ROBERT POOL, Ph.D. -- a world-renowned author, consultant, and speaker whose areas of expertise include deliberate practice, deliberate practice training and education, and multiple areas of science, technology, and medicine -- combined his history, physics, and mathematics degrees with his love of writing to successfully transition from researcher and mathematics professor to an internationally published author and successful consultant and speaker. He has taught science writing at Johns Hopkins University and has worked as a writer and editor at the world's two most prestigious science publications -- Science and Nature -- and hundreds of his works have been published in the top publications in a variety of fields, publications that include Discover, New Scientist, Science, Nature, Technology Review, Forbes ASAP, Think Research, The Washington Post, FSU Research in Review, MIT Technology Review, and so on.
Dr. Pool co-authored his latest general audience book -- Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016) -- with Anders Ericsson, Ph.D., the world's reigning authority on expertise. Since Peak was released less than two years ago more than two dozen countries have purchased publishing rights, Peak has been translated into dozens of languages, and Dr. Pool has done numerous podcasts and interviews and been hired as a deliberate practice consultant and speaker by companies and groups around the world. His passion for deliberate practice and belief that it can change and better life as we know it has lead to his creation of various Peak Deliberate Practice social media (facebook, twitter, tumblr, pinterest, etc.) as well as a web site -- peakdeliberatepractice.com -- which he is designing to become an interactive community and forum for everyone interested in creating potential through deliberate practice.
Dr. Pool transitioned from academia and working as a professor to entering the field of writing in the newspaper industry, where his work as a business writer and science columnist earned him a number of awards. His work was so impressive, in fact, that it earned him international positions at the two most prestigious science magazines in the world. First he worked at Science, where he served as a research news writer and contributing correspondent. Then he served as news editor at Nature -- during which time he also served as a science writing instructor at Johns Hopkins University -- before becoming a freelance author.
For many years Dr. Pool has provided writing and consulting services for such prestigious groups as the National Academies -- comprising the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) -- which serve (collectively) as the scientific national academy for the United States. He has written hundreds of important books and reports for the academies -- many of them published by the National Academies Press -- covering such topics as homeland security, intelligence and counterintelligence, vaccine safety, transportation safety, pollinator collapse, the obesity epidemic, forensics in the courtroom, literacy and education, etc. These works have made a profound impact on and substantial contribution to the world. (National Academies books and reports influence policy decisions and laws; are instrumental in enabling new research programs; provide independent program reviews; etc.) In addition to books and reports, Dr. Pool has participated in and served as rapporteur/author for numerous national and international think tank and problem-solving workshops and committees and written extensive workshop summary booklets for the Institute of Medicine, the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education at the National Academies, the National Research Council Committee on Long-Run Macro-Economic Effects of the Aging U.S. Population, the National Research Council Committee on Understanding International Health Differences in High-Income Countries, the National Research Council Committee on Population/Panel on Understanding Divergent Trends in Longevity in High-Income Countries, the National Academy of Engineering Committee on K-12 Engineering Education, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for “Technical Revision of Congressional Budget Narrative” for nuclear physics section of the Department of Energy, the Institute of Medicine Committee on the Evaluation of NIOSH's Anthropometric Survey, the National Academy of Engineering Committee on Assessing Technological Literacy, and the National Academy of Engineering Committee for Making the Case for Technological Literacy, among many others. Dr. Pool also provides writing and consulting services for various private sector clients as well as such groups as the Military Suicide Research Consortium, funded by the Department of Defense.
In addition to Peak, Dr. Pool has written many other successful books -- four for a general audience -- including Eve's Rib: Searching for the Biological Roots of Sex Differences (Crown, 1994) -- still relevant to discussions of gender and gender issues two decades after its first release, often quoted/referenced in current publications, and referred to as an important contribution and invaluable resource in our understanding of gender and sex differences in the human brain -- and Beyond Engineering: How Society Shapes Technology (Oxford University Press, 1997) -- which has remained on university required reading lists for more than two decades.
Although Dr. Pool specializes in deliberate practice, deliberate practice training and education, and various areas of science, technology, and medicine, his ability to write in all genres and all fields is proven by the breadth of his work. For example, Dr. Pool has written sections for junior high and high school texts, ghostwritten various articles and books across a wide variety of fields, served as a writing and content consultant for industry newsletters, and written for annual reports, corporate communications, and public relations campaigns. On a fun note, he has even written and published in the field of creative writing, including short stories, poems, and songs.
