Michael Horn

Biography

Michael Horn is a Professor of Computer Science and Learning Sciences at Northwestern University where he directs the Tangible Interaction Design and Learning (TIDAL) Lab. Michael served as the Program Coordinator for the Learning Sciences PhD Program at Northwestern and is co-Founder of the Joint PhD Program in Computer Science and Learning Sciences. He is also co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction and an associate editor for ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI). Michael's research explores the use of interactive technology in the design of innovative learning experiences. He takes a cautious but optimistic stance towards technology in a process that tightly couples research and design. His work has been exhibited at museums around the world including the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), the Museum of Science (Boston), the Field Museum (Chicago), and the Computer History Museum (Silicon Valley). Michael's research on tangible programming has contributed to the commercial products: Osmo Coding and Kibo Robotics. More recently, Michael's team at Northwestern has created TunePad, a platform for communities of learners to create and share music using Python coding.

Education

• ScB, Computer Science, Brown University, 1997
• MS, Computer Science, Tufts University, 2006
• PhD, Computer Science, Tufts University, 2009

Awards and Honors

• Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University (2025)
• Computer Science Instructor of the Year Award, Northwestern University (2024)
• Daniel Linzer Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Equity—Northwestern University (2023)
• Best Paper Award—ACM CHI Conference (2021)
• Edith Ackermann Award for Outstanding Achievement—ACM IDC Conference (2018)
• Best Paper Honorable Mention Award—ACM CHI Conference (2018)
• First Place Showcase Award—Games Learning, and Society Conference (2016)
• Best Learning Game Nominee—Games for Change Conference (2016)
• Honorable Mention Best Late Breaking Work Paper—ACM CHI Conference (2016)
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2015)
• Best Paper Award—ACM CHI Conference (2015)

Selected Publications 

Roberts, C. & Horn, M. (2025) Computational Thinking and Epistemic Heterogeneity: A Critical Review of Music+Coding. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (online first). https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3749995

Wallace, I. & Horn, M. (2023). The Street Code Project: Computational literacy and the performing arts. In J. Diamond & S.

Rosenfeld (Eds.), Amplifying Informal Science Learning: Rethinking Research, Design, and Engagement (pp. 212-221). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003145387-24

Horn, M.S., Banerjee, A., Brucker, M. (2022). TunePad Playbooks: Designing Computational Notebooks for Creative Music Coding. ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’ 22).

Horn M.S., Banerjee A., West M. (2020) Music and Coding as an Approach to a Broad-Based Computational Literacy. In: Giannakos M. (eds) Non-Formal and Informal Science Learning in the ICT Era. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6747-6_5

Horn, M. & Bers, M. (2019). Tangible Computing. In S.A. Fincher & A.V. Robins (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Computing

Education Research. Cambridge University Press.

Horn, M., Phillips, B., Evans, E.M., Block, F., Diamond, J., Shen, C. (2016). Visualizing biological data in museums: Visitor learning at an interactive tree of life exhibit. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 53(6), 895-918.

Weintrop, D., Beheshti, E., Horn, M., Orton, K., Jona, K., Trouille, L., & Wilensky, U. (2016). Defining Computational Thinking for Math and Science Classrooms. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 1-21.