BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF
Helen Quinn (Chair) is professor emerita in the Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University and cochair of the university’s K12 initiative. She is a theoretical physicist who has had a long-term engagement in education issues at the local, state, and national levels. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the recipient of the Dirac medal from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and of the Felix Klein medal from the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction. She is a member and former president of the American Physical Society. She served as the chair of the National Research Council’s (NRC) Board on Science Education and on the NRC committees authoring the reports Taking Science to School, A Framework for K-12 Science Education, and Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards. She has a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University.
Matthew Krehbiel is the science program consultant for the Kansas Department of Education and the primary contact for that state’s participation in writing the national Next Generation Science Standards. Mr. Krehbiel is also a member of the implementation team for the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for Math and English Language Arts and the career and technical education agriculture and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics pathway teams. Previously, he taught a wide variety of science courses and was the science, engineering, technology academy leader at Junction City High School in Kansas. He is a recipient of the Award for Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education from the Kansas Association for Environmental Education. He serves on the boards of the Kansas State Science and
Engineering Fair, the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, and the Kansas Association for Teachers of Science. He has a B.A. in biology and natural sciences and a secondary teacher certification in general science, biology, and physics, both from Bethel College, and an M.S. in curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University.
Michael Lach is the director of STEM Education and Strategic Initiatives at the Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education and the Urban Education Institute, both at the University of Chicago. Previously, he led science and mathematics education efforts at the U.S. Department of Education. He was a charter member of Teach For America, teaching high school biology and general science in New Orleans, and then joined the national office of Teach For America as director of program design. He has been honored as one of Radio Shack’s Top 100 Technology Teachers and as Illinois physics teacher of the year. As an administrator with the Chicago Public Schools, he led the district’s instructional improvement efforts in science and mathematics and became chief officer of teaching and learning overseeing curriculum and instruction in 600+ schools. He is a current member of the National Research Council’s Board on Science Education. He has a B.S. in physics from Carleton College, an M.A. in science education from Columbia University and in education leadership from Northeastern Illinois University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Brian J. Reiser is professor of learning sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. His research examines how to make the scientific practices of argumentation, explanation, and modeling meaningful and effective for classroom teachers and students. He also co-led the development of IQWST (Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology), a 3-year middle school curriculum that supports students in science practices to develop disciplinary core ideas. Dr. Reiser worked with Achieve on the design of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and on the tools to help states implement the NGSS. He is currently collaborating with several state initiatives to design and provide professional development for K-12 teachers as they implement the NGSS in their classrooms. Dr. Reiser is a member of the National Research Council’s (NRC) Board on Science Education and served on the NRC committees authoring the reports Taking Science to School, A Framework for K-12 Science Education, and Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards. He has a Ph.D. in cognitive science from Yale University.
Heidi Schweingruber (Study Director) is the director of the Board on Science Education (BOSE) at the National Research Council (NRC). In this role, she oversees the BOSE portfolio and collaborates with the board to develop new projects. She has worked on multiple NRC projects on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education including codirecting the study that resulted in the report A Framework for K-12 Science Education. She coauthored two award-winning books for practitioners that translate findings of NRC reports for a broader audience: Ready, Set, Science! Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms (2008) and Surrounded by Science (2010). Prior to joining the NRC, she was a senior research associate at the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education and the director of research for the Rice University School Mathematics Project, an outreach program in K-12 mathematics education. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology (developmental) and anthropology, and a certificate in culture and cognition from the University of Michigan.
Marshall S. Smith is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Formerly, he held several positions at the U.S. Department of Education in the Obama and Clinton administrations, including senior counselor to the secretary, director of international affairs, under secretary, and acting deputy secretary. Recently, he was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He previously served as a director of education programs at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, where he funded projects focusing on education technology, California state education policy reform, and college readiness. He is also a former dean of the School of Education at Stanford University. Dr. Smith is a member of the National Research Council’s Board on Science Education. He has an A.B. in psychology from Harvard College and an Ed.M. and an Ed.D. in measurement and statistics from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Cary Sneider is associate research professor at Portland State University in Oregon, where he teaches research methodology in a master of science teaching program. His research interests have focused on helping students unravel misconceptions in science and on new ways to link science centers and schools, and he has directed more than 20 grant projects, mostly involving curriculum development and teacher education. He has also taught science at middle and high schools in California, Maine, Costa Rica, and Micronesia. He is currently a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as “The Nation’s Report
Card,” and he cochaired a writing team to develop performance expectations in engineering at Achieve, which is managing the development of Next Generation Science Standards for the states. He served as design lead for technology and engineering on the National Research Council’s A Framework for K-12 Science Education and was a member of the Board on Science Education and its predecessor the Committee on Science Education K-12. He has a Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Berkeley.
Roberta Tanner is retired from the Thompson School District in Loveland, Colorado, where she taught physics, math, engineering, and other science courses. She brought Advanced Placement physics and integrated physics/trigonometry courses to the district, and she also designed and taught microcomputer projects, an award-winning project-oriented microchip and electrical engineering course. She spent a year as teacher in residence with the Physics Education Research Group at the University of Colorado Boulder, and she also taught introductory physics at the university. She is a recipient of the International Intel Excellence in Teaching Award and the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence. She served 5 years on the National Research Council’s (NRC) Teacher Advisory Council and on the NRC committee that authored the report Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards. She is currently a member of the NRC’s Board on Science Education. She holds undergraduate degrees in physics and mechanical engineering at Kalamazoo College and Michigan State University. She has a teaching certificate and a master’s degree in education from the University of Colorado Boulder.
