Eleanor O’Rourke

Eleanor O’Rourke is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University, holding a joint appointment in Computer Science and the Learning Sciences. She co-directs the Delta Lab, focusing on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, AI, and educational systems.

Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Washington (2016), MS from the University of Washington (2012), and BA in Computer Science and Spanish from Colby College.

Research Interests:

• Design of technology-enabled learning experiences
• Educational games and playful learning
• Growth mindset interventions
• Real-time classroom data visualization

Awards:

• Google Anita Borg Scholarship
• Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship
• Best Paper Awards at ICER 2024 and CHI 2012

Grants & Advising:

• Funded by NSF (CAREER, CRII, Cyberlearning) and Google
• Advises Ph.D. students in CS, Learning Sciences, and joint programs

Labs & Impact: Co-leads the Delta Lab, developing tools like Ply (web inspector) and Brain Points (growth mindset incentives). Interventions have reached 100,000+ students globally.