About Robert

I'm an Emeritus Principal Scientist at SRI International in Silicon Valley where I did research and development on advanced technology systems in education. I retired from there in 2002 to do consulting with ministries of education, multinational organizations, and high tech companies on technology policies that would improve education systems and prepare students for the knowledge economy and information society. My biggest clients were Intel, UNESCO, and government agencies in Singapore, Thailand, Chile, Norway, Jordan, and Egypt. I did probono work in rural villages in Kenya. Prior to SRI, I was a professor and research scientist at the University of Michigan where I taught grade courses in instructional design, software design, and instructional psychology. I started my career as a grade school math teacher in the inner city of Detroit.

I've always considered myself as a designer, from the time in my junior year in high school that I won a contest sponsored by the aeronautical engineering department at the University of Detroit with a space suit i designed. I designed innovative lesson plans as a grade school teacher. I designed research studies and graduate courses as a university professor and I designed software systems at SRI. As a consultant, I helped governments design policies that used technology to improve their education systems.

In my retirement, I wrote a book on design, "Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values", that was recently published by John Wiley & Sons.

Contribution (general)

Robert is a member of Design in Focus, the platform that hosts Randstad UX, and Randstad UX (R'UX) is responsible for the launch of the Design for Tomorrow concept.

You may view his Experience portal here, which has more info about him.

Robert is also active in the #ImpactCollective and makes podcasts where he talks with legends such as Don Norman and Manuel Lima.

He is also publishing editorial content and you may read his first piece on this platform here.

As a member of this platform, you may join and reach out to him. Visit the Members Area for more.

The Events