Design Team Lead Biosketches

Rodger Bybee served as Executive Director of Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) from 1999-2007. He also served as both chair of the science forum and chair of the science expert group for PISA 2006. In addition, he worked on the TIMSS 1999 science lesson video study. His major areas of work have included scientific literacy, scientific inquiry, design and development of school science curricula, the role of policy in science education, and work on international assessments, in particular PISA. He recently retired from BSCS but continues consulting and publishing on policies, programs, and practices for science education at local, national and international levels. Dr. Bybee received a Ph.D. from New York University and the M.A. and B.A. degrees from the University of Northern Colorado.

Joseph Krajcik is Professor of Science Education and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Education at the University of Michigan. He codirects the Center for Highly Interactive Classrooms, Curriculum, and Computing in Education at the University of Michigan and is a co-principle investigator in the Center for Curriculum Materials in Science and The National Center for Learning and Teaching Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Dr. Krajcik has authored or co-authored over 100 manuscripts and makes frequent presentations at international, national, and regional conferences. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching in 1999. Dr. Krajcik taught high school chemistry before obtaining his PhD. in Science Education from the University of Iowa and has been a guest professor at the Beijing Normal University in China as well as the Weston Visiting Professor of Science Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Cary Sneider is currently Associate Research Professor at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he teaches courses in research methodology for teachers in Master’s Degree programs, and consults for a number of organizations including Achieve, Inc., the Noyce Foundation, and Washington State’s Office of Public Instruction. He is currently Co-chair of the Planning Committee to develop the NAEP Technology Framework. Dr. Sneider has taught science at the middle and high school levels in Maine, California, Costa Rica and Micronesia. During the past ten years Dr. Sneider was Vice President for Educator Programs at the Museum of Science in Boston, and prior to that he served as Director of Astronomy and Physics Education at the Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley. Dr. Sneider’s curriculum development and research interests have focused on helping students unravel their misconceptions in science and on new ways to link science centers and schools to promote student inquiry.

Michael E. Wysession is Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. An established leader in seismology and geophysical education, Dr. Wysession is noted for his development of a new way to create three-dimensional images of Earth's interior from seismic waves. These images have provided scientists with insights into the makeup of Earth and its evolution throughout history. Dr. Wysession is the coauthor of An Introduction to Seismology, Earthquakes, and Earth Structure; the lead author of Physical Science: Concepts in Action; and the primary writer for the texts Earth Science, Earth's Interior, Earth's Changing Surface, and Earth's Waters. Dr. Wysession received a Science and Engineering Fellowship from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, a National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowship, and fellowships from the Kemper and Lily Foundations. He has received the Innovation Award of the St. Louis Science Academy and the Distinguished Faculty Award of Washington University. In 2005, Dr. Wysession had a Distinguished Lectureship with the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and the Seismological Society of America. He earned his Sc.B. in Geophysics from Brown University and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University.