Teacher: Elizabeth Russillo
School: Smithfield High School, Smithfield, RI
Expedition Title: Geodetic Acoustic Benchmark Beaconing using Inverted Echo Sounder
Expedition Dates: March 12-15, 2007
Chief Scientists: Kate Moran

I have been teaching at Smithfield high school for five years. Currently I teach a mixture of physical science and chemistry. I love teaching high school students about science because I think that they have such young minds. At this point in their lives, seeing how amazing and interesting science is could really turn a light bulb on for a student. My five years at Smithfield have been amazing and I have loved being part of the community.

I graduated from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY in 2002. I received a BS in chemistry as well as a teaching certificate. My college experience was great because Russell Sage was such a small school. My chemistry classes often had fewer than five students so the hands on work that we did was able to surpass other schools.

As I started teaching, I missed the hands on aspect of working in a lab setting. While in college, I worked as a teacher assistant in the chemistry lab and would often help some of the professors with research. Although I love teaching, sometimes in the classroom we become a little disconnected with the science experimentation.

When I heard that Smithfield was receiving equipment tracking the Ballard project, I became interested in ocean science. Although my background does not include any biology, I was interested in the physics and chemistry experiments that go on in the ocean. The Rhode Island teacher at sea program allowed me to get back into a laboratory and gain new life and science experiences.