Mary Atwater
Mary Atwater, a professor in the mathematics and science education department in the College of Education, recently received the 2019 Distinguished Contributions to Science Education Through Research Award from the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
The award recognizes an individual who, through research over an extended period of time, has made outstanding and continuing contributions, provided notable leadership and made a substantial impact in the area of science education. She received the award March 31 during NARST’s annual international conference in Baltimore.
Since joining NARST in the early 1980s, Atwater has made it her mission to help diversify the research organization. An example of this shift toward diversity is the association’s first research interest group, the Continental and Diasporic Africa in Science Education, which provides a space to support researchers inquiring about the science education lives of people of African ancestry. In 2017, Atwater was elected to a second three-year term as chair of CADASE.