Barnas Monteith

Hi there!

Thanks for visiting my Amazon author page. I am what you'd consider a lifelong science & engineering enthusiast and activist for inquiry-based (hands-on) STEM education. Having been involved in dozens of academic, entrepreneurial, non-profit and government STEM committees and boards for the past few decades, I've spent a great deal of time trying to highlight the long term benefits of early exposure to science & engineering, through fun and engaging self-guided discovery. When students enjoy reading books and doing activities about science topics, it's really the best way to encourage an reinforce learning in & out of school. This can lead to a greater scientific literacy, a successful STEM career, or maybe even world-changing inventions & discoveries!

Generally speaking, if I do one thing for too long, I tend to get a little bored. So, my career has spanned both life science and engineering fields - some theoretical and some practical. Having started out in paleontology/evolution, I learned to appreciate the fast-changing fields of paleo-biochemistry and large scale biological data computing (yep, my research was somewhat along the lines of Jurassic Park). Then, after founding several companies in the fields of business software, healthcare and semiconductor/energy/lighting materials, I realized that I really had an inner love for engineering, and have been working in these fields since college.

You'll find my books, blogs, whitepapers and talks are generally in these fields, but I always like to include something about the importance of science fairs/robotic fairs in all my work. Having co-founded Tumblehome Learning - a fast-growing, internationally recognized STEM publisher, I've had the pleasure of direct editorial involvement in dozens of wonderful books over the past 6+ years, translated into numerous languages, and read by children all over the world (in addition to my own books). If you like my books, you'll also like a lot of the other books we publish at THL (many of which I have helped to edit and/or have served as Art Director/Editor). Feel free to reach me directly anytime via our website. Lately, I have a pretty busy speaking schedule, but I am more than happy to do signings, workshops and lectures, for those who are really interested in promoting STEM inquiry.

Thanks for visiting!

ABOUT AUTHOR, BARNAS MONTEITH

Barnas Monteith is Chairman of the Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair, Inc. — the oldest dedicated inquiry based science education non-profit in MA, and one of the oldest in the U.S.. As a young student, Barnas was one of the most successful science fair participants in MSSEF history, with four 1st place MSSEF wins, four 1st place Regional wins, two International (ISEF) 1st place Grand Awards, awards at the European Youth Science Exchange, Nynex Science & Technology Awards, the Edison Award, the Naval Science Research Award, and a number of other scholarships and special first prize awards. His projects focused on the study of dinosaur and bird evolution using fossilized egghsell microstructures and biochemistry. A graduate of Tufts University, Barnas spent nearly a decade doing paleontology expeditions throughout much of the major vertebrate fossil-bearing beds of North America. Throughout college and beyond, he did work at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparatize Zoology researching the Triassic vertebrates of Arizona, including possible Phytosaur nesting behaviors, and was one of the youngest researchers ever to present a Plenary lecture at the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology. Since that time, he has started several successful technology companies – most recently foraying into semiconductor R&D, specializing in the commercialization of synthetic diamond products, with a focus on IC planarization, as well as the renewable energy and high efficiency lighting markets.

Barnas serves on the MA Department of Education / DESE’s Math & Science Advisory Council, and was appointed by Governor Patrick to serve as a member of the inaugural Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, as Co-Chair of its Public Awareness subcommittee, which recently launched the statewide WOW STEM campaign. As a STEM activist, he has served on numerous school task forces, legislative working groups and out of sheer frustration, has even resorted to filing his own STEM legislation as a citizen. He has co-authored several patents pending, published a number of scientific articles in the areas of paleobiology and materials science and speaks regularly at STEM education and industry events and conferences throughout the world.