Robert draws on his experience as a professional journalist when developing materials for the education field. He brings clear writing, storytelling, and a curiosity-driven approach to instructional design. Robert was a senior editor for Wired magazine and a freelance writer for Wired, Popular Science, Make, and other publications. His book, Makers, was the first book on the maker movement, featuring one hundred profiles of citizen engineers from diverse backgrounds.

By conducting thousands of interviews with inventors and scientists throughout his career, Robert gained an unusual perspective on STEM knowledge-making — it’s often improvised, contested, non-linear, and driven by hunches, unusual collaborations, and, most of all, curiosity. His goal is to support teachers in envisioning the STEM classroom not as a funnel for technical vocabulary but as a stage for rich, student-led experiences.

Robert is a curriculum designer for MIT App Inventor, creating materials for students and teachers on this innovative coding platform. Previously, he was at WGBH Educational Foundation, where he developed and managed nationally recognized programs for STEM educators. He lives in Vermont with his wife and two children.