Meet the Creative  and Educational Minds of Molly Cool and Atom   

"Molly Cool and Atom" were created by Educators with years of experience and talent.  They combine learning with fun activities.   Our commitment to you is to create products that will enable children to learn with joy even as they are developing science skills that put the COOL in school.

"Written FOR Educators & Parents BY Educators & Parents! "  The COOL SCIENCE MATTERS series will enhance your child's understanding of the world around us.  "A". the First Book in the series, is now here!

Fun Fact!  Sharon, Jeff, and Amy are siblings.  As a matter of fact, they had a lot of fun growing up in a family of four boys and four girls. 

Sharon Dumit: Writer / Educator 

Sharon Dumit has been an educator for over twenty years. She currently teaches Kindergarten. Sharon and her husband have three children and have been foster parents.  She has had a variety of teaching experiences in Ohio, Connecticut, New York and Texas. Mrs. Dumit was a recipient of a grant from the Ohio Department of Education entitled Little Ones Learning to Love Language. She is an avid reader and collector of hundreds of childrens books. It is her passion to help children get excited about learning. As a result, the Cool Science Matters series was developed.  The characters of Molly Cool and Atom and their adventures join literature with Science. The books are meant to inspire curiosity and a desire to learn about the world around us.  Working with her brother, Jeff, and her sister Amy as the illustrator to develop these books is a joy.

Jeff A. Nowak, Ph.D.: Writer / Educator 

 
From 1994 to 1997, Jeff taught biology, chemistry, geology and physics at Columbus East High School in Columbus, IN. From 1997 to 1999, he was an Associate Instructor of elementary science education at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. From 1999 to 2000, he taught middle school science and the eighth grade gifted and talented (G&T) science program at Northside Middle School in Columbus, IN. He joined the School of Education at Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in 2000 as a Visiting Instructor of elementary science education. Currently an associate professor of Science Education at IPFW, he teaches EDUC Q200 Introduction to Scientific Inquiry, E328 Science Methods for Pre-service Elementary Teaching Majors, E548 Advanced Teaching of Science in the Elementary School for Teachers, and F500 - LEGO Robotics for Teachers.  Jeff is also the executive director of the Northeast Indiana Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics (NISTEM) Education Resource Center serving northeast Indiana (www.NISTEM.org) His research interests include how to incorporate and utilize "best practice" technologies and inquiry-based instructional strategies in the preK-12 science classroom. He has also published peer-reviewed articles comparing full-day kindergarten to half-day kindergarten, and enjoys writing science books for children.

 Amy Swierczek:  Illustrator

Amy Swierczek began her career in art at an early age when she was given her first crayon.  Since then, her artwork has been shown across the states, from a country store in New York, menu covers in Nebraska, and trade brochures in Colorado, as well as published drawings for local newspapers. Amy is delighted to produce illustrations for Cool Science Matters and work so closely with the same family members who first observed her artwork on the walls of their childhood home.