Mary Urquhart

Mary Urquhart is the Department Head and Associate Professor in the Department of Science/Mathematics Education at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). She holds a PhD in Astrophysical, Planetary, and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder, with prior academic roles including NASA postdoctoral fellowships at JPL and NASA Ames. Her research spans planetary science (thermal properties of planetary regoliths, astrobiology) and STEM education innovation, focusing on teacher training, curriculum design, and educational technology.

• Professional Affiliations: Director of UTeach Dallas, President of UTeach STEM Educators Association, Texas Space Grant representative.
• Leadership: Head of SME since 2011; PI/co-PI on NSF grants (Robert Noyce Scholarships, computational thinking projects).

Her educational work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, including the Scaffolded Training Environment for Physics Programming (STEPP) and Google Earth Geoscience Video Library (GEGVL). She has led large-scale projects like the CINDI mission E/PO program and the Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science Teaching.

Awards include the Eisenhower Clearinghouse Digital Dozen Award (1997) for her early Mars curriculum. Her outreach initiatives span K-12 teacher training, Women in Physics camps, and public science engagement via comic books and eclipse events. Current focuses include sustainable physics education models and broadening participation in STEM.