He has received two Presidential Distinguished Service Awards, the Secretary of State’s Career Achievement Award, the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He most recently served as director of the Center for Complex Operations at the National Defense University. consul general in Jerusalem principal deputy to the ambassador-at-large for the Newly Independent States director of the Office of Independent States and Commonwealth Affairs director of regional affairs in the Near East Bureau and at the embassies in Tel Aviv, Moscow, and Saudi Arabia. Ambassador Herbst previously served as U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2000 to 2003. Prior to his ambassadorship in Ukraine, he was the U.S. Department of State, retiring at the rank of career minister. Ambassador Herbst served for thirty-one years as a foreign service officer in the U.S. Klopfer is also the co-founder and past President of the non-profit Learning Games Network ( John Herbst is the director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council. His work has been funded by federal agencies including NIH, NSF and the Department of Education, as well as the Gates Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Tata Trusts.
He is the co-author of the books, “Adventures in Modeling”, “The More We Know”, and the recently released “Resonant Games”, as well as author of “Augmented Learning.” His lab has produced software (from casual mobile games to the MMO The Radix Endeavor) and platforms (including StarLogo Nova and Taleblazer) used by millions of people, as well as online courses that have reached hundreds of thousands. Much of Klopfer’s research has focused on computer games and simulations for building understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
His work uses a Design Based Research methodology to span the educational technology ecosystem, from design and development of new technologies to professional development and implementation. He is also a co-faculty advisor for MIT’s J-WEL World Education Lab. He is the Head of the department of Comparative Media Studies and Writing. Eric Klopfer is Professor and Director of the Scheller Teacher Education Program and The Education Arcade at MIT.