Having started his career as a high school science teacher, Robert E. Yager has been a professor of science education at the University of Iowa since 1956. He has served as president of seven national organizations, including NSTA, and has been involved in teacher education in the U.S. and several European and Asian countries. Among his many publications are several NSTA books, including Focus on Excellence and two issues of What Research Says to the Science Teacher. He has authored over 700 research and policy publications as well as having served as editor for ten volumes of NSTA’s Exemplary Science Programs (ESP). Yager earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Northern Iowa and master’s and doctoral degrees in plant physiology from the University of Iowa in the U.S.