Robert D. Mathieu is an astronomer

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 and science educator

Science education

Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises...

 who works at the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL).

Recently, Mathieu led U.S. national initiatives for the improvement of science higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

. From 1998 to 2000 he was the associate director of the National Institute for Science Education, and led the development of the Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG) and other resources for science, engineering, and mathematics faculty.

Mathieu has been on the faculty of the Department of Astronomy of the University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

 since 1987, where he has been the recipient of a UW Distinguished Teaching Award. He was educated at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 and the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

, after which he became a Fellow of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is one of the largest and most diverse astrophysical institutions in the world, where scientists carry out a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education...

. He has received a Presidential Young Researcher award and a Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...

 for his research into the dynamics of star clusters and the formation of binary stars. He currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the WIYN Observatory

WIYN Observatory

The WIYN Observatory is owned and operated by the WIYN Consortium. Its telescope, a 3.5-meter instrument, is the newest and second largest telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona...

.

External links

• http://www.astro.wisc.edu/people/mathieu.html
• Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning
• Editorial Board, Astronomy Education Review