News
YW Tech Lab Project: The AUX
7/1/2023
Completed the design and development of a new website for The AUX through the YW Tech Lab, led by a studio-based student web development team.
NSF BRAID Grant Awarded
9/1/2023
Serving as a Co-PI on an NSF BRAID grant supporting research on neuromorphic systems and their broader societal and ethical impacts, with undergraduate students contributing to research and public-facing work.
YW Tech Lab Project: Answer the Moment
8/1/2022
Completed the first YW Tech Lab website, Answer the Moment, designed and built by a student web development team.
Joining UNC Asheville
7/1/2022
Joined the UNC Asheville Computer Science Department as an Assistant Professor, teaching and mentoring students in software engineering, web development, and computing ethics.
Racial Equity & Community Partnership Grant Recipient
5/27/2022
Received a 2022 Racial Equity & Community Partnership Grant to support and expand the YW Tech Lab web design apprenticeship program.
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina Asheville. As an educator, I develop and teach courses in human-computer interaction, web development, software engineering, introductory programming, and computing and data ethics. As a researcher, I design and study educational interventions that aim to broaden participation in computing, and help emerging computer scientists recognize and engage with the societal and ethical implications of their work. I also build computational tools that support civic advocacy and citizen science initiatives.
Prior to joining UNCA, I was an Assistant Professor of Instruction at Northwestern University, where I co-directed the TREE Lab with Sepehr Vakil. My Ph.D. is from the UC Berkeley School of Information, where I was advised by Tapan Parikh, and worked with Kris Gutiérrez, Paul Duguid, and Coye Cheshire. Before academia, I worked as a software designer/developer, building data and communication systems to support public accountability for city and regional development projects.
Teaching & Course Design
UNC Asheville
A survey of the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in society. The course examines the values, design choices and tradeoffs that AI-powered systems make across a range of contexts, situations, and stakeholders. For undergraduate students (all majors).
| 2024-2025 | Fall |
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The study of data structures, some of the efficient algorithms that use them, and how to represent and implement them in Java. For CS majors and minors.
| 2022-2023 | Fall |
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A studio-based software development course where students work as a development team building software for a client, operating under technical, organizational, and time constraints. The course focuses on learning tools and techniques while delivering value to clients by understanding their needs, navigating constraints, and making informed tradeoffs throughout the development process.
| 2025-2026 | Spring (with Prof. Kevin Sanft) |
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Through this course, students learn how to select between different visual displays of information, assess the usability and effectiveness of data interfaces, communicate data insights through clear, compelling narratives, and understand the possibilities and challenges of using interactive data tools to inform public planning.
| 2025-2026 | Fall |
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Northwestern University
Introduction to the fundamental constructs of computer programming (using Python). Students author animations, games, and data-driven interfaces while exploring various computational principles. For undergraduates (all majors).
An exploration of the benefits and harms (individual, cultural, political) of computing technologies; and an examination of the values, ideologies, and contexts through which computing technologies emerge. For undergraduate and master's students.
Berkeley City College
Explores front-end, interactive programming concepts using JavaScript. This including working with HTML5 browser APIs (audio, canvas), working with front-end frameworks (e.g., p5.js, Angular, React), and working with REST APIs from third-party providers.
| 2017-2018 | Fall (Web App Focus with Ricky Holtz) |
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| 2016-2017 | Fall (Animation focus) |
An introduction to Web design with HTML, CSS, and WordPress for community college students.
| 2016-2017 | Summer |
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REALM Charter High School
High School Sociology course designed to help tenth grade students learn about their communities using design and data analysis methods (qualitative and quantitative).
| 2013-2014 | Spring (with Sepehr Vakil and Tapan Parikh) |
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UC Berkeley
An introduction to the fundamentals of data structures and data analysis (in Python) for Master's students.
| 2011 | Summer (Lecturer) |
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| 2013 | Spring (Graduate Teaching Assistant) |
Scholarship
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles & Conference Proceedings
- Lanouette, K., & Van Wart, S.J.Science and Children 63 (1), 53-64
- Lanouette, K., Van Wart, S.J., & Parikh, T.S.Journal of Science Education and Technology 34 (2), 215-235
- Chávez, V. & Van Wart, S.J.Proceedings of the 17th International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS)
- Van Wart, S.J., Lanouette, K., Parikh, T.S.Journal of the Learning Sciences 29 (1), 127-153
- Lanouette, K., Van Wart, S.J.Proceedings of the conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), pp. 553-556
- Lanouette, K., Van Wart, S.J., & Parikh, T.S.Proceedings of the conference on International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), Vol. 1, pp. 570-577
- Van Wart, S.J., Vakil, S., & Parikh, T.S.Proceedings of the conference on Innovation & Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), 123-128
- Van Wart, S.J., Tsai, K.J., & Parikh, T.S.Proceedings of the First ACM Symposium on Computing for Development (ACMDEV), 123-128
Peer-Reviewed Workshop Papers & Posters
- Lanouette, K., Van Wart, S.J., & Parikh, T.SAnnual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Van Wart, S.J., Vakil, S., & araujo melo, n.American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- araujo melo, n., Reith, A., Nober, B., Van Wart, S.J., & Vakil, S.Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- (in alphabetical order) araujo melo, n., Bhadriraju, S., Elliot, S., Logan, C., Mehta, B., Reith, A., Vakil, S., Van Wart, S., Voelkel, G., Watson Jr., C., Wetoska, N., & Williams, T.Connected Learning Summit
- Irgens, G. A., Simon, K., Wise, A., Philip, T., Olivares, M. C., Van Wart, S.J., … & Kahn, J.International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Vol. 1, pp. 406-413
- Matuk, C., Yoon, S., Polman, J., Barton, J., Bulalacao, N. M., Cafaro, F., & … Woods, P.International Conference of the Learning Sciences, Vol. 1, pp. 343–349
- Van Wart, S.J., Lanouette, K., & Parikh, T.S.Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Van Wart, S.J.International Conference on International Computing Education Research (ICER), 281-282
- Van Wart, S.J. & Parikh, T.S.International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS), 1589-1590
- Van Wart, S.J. & Parikh, T.S.Geographic Human-Computer Interaction (GeoHCI) Workshop at SIGCHI, 1-3
Other Publications
- Soep, E., Lee, C., Van Wart, S.J., Parikh, T.S.Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination: Case Studies of Creative Social Change, 89-99
- Koy, K., Van Wart, S.J., Galey, B., O'Connor, M., & Kelly, M.PE&RS, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing 77 (6), 546-550
Contact
To contact me, please email me at svanwart@unca.edu.