Dr. Andrew Begel

Andrew Begel is an Associate Professor in the Software and Societal Systems Department at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior to this, he spent over 16 years as a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research in Redmond, WA, USA. Andrew received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2005. His goal is to create inclusive workplaces where all people can be successful, without discrimination, especially those with disabilities and the neurodivergent. His research uses AI and HCI to increase the accessibility of technology for those with physical and cognitive disabilities. His most recent work has been to study and help people on the autism spectrum obtain employment and facilitate social interaction, to help blind software developers collaborate with their sighted colleagues, and to use affective computing and biometrics (including eye tracking) to better understand how software developers do their work.

Andrew runs the NSF-funded PAS4AI Workforce project to teach AI and teamwork skills to autistic community college students across the USA and then gets them summer internships where they can gain practice experience. He also runs the EdASE video game coding camp, which for the past four years has educated autistic high school students in programming and teamwork skills. Andrew founded and co-organizes the annual Neurodiversity at Work Research Conference. He also founded the Southern Great Lakes Region Neurodiversity at Work Hub, which connects autistic job seekers with employers, service providers, state, governments, educators, and researchers in the Western PA, OH, IN, MI area. He is a Distinguished Member of the ACM.