Leah Perlmutter

Dr. Leah Perlmutter is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Grinnell College, focusing on inclusive pedagogy and student belonging in post-secondary CS education. She earned her Ph.D. (2023) and M.S. (2020) in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington, and her B.A. (2012) in Computer Science and Engineering from Colby College.

Her research examines how course policies and teaching assistant interactions impact student inclusion in computer science, with a particular emphasis on resubmission opportunities and justice-centered approaches to teaching. Her work also includes human-robot interaction projects like GestureCalc (an eyes-free calculator for touchscreens) and EMAR (a social robot for emotional clarity support).

Recent publications explore themes such as algorithmic ethics in education, student belonging in CS, and accessible interface design. She received the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2017) and the Outstanding Female Engineer Award (2018). At Grinnell, she teaches courses like Functional Problem Solving, Software Design, and Algorithms, Ethics, and Society.