With a new $2.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), a College of Human Ecology professor will develop a Web-based system that will help evaluate science-based education programs.

William Trochim, professor of policy analysis and management, will collaborate with educators, scientists and students to develop and implement new ways to evaluate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs at schools, research institutions and community outreach organizations. The grant is being conducted over five years beginning this fall.

"Through this work we hope to significantly enhance our ability to assess the broader impacts of science and science education in the 21st century," Trochim said.

The grant builds upon previous research by Trochim's team that developed evaluation methods and systems for more than 40 education projects at nine pilot sites.

The new grant will refine their methods and technologies and apply them in a wide range of science education sites both in New York state through Cornell Cooperative Extension and nationally through the NSF-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers. Previous sites included the Cornell Center for Materials Research; the Paleontological Research Institution's Museum of the Earth in Ithaca; and Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations in Tompkins, Chenango, Jefferson, Onondaga, St. Lawrence and Ulster counties, and in New York City.

Trochim will work in collaboration with Jennifer Brown Urban, human development Ph.D. '08, who will be based at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

Trochim is a world leader in the field of evaluation research and is the 2008 president of the American Evaluation Association. His research focuses on the use of evaluation and applied social research methods for managing and enhancing science and biomedical research. He has developed new methods for evaluating complex programs, and he created a Web-based technology for developing conceptual maps that use brainstorming, multidimensional sorting and rating to summarize how a group conceptualizes a topic. Trochim conducts research with both the NSF and the National Institutes of Health on the use of systems theory and methods for science management and evaluation.

Sheri Hall is assistant communications director for the College of Human Ecology.