Robert Reys has made many contributions to the mathematics education community, most notably his studies of number sense, calculator use, and estimation in elementary school mathematics.
Reys began his career as a mathematics teacher at Horton Watkins High School in Ladue, Missouri. He has taught mathematics education courses at the University of Missouri since 1966. He has also been a visiting professor in Georgia, Canada, and Japan and was a Fulbright Fellow in Mexico and Sweden. Reys's work has earned him a widely recognized international reputation.
"Reys's scholarship, teaching, and professional service comprise an enviable record of achievement in the field of mathematics education," wrote one nominator. "He has tackled important problems with energy and insight."
Reys has nearly 200 articles published in scholarly journals and has written or edited more than 30 books. He was an adviser for
Research Within Reach
for elementary and secondary school mathematics. In addition, Reys has served the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) as general editor of five yearbooks and coedited another yearbook. He has served on several committees and was a member of one of the first two NCTM interpretive teams to examine, summarize, and report results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics.
His involvement in mathematics education extends beyond NCTM. Reys was also president of the Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics, a board member for the School Science and Mathematics Association, chair of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) special interest group for research in mathematics education, and he chaired a task force of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators to develop guidelines for doctoral preparation in mathematics education.
Today Robert Reys is a Curators' Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Missouri, where he was awarded the Faculty Research Award, Citation of Merit from the College of Education, and the University of Missouri Faculty Alumni Award.