I am an associate professor at Carleton College in Computer Science, as well as the chair of the Computer Science Department at Carleton. I completed my Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, and was advised by Professor Tom Griffiths.  My recent work has been most concerned with how to apply machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques to improve education. My projects have included developing algorithms to automatically diagnose students' understanding from their actions as well as more applied projects related to improving chemistry learning in the classroom. If you want to see some of these algorithms in action, check out Emmy's Workshop, a website I developed with my collaborators to help people practice their algebra skills. Check out the Research and Links sections above to learn more. In the past, I've also worked in natural language processing.

Part of the reason my research focuses on teaching and learning is because of my enjoyment of teaching and working with students. Courses I have taught include intro to computer science (CS111), data structures (CS201), mathematics of computer science (CS202), programming languages (CS251), computability and complexity (CS254), machine learning (CS320), artificial intelligence (CS321), and computational models of cognition (CS328). I also advise senior comps projects during some years.

If you're a student at Carleton and interested in learning about my research, have questions about computer science, or have anything else you want to talk about, please come to my student hours or email me to set up a time to chat. I generally recruit research students for the term in the first week of the term or at the end of the previous term via emails to the CS interest list and CS majors; the CS interest list is open to all interested Carleton students. Some terms I am unable to take additional research students.

In addition to teaching in the classroom, I've enjoyed working with programs intended to improve access to science and math education, especially those aimed at underrepresented groups. In the past, I have taught science to girls ages 6-14 at an after school program run by Girls Inc. I have also been involved in volunteering at Expanding Your Horizons events and with the Women in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering association at Berkeley.