Robert Wechsler began studies in biochemistry and molecular genetics in his hometown, Ames, Iowa. Later he studied dance and choreography at the State University of New York in Purchase and New York University. He completed his dance education with Merce Cunningham and worked together with various New York troupes. For his choreography he has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship (1983) and a stipend from the Marshall Fund (1984). In order to bring their shared interests in science and art closer together, dancers and musicians, a lighting designer, a biochemist, and a physician formed a group in 1982: Palindrome was founded. Since 1988 Wechsler has been living in Nuremberg, continuing his choreographic work, and teaching at the Universität Erlangen, among other places. Since 2004 he has been associate professor for digital medias and performance at Doncaster University in England.
In 2005 he participated in Talking Bodies at the Forum Neues Musiktheater.