Christine J. Alvarado
Faculty, Computer Science and Engineering
Associate Dean for Students, Jacobs School
Alvarado works to develop new curriculum and programs for computer science education that engage a wider audience, particularly women. In her position at Harvey Mudd College prior to coming to UC San Diego she co-designed a new introductory computer course, nicknamed CS for Scientists that takes a broad focus on the discipline of computer science. This course along with other programmatic efforts she helped implement has raised the percentage of women in the computer science major at Harvey Mudd College from 12% to around 40%. She is currently experimenting with similar efforts at UC San Diego. Alvarado also works in the field of pen-based interfaces, developing a program called LogiSketch that can recognize and simulate hand-drawn digital circuit diagrams.
Capsule Bio:
Christine Alvarado joined the UC San Diego faculty in 2012. Prior to coming to the Jacobs School of Engineering, she was a tenured associate professor at Harvey Mudd College. She received her undergraduate degree in computer science from Dartmouth College in 1998, graduating summa cum laude. She received her and S.M. and Ph.D. in computer science from MIT in 2000 and 2004, respectively. In 2005 she received an NSF CAREER award. She currently serves on the College Board's commission to design the new AP CS: Principles course, and is a co-chair of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Academic Alliance.
Selected Publications:
