Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Gail Jones Selected to Receive NARST 2022 Distinguished Contributions to Science Education through Research Award

NC State College of Education Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor and Friday Institute for Educational Innovation Senior Faculty Fellow Gail Jones, Ph.D.. has been selected to receive the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) 2022 Distinguished  Contributions to Science Education through Research Award.

The highest honor NARST gives to its members, the award is designed to recognize the superior caliber of the recipient’s professional accomplishments.

In honoring Jones with the award, NARST recognized her wide ranging contributions to the field of science education, citing her studies on gender, her work with teachers in underserved schools studying science teaching and learning at the nanoscale using haptic technology, and her research into understanding how centers of learning in informal contexts engage with diverse communities.

NARST also recognized the role capacity building has played in Jones’ work, evidenced by the success of her graduate students and by her work with more than 20,000 teachers.

“I am truly humbled to receive the NARST 2022 Distinguished Contributions to Science Education through Research Award,” Jones said. “I have a love for research, and I have been so fortunate to work in a university that values research and education. Engaging in research that is both interesting and makes a difference in education makes work a pleasure.”

Jones will receive the award in a March ceremony, and will also have the opportunity to participate in a panel entitled A Celebration of NARST Award Recipients: A Discussion of the Future of Science Education. 

In the fall, Jones was selected to lead the education research component of the new NSF Science and Technology Center– Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS), where she will continue to make her impact felt on the field of science education.