WALTHAM, MA | September 12, 2012
EDC has appointed Kim Kastens, an environmental scientist, to serve as Distinguished Scholar and Principal Scientist in its Learning and Teaching Division. Kastens brings more than 20 years of experience working at the nexus of science and education, most recently serving as a research professor of earth and environmental sciences at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.
With the upcoming release of new state standards for science, and the current emphasis on STEM education, Kastens’ appointment is timely, and her experience will enrich EDC’s ongoing work and innovations in science education.
“Dr. Kastens brings exceptional passion, energy, and distinction to the challenge of science teaching and learning, and her new position at EDC is designed to promote a creative, collaborative climate for innovation and impact,” said EDC President Luther Luedtke. “Kim’s appointment sustains and renews the legacy of excellence in science education that began with EDC’s founding as the Physical Science Study Committee at MIT in the 1950s. We are very pleased she is joining us.”
As a natural scientist, Kastens’ early career was in oceanography and earth sciences; however, her more recent career focus has been as an advocate for advancing public understanding of science and scientific thinking.
“I am excited to join EDC and apply my science research background and my understanding of the nature of student learning and teacher development to enhance and improve science education,” said Kastens. “I can’t think of a more important or more interesting challenge at this moment in history.”
Kastens holds positions on several scientific boards and committees, and has authored or edited numerous scientific papers and two books: Earth and Mind II: A Synthesis of Research on Thinking and Learning in the Geosciences (2012, The Geological Society of America) and Earth Science Puzzles: Making Meaning from Data (2010, NSTA Press). She has been an active member on panels convened by the National Academy of Sciences, and her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, where she has served on review panels, committees of visitors, and the Geoscience Advisory Board.
Kastens holds a doctorate from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. She will be based at EDC’s headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), is a global nonprofit organization that addresses some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development. EDC manages more than 250 projects in 23 countries. Visit edc.org.
