Carlos R. Villa has been developing and implementing science education programs since 2002. Included in these programs are field trips, summer camps, and student-scientist mentorship programs. In 2018 he earned the National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA) Citation for Distinguished Informal Science Education. Following his rcognition from 2018, in 2020 he was a finalist for Florida State University's Employee of the Year.
Carlos was born in Managua, Nicaragua and grew up in Miami, Florida. He earned his BS from Florida State University in 2002. Mr. Villa then earned his MS in Science Education in 2009. Villa works to inspire young learners of all backgrounds to pursue their dreams of careers in science and engineering. As well as to increase diversity in science, particularly to get more women, African Americans, and Latinx students into physics.
In the summer of 2020, when COVID-19 shut down many camps, Carlos was instrumental in the creation of the MagLab’s virtual 10-week Summer Exploration Series (SES) program offered to K-12 students in Tallahassee and across the nation. The goal of the program was to increase youth’s interest in STEM and knowledge of STEM careers relevant to MagLab specific STEM disciplines, including materials science, biomedical and mechanical engineering, chemistry, biochemistry, and physics. (Full Article here!)
Carlos has lead development on many of our programs including our teams favorite overall pick, the 3-5th grade TableTop Living Laboratory w/ Online Curriculum. Check it out here!