Will Styler

Will Styler is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), where he also serves as Director of the Computational Social Science (CSS) Program. He specializes in computational approaches to speech, speech technologies, and innovative teaching methods in linguistics, with a strong interest in open scholarship, open tools, and the linguistics of internet culture, including memes.

• Current Position: Associate Teaching Professor, UCSD Linguistics (2023–Present)
• Previous Position: Assistant Teaching Professor, UCSD Linguistics (2018–2023)
• Director, UCSD Computational Social Science Program (2022–Present)
• Ph.D. in Linguistics, University of Colorado Boulder (2015)

His research spans acoustic and articulatory phonetics, natural language processing, and pedagogy, with a focus on speech perception, machine learning applications in phonetics, and trauma-informed, equitable teaching practices. He is a strong advocate for open-access educational resources and open-source software in linguistics.

His recent publications reflect a strong trend in computational phonetics, speech processing, and clinical NLP, often combining experimental methods with machine learning. Themes include pause articulation, vowel nasality, coarticulation, and annotation of clinical texts.

Scientific Awards:

• UC San Diego Student Centeredness Award (2024)
• UC San Diego Legacy Lecture Award (2022)
• UCSD Linguistics Graduate Student Recognition of Faculty Excellence (2021–22)
• University of Colorado Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Award (2012–13)

Will Styler has advised numerous doctoral and honors students in linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, and computational social science. He has secured grant funding from NSF and UCSD, focusing on speech perception and detection technologies. He leads the CSS program, mentors capstone projects, and develops open educational tools such as Using Praat for Linguistic Research, Using Unix for Linguistic Research, and the EnronSent Corpus.

He is actively involved in academic service, including as Site Coordinator for NACLO, Faculty Tech Mentor during the pandemic, and Cyber Champion at UCSD. His lab and team work intersect across phonetics, NLP, and social science, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration through the CSS program.