Michael A. de Miranda is a Professor, Claude H. Everett, Jr. Endowed Chair, and Head of the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture at Texas A&M University. Michael's current responsibilities are to provide leadership across the department in support of the faculty, staff, and students. The students and their families within the department represent our single most important asset and our award winning faculty are second to none within their respective fields of research and teaching. Professor de Miranda's research focuses on the development of young STEM educators for the future of our profession, specifically in learning, cognition, and instruction in engineering and technology education. A graduate of the University of California in Educational Psychology, his research is focused on the study of cognitive process and complex classroom interventions associated with achieving scientific and technological literacy through engineering content. The research focus is centered on measuring and understanding how students "connect the STEM dots". Research awards as PI and Co-PI in excess of $10M funded through the National Science Foundation and most recently the National Institutes of Health have provided the funding to translate core basic research in engineering, big data systems and analysis, and interdisciplinary work in chemistry, environmental health, and engineering into new K-12 STEM contents and research.