Sepehr Vakil is an associate professor of Learning Sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University and the faculty director of the Technology, People, and Policy M.S program and the Technology, Race, Ethics, and Equity in Education (TREE) Lab. He is also currently serving as Senior Adviser on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative to the Spencer Foundation. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of STEM Education and the Associate Director of Equity & Inclusion at the Center for STEM Education at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his PhD in the Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology program at UC Berkeley and his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA.Dr. Vakil is a leading voice on equitable approaches to tech education, innovation and workforce development, diversity and equity in computer science and engineering education, and AI ethics and literacy. He has received funding from an array of sources spanning the federal government (National Science Foundation), philanthropic foundations (Spencer Foundation), and private industry (Google). He is currently PI on an NSF Racial Equity grant focused on educational justice in STEM education for Black families in Evanston, Illinois. Read more about this project here and about Dr. Vakil’s work with local schools and community organizations in Chicago in the Summer 2022 issue of SESP Magazine.
Dr. Vakil’s commitment to advancing equity extends beyond academia. He actively participates in a range of consulting and policy advisory roles. Examples of his leadership include co-leading the Spencer Foundation’s research convening on Equity and AI in education, serving as a senior advisor to ECEP Illinois (Expanding Computing Education Pathways), serving on two National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) committees, and serving on the advisory board for the Kapor Foundation’s Ethical AI and Tech Justice initiative.
Research Interests
STEM education (computer science and engineering education), technology ethics and policy, politics of educational equity and justice, cultural processes in learning, global and international STEM and engineering education. Broadly interested in the role of culture, identity, emotion, humor, storytelling, and creativity in learning and development.Awards, Honors, and Service
2024 – Senior Advisor to the Spencer Foundation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Initiative
2024 – Appointed to Northwestern University’s Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Steering Committee
2022 – Appointed to the National Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) committee on equity in preK-12 STEM education
2022 – Jan Hawkins Award for Early Career Contributions to Humanistic Research and Scholarship in Learning Technologies, AERA Division C
2020 – Alumnae Curriculum Innovation Award
2018 – NSF CAREER Award
2018 – NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship
2015 – Thomas I. Yamashita Foundations for Social Change Prize
Education
2016 – PhD, Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology University of California Berkeley2007 – M.S, Electrical Engineering University of California Los Angeles
2006 – B.S, Electrical Engineering University of California Los Angeles