Chesterton Academy of Rochester Biology teacher, Dr. Fernando Ontiveros, has received a Fulbright Scholar Award to conduct research in Costa Rica in the Spring of 2026.

Dr. Ontiveros, whom scholars affectionately call “Dr. O”, has been at Chesterton part-time since 2019. He is an Associate Professor at St. John Fisher University, where Chesterton students have been welcomed to carry out both Biology and Chemistry labs over the years.

During his time in Costa Rica, Dr. Ontiveros will build on his work at St. John Fisher, conducting research in microfluidics and bacterial cultures, in an effort to maximize the recovery of metals from discarded lithium batteries.

An immunologist by training, with a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester, Dr. Ontiveros brings tools from bioengineering, cell biology, microbiology and remote sensing to his research.

In the Chesterton classroom, he combines an easy-going manner with a command of his field that helps scholars engage with the life sciences while showing how they harmonize with other subjects in Chesterton’s classical curriculum. He is also a co-founder of the Agathon Institute, a local non-profit organization that offers educational opportunities based on classical intellectual traditions and the liberal arts.