Dr. Ley is a civil engineering professor at Oklahoma State University with a passion for concrete… that’s right, concrete! He was the recipient of the 2018 Medal of Excellence in Teaching at a Research University by the Oklahoma Foundation of Excellence. He was also named the Halliburton Excellent Young Teaching Award in 2011, the Williams Foundation Professor in 2013 for the College of Engineering, the ACI Walter P. Moore Faculty Achievement Award in 2014, the Researcher of the Year Award from the College of Engineering in 2014, Halliburton Excellent Young Professor in 2014, the OSU Regents Research Award in 2014, and the ACPA Martin J. Knutson Award in 2017
Dr. Ley has worked with kids, teachers, and education experts to create videos and resource kits that will easily integrate into elementary instruction and highlight applications of science and math in the work of an engineer. Join us as Dr. Ley introduces this versatile and widely utilized material, which covers the earth, and emphasizes the role of engineers in improving the world all around us!
Dr. Nicole M. Colston conducts research on early-aged engineering career awareness and conducts teacher professional development related to engineering education at Oklahoma State University. But most of all she loves working with young students to discover the engineering in their everyday lives. Inspiration for this project comes from the boundless energy of Dr. Ley and her daughter who loves to build and use tools.
Jessica Ley, MSW is our operations manager. She has worked as a school social worker in elementary schools, and later became an academic advisor for engineering and technology undergraduate students at Oklahoma State University. These experiences gave her a unique perspective in understanding the needs and challenges of elementary students, as well as a first hand look at what helps undergraduate students to be successful engineering students. Her favorite thing about E2 is hearing how excited the teachers are when they see their students start to identify problems, and then connect how various types of engineers might have addressed those problems. It's like a light switch turns on, and suddenly they are able to see how engineering really is everywhere.
