Demetra Evangelou

Prof. Evangelou has research and policy experience in educational research and policies that lead to the advancements of technological and scientific literacy.
She is credited with introducing the concept of Developmental Engineering, a new area of research and education that explores engineering and human development. In 2011 she was awarded by President Obama the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) which is the “the highest honor bestowed by the US Government on Science and Engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research career.” The award citation read “for outstanding research into how early experiences can lead children to pursue engineering later in life and for working with teachers from diverse schools to develop new teaching materials and methods that can help students become innovative and more technologically literate.”
Prof. Evangelou is actively involved in research including, but not limited to, early childhood antecedents of engineering thinking, developmental factors in engineering pedagogy, technological literacy and human-artefact interactions.  The research is cross-disciplinary involving active collaborations with colleagues from Education, Psychology and Engineering. Prof. Evangelou has served on the faculty of Aristotle University and the University of Thessaly. She holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and is a member of several scientific and professional societies, including the Sigma Xi Science Honor Society.  In 2009 she was awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER Award.