- July 14, 2026
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Palm Aire's Nick Barbi, who has a doctorate in material science, has three goals while working with students: do something charitable, introduce them to the business of scientific instruments, and give them the opportunity to understand the health of the planet based on science without the spin of a political party.
“Every scientist, whether they're biological, chemical, marine, material. or earth scientists use instruments,” Barbi said. “They might not be good engineers, they might not be good coders, but they use instruments.”
In 2022, Barbi founded the Science and Technology Society for adults who have science backgrounds. The organization became a nonprofit in 2023 and Barbi said sharing knowledge and skills with students was the next step. Coastwise Stem Program began in honor of his late wife, Mary Jo.
Barbi is seeking Manatee County students who want to sign up for the program.
Coastwise is an acronym for “Community Observation and Analysis using Spectroscopic Techniques and Wetlands Imaging to foster Stewardship of our Environment.”
Students have the opportunity to utilize NASA's Stella Q-2 spectrometer, drone imagery, and satellite data to study and protect the environment. Barbi said the region's residents are lucky to live in such a beautiful environment, but much of the area's economy is built around its beauty, tourism and nature are often at odds with each other.
“We wanted to show students a way that they could find out what's happening to the planet Earth and make decisions for themselves whether there's a line that should be drawn in economic development versus environmental impact,” Barbi said.
In 2024 there were three workshops and in 2025 there were four. In the past, 95% of the students who attended the workshops were from Sarasota County. This is the third year of the program and there will be nine active days of hands-on learning from July 20-24 and Aug. 3-6.
A grant of $4,500 from the Manatee Community Foundation was granted in order to support more students, specifically from Manatee County, in the program. The grant and donations from supporters of the Science and Technology Society will allow students from Manatee County to attend the workshops for free.
Barbi said the Manatee Community Foundation has been one of the main supporters of the program. He said support in Manatee County has continued to grow both financially and in terms of resources.
He said the program also is getting increased interest from science teachers such as Lakewood Ranch High's Alexandra Wilcoxson and Tana Phelps. He said he has visited various schools to spread the word about the program and has been welcomed with open arms.
Wilcoxson said the Coastwise program and the Science and Technology Society as a whole are great resources for students to engage in field research, collect data, and learn how to use scientific instruments. She looks forward to strengthening the relationship and utilizing Barbi’s affiliation as a NASA ambassador to bring more large-scale opportunities to students.
“I am excited to continue to bring more field research opportunities to our students that enhance the science, math, and research classroom experience,” Wilcoxson said. “These initiatives will help prepare our students for college and professional research, science and engineering careers."
This is the first year the group is implementing a student development team, which meets once a week for four hours to serve as the experts once the camp starts. It is made up of eight students: four from Manatee County and four from Sarasota County.
Representing Manatee are Colton McGill, John Onesti, Gabi Otera and Charles Mesia. For Sarasota, the students are Natalie Merino, Mitran Loganthan Mohanraj, Neil Acharya and Justin Kim. There are also two adjuncts, Cache Maiola and Michael Merino, who help as needed.
McGill, a rising junior who is homeschooled in Lakewood Ranch and is the team captain of the development group for Coastwise, said he has attended the program since its inception. He is excited to take charge of the new opportunity to lead and help other kids embrace the free opportunity.
“You don't need to have any knowledge on this topic,” McGill said. “We explain in a way that's pretty easy to understand the basics and it's a great way to learn the skill of diving into a topic you don't know and learning it in under a week.”
Gabi Otero, a rising senior at Lakewood Ranch High School, discovered the program through her teacher, Wilcoxson. Otero is heavily interested in the natural sciences and co-leads the spectroscopy group and the earth sciences group.
Otero said the program is a great way to keep minds active over the summer. Before she joined, she didn’t know about spectroscopy, the study of how matter interacts with electromagnetic radiation or light.
Onesti, who co-leads the earth sciences group with Otero, attended the program for the first time last year. He joined because he has a large interest in the environment and he hopes to become a marine biologist.
He said he is nervous about being a role model for fellow students, but is also excited they have worked together to become masters on the topics in order to lead the others.
Barbi said he encourages rising freshmen and sophomores especially to enroll in this year’s course, so they can volunteer for the development team next year.
