Natalie McGuier, PhD
Natalie has been a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University since 2016 when she joined the teaching faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences. She has been a member of the PGSS faculty since 2015 as a team project leader and elective instructor, and the program director since 2024.
As a member of the faculty at Carnegie Mellon, Natalie has contributed to the undergraduate and graduate programs in Biological Sciences by teaching and advising students at the novice, advanced, and graduate levels. Natalie has created multiple successful introductory laboratory courses with the goal of making scientific research approachable to novice biology students and non-majors. In 2021 she received Carnegie Mellon University's Teaching Innovation Award for her contributions to a first-year research-based lab course for intended bio majors. Natalie has also helped develop and is the Assistant Director of the Masters Program in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering.
Natalie has been involved with numerous outreach activities for elementary, middle, and high school students promoting science education through hands-on learning experiences. She is the academic advisor for Neuroscience Student Advisory Council (NeurSAC) which conducts outreach activities and promotes mental health on campus. In addition, Natalie chairs the departmental DEI Committee, which works to create a greater sense of community and inclusiveness in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Melissa Lessure, MM
Melissa Lessure began working at PGSS at Carnegie Mellon University in March of 2013. As a musician, Melissa has been playing flute with the Johnstown Symphony since 1997. Her chamber group, Sterling and Strings, performs regularly in the Western Pennsylvania region. Melissa teaches flute at the PYCO School of Music in Wexford, and she is president of the Pittsburgh Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, an organization which promotes interaction among those who share a commitment to music.
Melissa received her master’s degree in music from Carnegie Mellon University studying with Julius Baker and her bachelor’s degree from Florida State. Melissa has Accounting Certification from Robert Morris University. Her favorite database is Filemaker Pro, the primary database of PGSS since the 1990s. During her tenure at PGSS, Melissa has updated procedures and preserved historic PGSS files so the data is still accessible.
Melissa is thrilled to work with new director Natalie McGuier and the brilliant faculty and staff of PGSS and meet the amazing PGSS students every year.
Barry Luokkala, PhD
Barry Luokkala served as Director of PGSS for over 20 years, taking the mantle from Dr. Peter Berget in 2001 and stepping down at the conclusion of the 2023 program. Barry was a Teaching Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Laboratories in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University until his retirement in 2024. He also served as editor of the physics alumni newsletter, INTER*ACTIONS, and as curator of the Victor Bearg Physics Museum.
As a member of the faculty at Carnegie Mellon, Luokkala has done much to shape the introductory experimental physics course into its present form and has created a new laboratory course for students in the pre-health professions. He also created a seminar course for first-year students on the subject of science and science fiction, and has been invited to speak on several occasions on various aspects of science fiction. He was instrumental in the design of new undergraduate science laboratories, which were completed at Carnegie Mellon in 2002. In response to popular demand, he created a full-semester version of his course on science and science fiction, which attracts students from the fine arts and humanities, as well as from the sciences and engineering. He recently published a textbook for the course, Exploring Science Through Science Fiction (Springer 2014).
Luokkala has been involved in numerous outreach activities to promote science education, several of which are aimed at women and under-represented minorities. In addition, he has done consulting work for such diverse institutions as the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham College, Carnegie Mellon’s School of Art and School of Drama, McGraw Hill, Academic Press, Oxford University Press, and the BBC.
2024 Program Faculty
Biological Sciences
- Carrie Doonan, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Lynley Doonan, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Barry Harris | Ringgold High School, Retired
- Brooke McCartney, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Natalie McGuier, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Stephanie Tristram-Nagle, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Brett Wisniewski, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
Chemistry
- Niharika Botcha, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Kristine Danowski, PhD
Computer Science
- Andrew McGuier | Echo Gate Tech, LLC
- Prahlad Menon, PhD | University of Pittsburgh
- Neil Simonetti, PhD | Bryn Athyn College
- John Urbanic, PhD | Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center
Mathematics
- David Handron, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Russ Walker, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
Physics
- John Alison, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Ben Campbell, PhD | Robert Morris University
- Chayanika Roy Chaudhuri, PhD | Robert Morris University
- Kerry Handron | Pittsburgh Observatory
- Barry Luokkala, PhD | Carnegie Mellon University
- Hannah Skobe | Carnegie Mellon University