Dr. Christine Broadbridge
Dr. Christine Broadbridge

As the Executive Director of Research and Innovation, SCSU Professor of Physics Christine Broadbridge oversees the Division of Research and Innovation (DRI). Dr. Broadbridge received her M.S. and Ph.D. in engineering from Brown University, where she conducted research in the fields of materials science, physics, and nanotechnology. Dr. Broadbridge participated in the establishment and is currently education director for the Center for Research on Interface Structures and Phenomena (CRISP) at Yale and SCSU and is a Yale Visiting Fellow in Applied Physics as well as a Research Scientist at UCONN. She is the founding Director of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Center for Nanotechnology (CSCU-CNT), the SCSU Office of Research & Innovation (Innovation HUB) and the BioScience Academic and Career Pathway Initiative (BioPath). In addition to being the immediate past President for the CT Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE), Dr. Broadbridge is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of Sigma Pi Sigma and Tau Beta Pi (national honor societies for physics and engineering respectively).

Peter Dimoulas
Peter Dimoulas

Peter Dimoulas serves as Grant Program Administrator for the SCSU Innovation, including program manager for BioPath and IRWECA. He is an Science educator with 10 plus years of experience teaching Science at the high school and community college level, including administrative experience; additionally, he has industry experience in biopharma and environmental science. He has a BS in Biology from Northeastern, an MS in Zoology from the University of British Columbia, and an 6th Year in Education Administration from UCONN. His passions include connecting students with the business community to ensure that what we (as educators) do sets students on a promising career and educational pathway in line with what the local labor market needs.

Helen Keegan
Helen Keegan

Helen Keegan is the Secretary for the SCSU Innovation HUB at BioPath and the Division of Research and Innovation. She’s an alumna of Southern Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Arianna Ruiz
Arianna Ruiz

Arianna is the Project Coordinator with the SCSU Innovation Hub. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication and Media Studies from Southern. Among recent work experiences include her role as a University Assistant in the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at Southern Connecticut State University. Arianna joins our team as our SCSU Innovation Hub Coordinator focusing on accounting and HR-related tasks, events and marketing, along with career coaching.

Derek Faulkner
Derek Faulkner

Derek is the Special Projects Coordinator for the SCSU Innovation Hub. He studied Environmental Systems and Sustainability with a focus on coastal marine science. His research included an honor’s thesis exploring the use of 3D mapping with aerial photography of wetlands. This project evolved into a collaborative ongoing research project collecting long-term data on coastal wetlands and is now a registered non-profit organization–The East River Watershed Research Institute. Before co-leading this endeavor, Derek’s local work included the Office of Sustainability at SCSU as a project coordinator, interim Associate Director of Career and Professional Development at Yale School of the Environment, a member of the Community Advisory Board for New Haven’s Food System Policy Division, and as a market manager with CitySeed. He has spent the last five years living in New Haven, aiming to connect with community organizations through volunteering, and most recently joined the Board of Directors for the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut.

Allison Kross
Allison Kross

Allison Kross is a Graduate Assistant for the SCSU Innovation Hub. She earned a bachelor’s in science in biology from SCSU and is currently perusing a master’s in biology, researching the microanatomy of marine mammal trachea. Allison’s role in the office is to find and disseminate job and internship opportunities, support administrative tasks and grant writing, process and analyze data, and she played a key role in daily operations of the Innovation Hub’s first summer Innovation Academy in 2024. 

Imani Smith
Imani Smith

Imani Smith is a Graduate Assistant for the SCSU Innovation Hub. After earning a BA in Communications, Spanish, and Behavior Analysis, Imani is now pursuing a Master of Sociology at SCSU with a focus in Higher Education. With the goal of improving student resources in higher education, Imani joins the Innovation Hub team with a background of qualitative research, customer service, creative writing, and event management.

Rick Mingione
Rick Mingione

Rick is a Graduate Assistant in the SCSU Innovation Hub. After graduating from SCSU with a dual major BA in Economics and Philosophy, Rick continued to earn a certificate for Full Stack Software Development from the UConn College of Engineering. With a professional career in program management, he leverages his analytical and ethical background to drive successful project outcomes and strategic initiatives. Rick joins the Innovation Hub team after an extensive work history with Franklin Products Inc. as Program Manager.

Griffin Gordon
Griffin Gordon

Griffin Gordon serves as a consultant providing support for grant writing and our forthcoming STEM Industry Needs Assessment (fall 2024). Griffin recently completed a 2nd year Master’s student in the Marriage and Family Therapy department, having already graduated with a BA in Psychology from Yale University in 2022. They have been working with BioPath as a Graduate Assistant since February 2023.

For more information about STEM-related opportunities and partnerships at SCSU, please visit the STEM-IL page. For more information about SCSU programs in general, please visit the SCSU homepage.