Nidaa Makki is a Professor and Director of the Urban STEM Education Center in the LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education at the University of Akron. Her research focuses on implementing engineering education and science inquiry in the classroom. She has served as co-PI on NSF ITEST and IUSE projects, as program evaluator for various STEM programs, and has led teacher professional development in Physics Modeling, Engineering Education, and Problem Based Learning. She continues to collaborate with teachers to develop, implement, and evaluate programs that support student engagement with authentic science and engineering experiences.