Marina Umaschi Bers

Marina Umaschi Bers is the Augustus Long Professor of Education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Computer Science and is affiliated faculty at the Schiller Institute for Science and Society.12

Dr. Bers is a pioneer in the field of early childhood computer science and technology education. She directs the interdisciplinary Developmental Technologies (DevTech) research group, which she founded in 2001 at Tufts University before moving to Boston College in 2022.13

Some key highlights of her work and achievements include:

• Co-creator of ScratchJr, a free programming language used by over 52 million children worldwide1
• Creator of the KIBO robotic kit, which allows young children to learn coding without screens or keyboards1
• Author of six books on education, technology, and child development1
• Content director for the PBS animated series "Work It Out, Wombats!" focused on computational thinking for preschoolers3
• Recipient of prestigious awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 20051
• Elected fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2022 and the National Academy of Education in 20231

Dr. Bers received her undergraduate degree from Buenos Aires University in Argentina, followed by a Master's in Education from Boston University and an MS and PhD from the MIT Media Laboratory.1

Her research focuses on designing and studying innovative learning technologies to promote children's positive development, with a particular emphasis on computational thinking, coding, and engineering in early childhood education.24