Mitchell Bender-Awalt
Project Coordinator
Science Education Resource Center - Carleton College
507-222-5340, mawalt@carleton.edu

My science education interests include teaching and learning in the field; justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion; and systemic/institutional change.
Background
I joined the SERC web team in the fall of 2017 after working as an adjunct instructor in the Geology Department at the University of St. Thomas. There, I discovered a passion for geoscience education. I found that as an instructor it was very easy to lecture, but much more difficult to develop content that engages students in active learning. I used resources through the SERC website to enhance my teaching, and decided I wanted to be more involved in disseminating ideas and information to instructors like myself.
My background in earth science is focused on structural geology and metamorphic petrology. I am interested in the interactions between oceanic and continental lithosphere at convergent plate boundaries, and how subducted (and consequently metamorphosed/deformed) oceanic lithosphere can be used to track the evolution of these regions.
Education
- M.S. Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, 2016
- Petrogenesis of metaophiolitic granulites from SE Anatolia
- B.A. Geology, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, 2013
- Petrology and pseudosection modeling of a garnet-blueschist block-in-melange, Santa Catalina Island, California
About Me
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, I first came to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to attend college at Macalester. When I'm not working, I prefer to spend my time outdoors. Backpacking, canoeing, and climbing are some of my favorite ways to explore the world around me. I also dabble in digital and film photography.