Mr. Swanson has kept salt water aquariums for 18 years, and reef aquariums for 12. He has a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Connecticut, did graduate work at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and has a master’s Degree in Plant Science from the University of Connecticut. He completed the Connecticut Alternate Route to Certification program and has been teaching since 1998. After two years teaching both New Fairfield and Greenwich Connecticut, he settled at E.O. Smith in 2002. He is the 2008 Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. He has been the recipient of numerous grants to develop unique teaching programs including the USDA funded project “A Learning Module and Lab Manual to Teach Students How Protein Structure is Related to Function, at the Molecular, Cell and Whole Plant Level” and the Toyota Tapestry Grant “Coral Farming, Saving the Reefs Through Aquaculture” the funding that jump started this project. Along with his duties as a teacher, and supervising this project, Mr. Swanson also is the faculty advisor to the E. O. Smith Scuba Club.