Program Director

Integrating Math and Technology. Left to Right: Chris Hayward, Jason Lopes, and Francis Vigeant

Francis Vigeant, our Program Director, is a Gordon College graduate and most recently served as a certified full-time math teacher at Lynn Classical High School. During his time at Lynn Classical High School, Francis served as an MCAS Math Remediation Instructor, Special Education Student Liaison, Sophomore Class Advisor, Assessments Accreditation Committee Member, and Team Teacher focused on differentiated instruction.

Francis started the KnowAtom Fun Science for Kids Program in January of 2005 in response to a lack of exciting science, math, and engineering curriculum at the elementary school level. His leisure interests include science, mechanics, photography, business, and humanitarian work. Francis is a member of the American Chapter of MENSA and has enjoyed travel to Cuba, Spain, Israel, Jordan, United Kingdom, Canada, Haiti, Venezuela, Guatemala, Australia, and New Zealand.

Teachers

Joseph Caputo

An aspiring writer, Joseph joins KnowAtom as he completes an M.S. from Boston University's Center for Science and Medical Journalism. After earning a B.A. in biology from Sarah Lawrence College, Joseph moved to Boston to follow his interests in science communication and education. His love for science is contagious and is happy to share it with students in a fun and educational setting. In his free time, Joseph can be found reading the newspaper or watching an indie flick.

Fred Surowiec

Science has been a lifelong interest for Fred. He holds two bachelor degrees from his alma mater, University of Rhode Island, one in geology and the other in journalism. Most recently, Fred completed completed his teacher's certification for Earth Science (gr. 8-12) and General Science (gr. 5-8). He has held a variety of science-related positions including running the Cormack Planetarium in Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island as well as teaching natural science classes at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge. Fred has a passion for making complex scientific subjects simple to understand and fun for students of all ages. Fred enjoys a wide spectrum of natural science-oriented activities in his leisure time such as scuba diving, observational astronomy and collecting fossils, minerals and rocks. He also enjoys the arts, photography, travel and playing the classical guitar. In the fall, Fred attended an international symposium on ceratopsian dinosaurs held at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta, Canada and went on a dinosaur dig in the Cretaceous badlands there.

Sophia Kruszewski

An enthusiastic environmental educator, came to KnowAtom from a science co-teaching position she held in the Bronx. Sophia holds a B.S. in the Environmental Sciences from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Among academic distinctions, Sophia has served as research assistant to PhD candidates in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Sophia enjoys sharing her knowledge as a child mentor and teacher. In her free time, Sophia enjoys freelancing as a Bar/Bat Mitzvah guitarist and song-leader.

Nicole Lanoue

An experienced professional, Nicole has a wide array of teaching experience in elementary education ranging from home school to Montessori communities. Nicole has attended Gordon College, Wenham, MA where she undertook coursework in the area of science. Nicole has a love for teaching children and a talent for classroom management. These skills have earned her a dedicated following of students age 4-12 within the KnowAtom program. In her free time, Nicole is a classically trained violinist who enjoys playing celtic and irish fiddle tunes.