The following is an abbreviated list -- many clients and projects cannot be included due to trade secrets and confidentiality agreements and most recent works and Peak Deliberate Practice work/engagements have yet to be added -- that includes some of Dr. Pool's consulting jobs and publications, including works for the National Academies:
EDUCATION & ACADEMIA:
--Graduated magna cum laude from Rice University with a B.A. in physics, mathematics, and history
--As graduate student spent year at Princeton with dissertation advisor
--Earned Ph.D. in mathematics from Rice University
--Instructor at Rice University
--Assistant professor at Texas A&M University
DOCTORATE THESIS PUBLICATION:
"Some applications of complex geometry to mathematical physics" -- included in Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society and referenced in dozens of major mathematical and scientific papers and publications.
GENERAL AUDIENCE BOOKS:
(1) Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 2016 (with Anders Ericsson).
(2) Fat: Fighting the Obesity Epidemic, Oxford University Press, New York, 2001.
(3) Beyond Engineering: How Society Shapes Technology, Oxford University Press, New York, 1997. Paperbound version released in 1999.
(4) Eve's Rib: Searching for the Biological Roots of Sex Differences, Crown Publishing, New York, 1994.
MAGAZINE, NEWSPAPER, AND INTERNET ARTICLES:
Well over 200 articles in Discover, New Scientist, Science, Nature, Technology Review, Forbes ASAP, Think Research, The Washington Post, FSU Research in Review, MIT Technology Review, and other publications as well as hundreds more in newspaper and internet articles.
BOOKS/BOOKLETS SUMMARIZING NATIONAL ACADEMIES-SPONSORED WORKSHOPS:
(1) The Interplay Between Environmental Exposures and Obesity, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2016.
(2) Principles and Obstacles for Sharing Data from Environmental Health Research, The National Academies Press, 2016.
(3) Identifying and Reducing Environmental Health Risks of Chemicals in Our Society, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2014.
(4) Bringing Public Health into Urban Revitalization, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2014.
(5) Nexus of Biofuels Energy, Climate Change, and Health, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2014.
(6) Proposed Revisions to the Common Rule: Perspectives of Social and Behavioral Scientists, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2013.
(7) New Directions in Assessing Performance of Individuals and Groups, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2013.
(8) Sociocultural Data to Accomplish Department of Defense Missions: Toward a Unified Framework, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011.
(9) Field Evaluation in the Intelligence and Counterintelligence Context, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011.
(10) Emerging Safety Science: The Biology of Adverse Events, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2008.
(11) Assessing the Medical Risks of Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2007.
(12) Nutrigenomics and Beyond: Informing the Future, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2007.
(13) Contributions of Land Remote Sensing for Decisions About Food Security and Human Health, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2007.
(14) Environmental Contamination, Biotechnology, and the Law: The Impact of Emerging Genomic Information, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 2001.
(15) Ecological Monitoring of Genetically Engineered Crops, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 2001.
(16) Bioinformatics: Converting Data to Knowledge, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 2000.
(17) Finding The Path: Issues of Access to Research Resources, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1999.
(18) Privacy Issues in Biomedical and Clinical Research, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1998.
(19) Intellectual Property Rights and Plant Biotechnology, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1997.
(20) The Dynamic Brain, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994.
NATIONAL ACADEMIES-SPONSORED REPORTS (WRITING/EDITING/CONSULTANT):
(1) Making Value for America: Embracing the Future of Manufacturing, Technology, and Work, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2015.
(2) Messaging for Engineering: From Research to Action, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2013.
(3) U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2013.
(4) Intelligence Analysis for Tomorrow: Advances from the Behavioral and Social Sciences, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011.
(5) Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011.
(6) International Differences in Mortality at Older Ages: Dimensions and Sources, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011.
(7) Conducting Biosocial Surveys: Collecting, Storing, Accessing, and Protecting Biospecimens and Biodata. Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2010.
(8) Tech Tally: Approaches to Assessing Technological Literacy, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006.
(9) Technically Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More about Technology, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 2002.
(10) Exploring Horizons for Domestic Animal Genomics (Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2002).
(11) Bioinformatics: Converting Data to Knowledge (Commission on Life Sciences, 2000).
ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRY:
“The Internet and World Wide Web,” for the Oxford Companion to United States History (Oxford University Press, 2000).
QUOTE:
Quote from Robert Pool regarding nature versus nurture in explaining differences in human behavior in The Columbia World of Quotations (1996) on Bartleby.com
GRANTS:
(1) Research and writing grant for book on the unknown, Sloan Foundation, $125,000, March 2001.
(2) Making the Case for Technological Literacy, National Science Foundation, $59,800, September 2000.
(3) "The Importance of Technological Literacy for Policy Making," National Science Foundation, $59,880.00, September 2000.
(4) Research and writing grant for book on obesity, Sloan Foundation, $126,000, December 1996.
