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University of York

Recognition for York academic’s outstanding contribution to science education

Posted on 6 October 2017

A University of York academic has been made an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics (IOP) for his internationally leading research in physics education.

Robin Millar OBE, an Emeritus Professor with the University’s Department of Education, is one of the foremost physics - and science - education researchers in the country, with a strong international reputation.

His work has influenced curriculum design, teaching and assessment in secondary school science. He has directed or co-directed major research projects on young people’s images of science, the influence of students’ procedural and conceptual knowledge on their performance of science investigations, and the use of diagnostic questions for stimulating changes in teachers’ classroom practices.

Professor Millar said: “I’m delighted to have been made an Honorary Fellow of the IOP. During my career I have been fortunate enough to be involved in several major research and curriculum development projects and it’s very pleasing to receive this recognition of my work.”

Professor Millar was coordinator of the ESRC-funded Evidence-based Practice in Science Education Research Network. He was also a core member of the Nuffield Foundation seminar series that led to the Beyond 2000 report and a co-author of the report, and has been centrally involved in several major research and curriculum development projects, both in the UK and internationally. In addition, he was a member of the Science Expert Group for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys in 2006 and 2015.

He was President of the European Science Education Research Association in 1999–2003, and of the Association for Science Education for 2012. He was awarded the IOP’s Lawrence Bragg Medal and Prize in 2008.

Professor Millar was made an OBE in 2015 for services to science education.

Further information:

  • You can read more about Professor Robin Millar and his research here.
  • The Institute of Physics is a leading scientific membership society working to advance physics for the benefit of all.  We have a worldwide membership from enthusiastic amateurs to those at the top of their fields in academia, business, education and government. Alongside professional support for our members, we engage with policymakers and the public to increase awareness and understanding of the value that physics holds for all of us.  Our subsidiary company, IOP Publishing, is a world leader in scientific communications, publishing journals, magazines and websites globally.

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