Research Interests:

Susan Schleith is the education coordinator at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC). In addition to heading up K-12 Education, Ms. Schleith is manager of the SunSmart Schools program, a statewide effort to install solar electric panels on schools and provide curriculum and instruction to faculty within those schools. She is also the Co-Principal Investigator for the Alternative Energy Banner Center, an initiative to train workers for jobs in the solar industry. Ms. Schleith works to increase energy literacy throughout Florida by informing K-16 educators and the public of the Center's research. Her implementation plan addresses three areas: curriculum and instruction, professional development for teachers and student programs and events. Through her efforts eight K-12 curriculum units have been compiled, covering the areas of solar, hydrogen, biofuels, energy efficiency and conservation, climate change and environmental issues. Each year hundreds of teachers participate in summer institutes and one-day workshops focusing on renewable energy facilitated by Ms. Schleith. She partnered with Brevard Community College (BCC) and co-managed Sun Academy, an NSF initiative to increase understanding of renewable energy technology among pre- and in-service teachers. She created the Environmental Issues Investigations program funded by the Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA), which deployed renewable energy materials and educational opportunities to hundreds of teachers in Florida. Programs for students include: Middle School Science Bowl, Youth Energy Solutions (YES) Summit, EnergyWhiz Olympics, Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) High School Hydrogen Sprint and Energy Innovations. Thousands of students and teachers have toured the FSEC facility and learned about renewable energy through hands-on experiences. She organized the Circle of Science, a partnership between BCC Planetarium, Brevard Museum of Science and History and FSEC to provide thematic experiences on energy to the public. Susan revived the Space Coast Science Education Alliance (SCSEA), a gathering of institutions dedicated to the enhancement of science literacy. The group has developed numerous programs including: Exemplary Science Teacher Awards, Free Speaker Series, Brevard Research Rules and Aspiring Scientist Award. She has also worked on the following programs: Florida Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition, Florida Middle School Energy Education Project, East Central Florida Environmental Education Service Project, Studies in Solar Energy and Exemplary Projects in Energy and Conservation (EPEC) Awards.