Neil T. Heffernan (born June 1970 in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
) is a professor of
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
at
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1865, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now h ...
. He is known for his role in the development of the
ASSISTments online learning tool and app, which assists students with homework and classwork while helping teachers assess where to focus instructional time in mathematics, and is used by over 50,000 students a year in the US. His work gained prominence when a ''New York Times Magazine'' story by Annie Murphy Paul featured ASSISTments and Heffernan's research with the tool.
Early life and education
Heffernan obtained a bachelor's degree in
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
and
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
at
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
, and a doctorate in
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
from
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...
. His doctoral advisers were
Kenneth Koedinger and
John Robert Anderson.
Career
Following his doctoral studies, Heffernan worked as Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor at
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1865, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now h ...
, establishing the
Learning Sciences research group in the Computer Science Department at WPI and the Learning Sciences and Technology graduate program at WPI.
See also
*
Learning Sciences
*
Kenneth Koedinger
*
John Robert Anderson
References
External links
Heffernan's personal page at Worcester PolytechnicASSISTments app
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffernan, Neil T.
1970 births
Living people
American computer scientists
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Worcester Polytechnic Institute faculty
Human-Computer Interaction Institute faculty