Alums

Matt Fenzel

Matt Fenzel is the North America Alumni Representative. Matt, now 27, was first introduced to GLOBE in 1997 while a primary school student at St. Francis of Assisi School in Louisville, Kentucky.  "In fact," writes Matt, "my interest and passion for the sciences can be traced back to my youthful days of spending countless hours outdoors doing GLOBE Protocols.  I can still remember specific days where my classmates and I would go out to our GLOBE Hydrology site and take turbidity, flow, and various water quality readings as if it were yesterday. At one point, I remember using fruit, commonly referred to as "monkey brains", from the Osage orange tree to take flow readings." Matt's interest in science continued to grow, leading to a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Science and Technology (with specific focuses on Energy, Environment, and Instrumentation and Measurement) from James Madison University. As a part of his thesis, he and a fellow student designed a sustainable irrigation system in western Kenya, and an EPA Grant allowed them to install a demonstration unit in a Kenyan village during the summer of 2008.

Among other projects with the Alumni Network, Matt is currently working on a collaborative student research project called GLOBE-School (GS) Pals, which utilizes modern Web technologies to bring students, scientists, and alumni together to collaborate on activities, events, and various projects. For more information check out the GS Pals Web page.

Matt currently works as a Process Engineer, assisting with laboratory test work, field process evaluations, system design, and research and development, for the PHOENIX Process Equipment Company. He remains resolute in his support of the GLOBE Program. "It is my hope that over the years I can still stay connected with the GLOBE Community, the GLOBE Alumni, and continue to volunteer for a program that has undoubtedly influenced thousands of students the first 15 years, and will continue to do so for the next 15, as well!"