HCII To Welcome New Faculty in August
News
The HCII will add three assistant professors to its world-class faculty in August, when Geoff Kaufman and Chinmay Kulkarni will join the community and John Stamper will transition from his systems scientist role.
Kaufman, who earned a Ph.D. in computer science at The Ohio State University, joins Carnegie Mellon via Dartmouth, where he's currently a postdoc at the college's Tiltfactor game design and research laboratory. His research focuses on how fictional, simulated and mediated experiences can build interpersonal understanding and empathy, reduce stereotypes and prejudice, and inspire higher levels of social consciousness and civic engagement. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from CMU.
Kulkarni recently received a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University, where his research allowed him to create tools and techniques that enable students to learn better through interactions with peers, both in online and traditional class environments. He served on the Program Committee of the new ACM conference on Learning @ Scale, and was recognized as a 2014 Siebel Scholar.
Stamper joined the HCII's research faculty in 2009 as a systems scientist after earning his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research efforts at CMU have focused on using big data from educational systems to improve learning. He is also the lead researcher behind the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center (PSLC) DataShop — the world's largest central repository for data on the interactions between students and educational software, and a suite of tools to analyze that data.
Both Kulkarni and Stemper will be part of CMU’s Simon Initiative, a strategic, university-wide commitment to harness learning science research and the latest in technology in order to improve learning outcomes for all students.
Stamper's appointment will be effective in August, when Kaufman and Kulkarni will also arrive on campus.