Mark Guzdial elected AAAS Fellow

Mark Guzdial, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. This honor recognizes Guzdial’s outstanding and lasting contributions to advancement of computing education through research, innovation, and a commitment to broadening participation in computing fields.

Elected annually by the AAAS Council from across scientific disciplines, AAAS Fellows represent a select group of individuals whose efforts in research, teaching, technology, administration, and service have significantly advanced the application and understanding of science. Guzdial’s election to this distinguished group highlights his leadership in transforming how computing is taught and learned, both at U-M and beyond.

A long-time leader and innovator in computing education, Guzdial’s research focuses on understanding how students learn computing and developing strategies to make computing education more effective and inclusive. He was instrumental in developing the Media Computation approach, which contextualizes programming within disciplines like digital media and the arts to engage students who might not otherwise envision themselves in technical fields. This approach has been widely adopted and has influenced how introductory computing courses are designed worldwide. Guzdial has also contributed substantially to the Expanding Computing Education Pathways alliance, supported by the NSF, which helps states improve and diversify access to computing education. His recent research explores how computing can be integrated into various disciplines and is leading the development of “teaspoon languages” designed to facilitate incremental learning of programming concepts.

Guzdial has been central to the development of the Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences (PCAS) in U-M’s College of LSA, which aims to broaden accessibility to computing by integrating into various disciplines, including the arts, humanities, and social sciences. PCAS offers innovative courses that teach computing skills through the lenses of creative expression and scientific discovery, making these skills more accessible and relevant to a wider range of students. Enrollment in PCAS courses has grown significantly since the program’s launch in 2022, reflecting its success in attracting students from diverse academic backgrounds.

These pioneering efforts have earned Guzdial numerous awards and distinctions, including being named a Fellow of the ACM and as well as an ACM Distinguished Educator. He received the IEEE Computer Society Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2012 and the ACM SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education in 2019.

A U-M alum, Guzdial completed his PhD in Education and Computer Science and Engineering in 1993. He then worked as a professor at Georgia Tech for 25 years, where he began his record of transforming how non-technical students engage with computing through curricular innovations like Media Computation. He joined the faculty at U-M in 2018, where he has continued his vision of further integrating computing into diverse disciplines.

“I am deeply honored to be recognized as an AAAS Fellow,” said Guzdial. “I look forward to continuing my work to make computing education more inclusive and impactful, so that students from all backgrounds can harness the power of computing to innovate in their fields.”