Our Story

Brian M. Wargo has spent over 30 years teaching physics in an underserved public school district in rural Pennsylvania — often balancing his classroom work with graduate studies, earning both a Master’s in physics and a Ph.D. in science education, all while winning numerous local and state teaching awards. In a district where over half the students qualify for free or reduced lunch and most who attend college are the first in their families to do so, one wouldn’t expect a steady stream of alumni to go on to advanced STEM degrees—but Dr. Wargo has made that possible.

One of those students, Jacob Beckey, was a first-generation college student whose path was completely transformed by Dr. Wargo. He fell in love with physics and education through Dr. Wargo’s classes. With Dr. Wargo as a mentor, he went on to Bachelor’s degrees in physics and math, a US-UK Fulbright postgraduate award, a Ph.D. in physics, and a prestigious National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship in mathematics. Throughout this whole process, Dr. Beckey was dedicated to teaching, mentorship, and outreach because of his first-hand experience seeing how life-changing it can be.

Dr. Beckey — and many other alumni — believe that Dr. Wargo’s teaching methods didn’t just inspire curiosity; they changed the course of their lives. Thus, in the final days of December 2022, Dr. Beckey and Dr. Wargo co-founded the Idealized Science Institute to turn his approach into a scalable national model. If it can launch students from a small rural high school in Pennsylvania into the world of advanced STEM, it can work anywhere.

Explore the timeline below to see how this story unfolded—and how it’s still growing.

1995: Wargo Starts Teaching

1995: Dr. Wargo engaging students in project based learning long before educational researchers coined the term. 1996: Dr. Wargo and his students engineer a speedtrap using a repurposed Apple II-E computer. Official photoshoot following Dr. Wargo's Acceptance of the 1999 Carnegie Science Center & Pittsburgh Technology Council's Science & Technology Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Secondary Level. After only 5 years in the classroom, a local news outlet wrote an article highlighting Dr. Wargo's unique teaching style.

Dr. Wargo has been utilizing and developing research-backed teaching methods since he began his science teaching career at a small school in rural Pennsylvania in 1995, where he still teaches today.

2000: Long-terms Become Standard

1997: One of the first student-led long-term projects in Dr. Wargo's physics class. 2000: Ruthanne Gudzan completes a long-term project in which she built a working motor out of a bicycle wheel.

Around 2000, Dr. Wargo made long-term projects an essential component of his physics courses. To this day, each student that passes through his course must conceive, plan, carry out, and present their own original research. Long-terms form the bedrock of the Idealized Science Framework.

2002: Wargo Finishes Masters in Physics

Wargo at his graduation ceremony for his M.A. in Physics at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The x-ray diffractometer used throughout Wargo's Masters. Wargo and his partner after his Masters graduation. Wargo's Masters thesis was on incorporating x-ray crystallography in natural science curricula.

While still teaching full time at Freedom, Wargo completed a Masters in Physics with a thesis on incorporating x-ray crystallography into the natural sciences curriciulum at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

2014-15: Wargo Defends Ph.D. Thesis in Science Education; Beckey Graduates High School

Wargo at his Ph.D. graduation with Alan Lesgold, professor emeritus at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Wargo's thesis on helping science teachers incorporate authentic science and engineering practices. Beckey leading the first ever physics club meeting in 2014. Beckey graduates from Freedom Area Senior High School with plans to someday pursue a Ph.D. in Physics.

In 2014, Wargo became Dr. Wargo as he successfully defended his PhD in Science Education from the Univeristy of Pittsburgh. Through this period, Beckey had Wargo in class, founded the schools' first ever physics club, and decided to major in physics and math at Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

2016: First Annual Science Conference

Dr. Wargo giving introductory remarks at the inaugural science conference. Pedro A. Rivera -- Secretary of Education for Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2020 -- visits Freedom to learn more about the promise of science conferences at the high school level.

In 2016, Dr. Wargo hosts the first annual science conference at Freedom. Over one hundred students presented their own original research to their peers. Many alumni returned to network, share career advice, and provide encouragement. Beckey delivered the keynote address at the conference.

2021: Wargo Completes the Idealized Science Book

Dr. Wargo completes the book outlining the Idealized Science Framework -- a detailed guide for teachers to engage their students in science authentically. The cover of the ISI book pays homage to Galileo's <em>Diologo</em> -- one of the first texts to emphasize the social aspects of science.

The Idealized Science book is the culmination of decades of educational research and wisdom from nearly three decades of engaging students, teachers, and teacher educators in authentic science. It is a concrete guide enabling teachers to engage their students in inquiry, practices, and the nature of science in the classroom.

2023: The ISI is Incorporated as a Nonprofit in Pennsylvania

On December 29, 2022 the Idealized Science Institute was granted non-profit status from the IRS. Beckey and Wargo designed the ISI logo to include a pendulum -- a simple timekeeping device used throughout history to navigate, prove the earth rotates, and to tell time. For decades, Dr. Wargo has used the pendulum as simple way to introduce students to the process of science.

After years of Beckey (and many other alumni) encouraging Wargo to record his educational content for the masses, Dr. Wargo gives in. Beckey and Wargo decide to start a non-profit, hoping to help teachers and students everywhere engage in science authentically.

2024: Beckey Defends Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics

Dr. Beckey at the University of Colorado, Boulder's physics department graduation ceremony. Dr. Beckey with his close friend and officemate from his PhD in front of the flatirons in Boulder.

A year after co-founding the Idealized Science Institute, Beckey becomes Dr. Beckey as he defends his dissertation (dedicated to Dr. Wargo) on theoretical aspects of quantum information.

Present Day

The ISI's first in-person professional development event was held in March 2025. Drs. Beckey and Wargo at NARST -- a presitigious international conference on research in science teaching. Participants from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America attended ISI's pre-conference workshop at NARST 2025. Every day of the conference, educators and researchers stopped by our booth to try Quick Quizzes and learn about our offerings.

Thanks to generous support from alumni, community members, local business, and philanthropic organizations, the ISI has been able to disseminate free, high quality educational videos, present at international science education conferences, and hold in-person professional development events for teachers in rural PA. We are just getting started...