We are pleased to announce that Dr. Sami Kahn  has joined us as Executive Director of the Council on Science and Technology (CST) effective July 1, 2019. She will work to advance the CST’s mission of promoting scientific literacy for all through interdisciplinary course development, STEM education research, and outreach.  An award-winning STEM educator, teacher educator, and author, she uses her background in science education and law to inform her research and scholarship on inclusive science practices, socioscientific issues (SSI), argumentation, and social justice.  With over thirty years of experience in STEM teaching and learning, Dr. Kahn has authored numerous journal articles and has co-authored four books on enhancing scientific inquiry experiences for learners of all ages.  She frequently serves as an invited speaker at national and international conferences and holds leadership positions with the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), as well as editorial positions for two peer-reviewed journals and an international book series. She is particularly proud of her recently-published co-edited/authored book entitled, Towards Inclusion of All Learners Through Science Teacher Education (Brill, 2018) and her sole-authored book entitled, It’s Still Debatable! Using Socioscientific Issues to Develop Scientific Literacy, K-5 (NSTA Press, 2019) which uses controversial societal issues related to science as the context for developing an informed, participatory, STEM-literate citizenry.  Other recent efforts include moderating a New York Times panel on teaching, learning, and reporting about science in times of public mistrust, serving as a research mentor to emerging STEM education scholars in South and Southeast Asia for the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), and spearheading NSTA’s new position statement on gender equity.  In addition, Ohio Magazine recently named her as an Excellence in Education Honoree in recognition of her efforts as a university-level educator.

Dr. Kahn holds an M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Rutgers University, a J.D. in Law from Rutgers School of Law, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Science Education from the University of South Florida where she served as a Presidential Doctoral Fellow.  Prior to coming to Princeton, Dr. Kahn held positions at Ohio University, Rutgers University, and Collegiate School in New York City.