(5) Research and writing grant for book on nuclear power, Sloan Foundation, $125,000, March 1992.
CONSULTING, ETC.:
(1) Consultant/writer/editor for the Military Suicide Research Consortium (funded by the Department of Defense), December 2010 – present.
(2) Consultant/copy editor for the Institute of Medicine, January 2007 – present.
(3) Consultant/copy editor for the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education at the National Academies, March 2011 – February 2014.
(4) Consultant/writer/editor for the National Research Council Committee on Long-Run Macro-Economic Effects of the Aging U.S. Population, December 2010 – March 2012.
(5) Consultant/writer/editor for the National Research Council Committee on Understanding International Health Differences in High-Income Countries, March 2011 – February 2012.
(6) Consultant/writer/editor for the National Research Council Committee on Population/Panel on Understanding Divergent Trends in Longevity in High-Income Countries, July 2009 – August 2010.
(7) Consultant/writer/editor for the National Academy of Engineering Committee on K-12 Engineering Education, February 2008 – January 2009.
(8) Consultant/writer for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for “Technical Revision of Congressional Budget Narrative” for nuclear physics section of Department of Energy budget request, July – October 2008.
(9) Consultant/writer/editor for Institute of Medicine Committee on the Evaluation of NIOSH's Anthropometric Survey, June – December 2006.
(10) Consultant/writer/editor for the National Academy of Engineering Committee on Assessing Technological Literacy, September 2004-January 2005.
(11) Consultant/writer/editor for National Academy of Engineering Committee for Making the Case for Technological Literacy, April 2000 - July 2002.
(12) Consultant/writer/editor for Standards for Technological Literacy, developed by the International Technology Education Association with support from the National Science Foundation and NASA, October 1998-January 2000.
(13) Consultant on technological innovation for CENTRA Technology, Inc. (under contract from the Central Intelligence Agency), December 1999.
(14) Consulting editor on Shots in the Dark: The Wayward Search for an AIDS Vaccine by Jon Cohen, 1998-1999.
(15) Writing and content consultant for three newsletters, Food Chemical News, Food Labeling & Nutrition News, and Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 1996.
DELIBERATE PRACTICE CONSULTANT, WRITING, & EDITING:
Numerous consultant/writing/editing engagements and contracts *(many more details to follow)*, including:
(1) Peaksware (peaksware.com)
(2) Rehearsal (rehearsal.com)
(3) Consultant/writer for Craemer Consulting (Workplace Communication, Organization Development & Leadership Coaching), 2016
PODCASTS/INTERVIEWS/SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS:
Numerous podcasts, interviews, and speaking engagements *(many more details to follow)*, including:
(1) Windcastle Venture Consulting, Startup Geometry Podcast: August 30, 2016: http://bottlerocketscience.blogspot.com/2016/08/robert-pool-is-mathematician-science.html
(2) Speed Secrets Podcast (Calls "Peak" "one of the three most important books ever written.") -- July 27, 2017: https://podtail.com/podcast/speed-secrets-podcast/032-robert-pool-how-to-practice-to-drive-faster/
(3) The Remarkable Leadership Podcast: June 14, 2017: http://remarkablepodcast.com/power-deliberate-practice-robert-pool-53/
(4) Education Week Teacher--April 13, 2016: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2016/04/peak_an_interview_with_anders_ericsson_robert_pool.html
MORE INFO & SITES TO VISIT/FOLLOW:
(The following sites were all created and are managed by Robert Pool, Ph.D. and his wife/collaborator and business partner/Marketing Director, Deanne Laura Pool)
Follow Our "Robert Pool, Ph.D." Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RobertPoolPhD/
Follow Our "Peak Deliberate Practice" Facebook Page (primarily focusing on deliberate practice in general -- from the only deliberate practice expert who has spent two decades learning from and collaborating with K. Anders Ericsson, the scientist who discovered and coined the phrase deliberate practice -- with some discussion of Peak): www.facebook.com/PeakDeliberatePractice
Join Our "Peak Deliberate Practice" Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PeakDeliberatePractice/
Follow Our "Peak the Book" Facebook Page (primarily focusing on "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise") : www.facebook.com/deliberatepractice
Visit & Join Our Regularly-Updated Website: www.peakdeliberatepractice.com. This web site -- published so far in beta form, without any focus yet on design aspects, so that everything can be tweaked and recommendations considered -- is a growing major website devoted to all aspects of deliberate practice, with detailed advice about ways to improve in various areas, reporting on advances in the field, interviews with expert performers, personal stories of individuals who have successfully applied deliberate practice in their own lives, videos, and more.
Visit Our "Peak" Website: www.peakthebook.com
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