Dr. Michael Dee Piburn, 80, died on June 22, 2020. Michael received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, at Davis in 1961 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1967, both in geology. He joined Rutgers University with a joint appointment in geology and education in 1967. In education, he served as the Director of a national curriculum project, Time, Space and Matter, as well as the Director of the Earth Science Institute for Secondary Teachers, both funded by the National Science Foundation. At Rutgers, he served as chairman of the Department of Science and Humanities Education from 1980-1983. In 1987, he joined the faculty of Westminster College of Salt Lake City to be near his wife Dr. Dale R. Baker where he was the director of secondary education.

In 1989, both Dr. Piburn and Dr. Baker were recruited to ASU to serve as director of graduate education and department chair respectively, as well as to create a science education Ph.D. Dr. Piburn served as editor, along with Dr. Baker of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching from 2001-2006. Dr. Piburn retired from ASU as Professor Emeritus in 2004 and went on to the National Science Foundation to serve as a program officer for a year.

Dr. Piburn's research in geology and education took him all over the world including Mexico, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Costa Rica and Turkey. His best known work, the RTOP (Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol), has been translated and used in hundreds of countries around the world. Other areas of research include logical reasoning and problem solving in science, cognitive and affective factors in learning science, and visualization in earth science (i.e. the Hidden Earth Project). He has received awards and recognition for his research published in Science Education, from NARST (a worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research), the Northern Rocky Mountain Educational Research Association and a Professional Research Award from the Alumni Association of Rutgers University.

Dr. Piburn is survived by his wife, Dale Baker, a son, daughter and two grandchildren. No services will be held. Contributions in his name can be made to the Justice Project or the Innocence Project. (Source: Arizona Republic)