Robert D. Mathieu

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Robert D. Mathieu is an astronomer and science educator who is currently Professor of Astronomy and Director and Principal Investigator at the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL)[1], Wisconsin Center for Education Research[2], University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning is a 5-year National Science Foundation Center for Learning and Teaching. The Center focuses on preparing science, engineering, and math graduate students for future roles as both forefront researchers and skilled teachers and communicators. CIRTL promotes the development of a national faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse student audiences as part of their professional careers.

Recently Mathieu also has led U.S. national initiatives for the improvement of science higher education. 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 since 1987, where he has been the recipient of a UW Distinguished Teaching Award.[3] He was educated at Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley, after which he became a Fellow of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He has received a Presidential Young Researcher award and a Guggenheim Fellowship [4] 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.