Kirstin Bullington has taught science and engineering for over twenty years. Her current classes at the Student Innovation Center include Clean Energy Systems, Electric Vehicle Fundamentals, and Battery Research, Development, and Innovations, which comprise the Advanced Automotive Engineering Technology state pathway. Prior to teaching, she was a health specialist volunteer in the Peace Corps, Togo, where she discovered her passion for education. Kirstin is an alumna of Teachers for Global Classrooms (Senegal), the Transatlantic Outreach Program (Germany), and the Japan-US Teacher Exchange for Education for Sustainable Development. Participation in each of these programs led her to discover that students show greater aptitude and interest in engineering when presented from a relevant global context.
As part of their coursework, Kirstin’s students design and optimize alternative energy solutions for local and global challenges. Her students and their energy solutions have placed in several national competitions, including Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, Global Solutions STEM Challenge (IREX), and the Biomimicry Youth Design Competition. Their collaboration with a school in Senegal resulted in a modular power apparatus, which was recognized by Special Climate Envoy John Kerry in 2021 and awarded a patent in 2023. Kirstin is the recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (2023), the South Carolina Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (2013), the 2022 South Carolina STEM Educator of the Year, and the 2023 South Carolina Conservation Teacher of the Year (secondary). She holds National Board Certification (AYA Science) and is a Lemelson-MIT Invention Education Fellow.
