factors that shape these relationships. As a researcher in the Moran Lab, she integrates molecular, microbial, and evolutionary approaches to understand these symbioses in natural systems. Jo also serves as an Education Fellow with the Office of STEM Excellence, where she teaches graduate students and postdoctoral scholars how to effectively mentor undergraduate researchers
Elizabeth Klingbeil
- Assistant Professor of Instruction
- Nutrition Honors Program Advisor
- Faculty Associate for Instructor Development in STEMx
- Nutritional Sciences
- Human Ecology
Jonathan Perry
- Associate Professor of Instruction
- Associate Chair for Foundational Physics
- Faculty Associate for Innovative Scholarship in STEMx
- Physics
Kristen Procko
- Associate Professor of Instruction
- Faculty Director for Innovative Scholarship in STEMx
- Molecular Biosciences
- Biology Instructional Office
- College of Natural Sciences
Ann Thijs
- Assistant Professor of Instruction
- Faculty Associate for Instructor Development in STEMx
- Provost's Teaching Fellow
- Biology Instructional Office
- Integrative Biology
- College of Natural Sciences
Jessica Wandelt
- Associate Professor of Instruction
- Faculty Director for Career Education in STEMx
- College of Natural Sciences
Min Zhong
- Associate Professor of Instruction
- Faculty Associate for Innovative Scholarship in STEMx
- Biology Instructional Office
- Integrative Biology