Project Personnel
Jesse Heines, Dept. of Computer Science, Principal Investigator
Jesse comes to CS with a background in educational media and technology. He has taught
at the university level for 23 years and been involved with industrial course development at
Digital Equipment Corp. and scores of other companies for over 30 years. He has published on
the role of technology in CS education and has served as Vice-President and been recognized as
a Fellow of the Assoc. for the Development of Computer-based Instructional Systems. Jesse teaches courses in graphical user
interface programming, web systems, and object-oriented programming.
Fred Martin, Dept. of Computer Science, Co-Principal Investigator
Fred directs the Engaging Computing Group, which develops technology that enables
children, teachers, engineers, and artists to design interactive, embodied computational systems.
In 2006, Martin was a recipient of the NSF Faculty Early Career Development award (REC-
0546513, $599,943). Martin is co-PI on the current NSF Broadening Participation in Computing
“Artbotics” award 0540564. Previously, Martin was a research scientist at the Media Laboratory
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he developed a series of educational robotics
materials, and laid the foundation for the LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System which
was launched in 1998.
Gena Greher, Dept. of Music, Co-Principal Investigator
Gena has been teaching at the college level for seven years and is in her fifth year at UMass
Lowell, after 20 years as a music producer/director in advertising. She has published on the
influence of integrating multimedia technology in the general music classroom and the middle
school music curriculum, as well as in the music teacher education curriculum. She teaches
undergraduate and graduate classes in music methods, world music for the classroom, the socio-
cultural impact on music teaching, and technology in music education. Gena received her Ed.D.
from Teachers College Columbia Univ., where she was the Project Associate for the Creative
Arts Laboratory.
Jim Jeffers, Dept. of Art, Co-Principal Investigator
Jim has a background in performance, computer art (including video, digital photography,
and web art), as well as, conventional static and environmental media. He has been at UMass Lowell since 2005, and has been teaching at the college level since 1999. In addition to UMass Lowell, Jim has taught at Rutgers Univ.,
Seton Hall Univ., Drew Univ., New York Univ., and others. He is a practicing artist and exhibits
nationally and internationally. Jim teaches Web Art and Design and his interests are wide ranging.
Sarah Kuhn, Dept. of Regional Economic & Social Development, Co-Principal Investigator
RESD is a multidisciplinary department focused on the economic and social development of the Merrimack Valley region. Sarah’s commitment to innovation in learning, particularly
blending technical education with the social sciences and arts, recently led her to create the new
Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Design at UMass Lowell. She is a member of the Social Science
Advisory Board of the NSF-funded National Center for Women in Information Technology, and
was a member of the National Research Council Committee on Workforce Needs in Information
Technology. She was Co-PI of Project TechForce, an NSF-funded study of women and men
working in the Massachusetts software and Internet industry. She has been a Faculty Associate of
the Center for Women and Work since 2004.
Karen Roehr, Dept. of Art, Co-Principal Investigator
Karen is a graphic designer, illustrator, book artist, and educator. Her special interests are
in miniature and moveable books (pop-ups). Her design work ranges from announcements to
posters and has been featured in Rockport books, print magazines, and the forthcoming The
Ultimate Greeting Card Collection published in Shenyang, China. Karen’s illustration work is in
ink and watercolor and monotype chine colle. She also creates the comic strip Gymratz© for
International Gymnast Magazine.
Nancy Selleck, Dept. of English, Co-Principal Investigator
Nancy has taught at the university level for 14 years and at UML since 1998. She specializes in English Renaissance drama and culture, 20th-century drama, and Theatre Arts, and is currently director of UML’s Theatre Arts Program. Her book on Shakespeare and Renaissance culture is forthcoming from Palgrave Macmillan, and she is working on a book project on Tom Stoppard. Formerly a professional dancer in New York, she has been active creatively as a theatre director and dramaturg on productions at UML and at Harvard.
Daniel Gabriel, Dept. of Computer Science, Research Assistant
Daniel is an undergraduate in the Computer Science department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is currently in the BS/MS program and will continue his graduate studies at Lowell after graduation in May 2008. His interests vary widely from software engineering to embedded systems. He is also the primary maintainer of this website. Questions regarding anything having to do with this site should be sent to him.