As TERC celebrates more than 50 years in STEM education, we are especially grateful to our founder, Arthur H. Nelson, who passed away in 2015.
Nelson was a noted entrepreneur, passionate about innovation, technology, and education. He led the organization in its early days and served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees until 2013. Originally, the acronym TERC stood for Technical Education Research Centers—a title that encompassed the technical and vocational education endeavors of the organization at the time. We’ve come a long way since then. Now we are solely known as TERC, and our project research and development extend across all areas of STEM education, serving K-12 classrooms, museums, afterschool programs, community colleges, adult education centers, universities, and other research institutions.
Organizational Structure
TERC comprises a dedicated team of more than 100 staff members based all around the United States. Approximately 60 percent of these staff members hold advanced degrees across a range of disciplines, and many of them have achieved national and international recognition for their contributions to their individual fields as well as educational research, curriculum development, and professional development. We share the common goal of transforming STEM education, making STEM more accessible to all learners, and igniting passion for lifelong learning.