Ellen
Pletcher Metzger is a Professor in the Geology Department and Science
Education Program at San Jose State University, where she has been a
faculty member since 1989. She received a Ph.D. degree in Geology from
Syracuse University in 1984. Since 1990, Dr. Metzger has served as Co-Director
of the Bay Area Earth Science Institute (BAESI), a professional development
program for teachers of grades 4-12 funded by the National Science Foundation,
San Jose State University, Chevron Corporation, and other community
partners. Dr. Metzger teaches Earth Materials, Tectonics, Igneous and
Metamorphic Petrology, and Earth Systems and the Environment, an introductory
Earth science course for teachers and teachers-to-be. Her current research
focuses on the mineralogy and geochemistry of Tertiary volcanic rocks
and enclosed xenoliths in the Diablo Range of Northern California. She
is past Chair of the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological
Society of America, and was the 1994 recipient of the California Science
Teacher Association's Distinguished Science Teacher award - College
Level. From 1992-1997, her "STRATegy Column for Precollege Science Teachers"
appeared in the Journal of Geoscience Education
