Stephen Rainwater, PH.d.—Computer Science Representative

Steve Rainwater is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Tyler. His professional career spans thirty years as a teacher of computer science and mathematics at the high school, community college, and university levels…the last twenty-five years as a faculty member at U.T. Tyler. Over the course of this time, he has taught more than twenty-five undergraduate and fifteen graduate courses. His research interest has primarily focused on the effectiveness of using low/no-cost software tools and techniques for teaching concepts in computer science.

In addition to ISTE, Dr. Rainwater’s professional leadership has included service as President of the Texas Computer Education Association, President of the East Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics, program co-chair of the 1988 NCTM Southwestern Regional Conference, and mathematics section chair of the Texas Academy of Science. His professional organization affiliations include ISTE, ISTE SIGCT, ACM, ACM-SIGCSE, and Phi Delta Kappa. At U.T. Tyler, he has served as President of the Faculty Senate and director of an NSF-funded undergraduate research program which endeavors to increase the number of underrepresented minority students pursuing careers in STEM fields. In 2006, Dr. Rainwater was recognized with the UT-System Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award.

Dr. Rainwater holds a doctorate in education from Texas A&M University-Commerce as well as graduate degrees in computer science and mathematics. His doctoral dissertation researched the predictive effects of community college student characteristics on academic achievement in computer science at the university level.