Christopher J. MacLellan

Assistant Professor

College of Computing and Informatics

Drexel University

christopher.maclellan@drexel.edu Curriculum Vitae

Research Statement

Teaching Statement

Who I Am

I am an assistant professor at Drexel University where I work to better understand how people teach and learn and to build AI systems that can teach and learn like people do.

I used to be a lead scientist at Soar Technology, Inc. where I develop novel Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies for use by end users.

I got my PhD from the Human Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University where I was advised by Ken Koedinger.

Before coming to CMU, I was a graduate student in Computer Science at Arizona State University where I worked with Pat Langley and Jami Shah.

I also completed my bachelor degree in Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Wyoming where I did work with Ruben Gamboa and Siguna Mueller

What I do

I use artificial intelligence and machine learning to model how humans teach, learn, and solve problems. I use these models to better understand human teaching and learning, and to facilitate and guide the design of new technologies.

My recent work explores the development of computational models that can learn like people do. I am investigating how end-users can leverage these models to teach cognitive systems new capabilities, similar to how they would teach another person.

I am also interested in how computational models can be used in other areas, such as supporting designers in being more creative and helping people to better understand and improve their personal fitness.