Michael Hacker is Co-director of the Center for STEM Education Research at Hofstra University and serves as the PI of the NSF DR K-12 Project Simulations and Modeling for Technology Education (SMTE).
He formerly served as a classroom teacher, department supervisor, and university teacher educator. As the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Supervisor for Technology Education, he co-managed the development of the New York State Standards for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, and led the development and implementation of innovative middle and high school curricula that now serve as national models. For over 45 years, technology education has been at the core of his professional life and he has co-directed ten large-scale National Science Foundation (NSF) projects that advance K-14 STEM education.
Hacker attended public schools in New York City, was graduated from Stuyvesant High School, received his Bachelors and Masters degrees and administrative certification from the City College of New York, and is pursuing Doctoral studies (ABD) at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva Israel.
He is a member of the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) Academy of Fellows, is a Distinguished Technology Educators, received the Epsilon Pi Tau Distinguished Service Citation; the ITEEA Award of Distinction, and State Supervisor of the Year award; and the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers Mathematics and Science Education Award.
Hacker has authored five secondary school textbooks, numerous journal articles, and contributed to and edited several national and international conference proceedings and books. He has been a consultant to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the British Technology Enhancement Project, and to various state education departments and technology education professional organizations. He has served repeatedly as an NSF expert panel reviewer, and has directed several international NATO-sponsored conferences focused on technological education. He was a member of the writing team for the NSF-funded national Standards for Technological Literacy.