Ms. Davis helps to develop programs that target middle-school and high-school students, middle-school and high-school science teachers, and college undergraduate students to raise awareness about important new science research findings, and how they may use this knowledge to enhance their understanding and practice of science in the classroom, laboratory, and the field. She co-directs the ongoing Biogeochemical Educational Experiences - South Africa under a National Science Foundation grant to bring together U.S. and South African undergraduate students to study "extreme bacteria" in South Africa's gold mines. Students accompany microbiologists and other scientists to collect field samples three kilometers below the earth’s surface, for analysis of the genetic structure of specialized bacteria that live in the challenging subsurface environment. She also participates in an annual workshop, Shared Adventures in Engineering and Science (SHADES), that engages 12- and 13-year-old girls in hands-on science experiments, to encourage them to consider pursuing careers in science and engineering. She helps to organize and teach seminars to increase public understanding about environmental health-related issues for youth and adults living around Chattanooga Creek, a federal Superfund site. Finally, she helps facilitate workshops for science teachers in the use of astrobiology as a way to effectively engage students in the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life on Earth and throughout the Universe.
Ms. Davis, a certified professional engineer, is past president of the Knoxville Technical Society and the Knoxville chapter of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers. In her spare time, she serves as an advocate for Knoxville's urban forest through the Web site www.downtowntrees.com. |
