Revolutionizing STEM Education: Google’s Dr. Kamau Bobb Renews Focus

Dr. Bobb is the son of immigrants from Guyana. For newly independent countries in the Global South, he saw the importance of STEM education as a necessary step toward national development and economic sovereignty. In the United States he has seen how this translates into black communities. Motivated by this education, he became a respected leader in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education.

Today it is a key player in improving education. Dr. Bobb is director of research and strategy for STEM education at Google. He is also the founder and senior director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech, but he sees a problem: The booming tech economy promises a bright future, but many students in the United States are not well prepared. Second National bulletinonly 26% of public school students are proficient in eighth grade math, and 31% are proficient in reading.

Bobb believes the solution is to change the way we think about the structure of education, and that STEM education plays a central role. It is clear that public education cannot solve this problem alone. The correlation between race, class, and achievement has been largely fixed since the middle of the last century. As the end of the first quarter of the 21st century approaches, new actors and new approaches are required.

Dr. Bobb is committed to organizing and advocating for new approaches focused on the fundamental challenge of achieving educational justice. He was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of Spelmann College, as reported in a GlobeNewswire article. Dr. Bobb aims to make positive, lasting changes by being part of groups at the frontier of educational progress.

Dr. Bobb’s true impact lies in his commitment to educational equity in STEM, as highlighted in lemelson.org. She has worked hard to understand the deep connections between STEM disciplines, school systems, and the functioning of society in the United States.

In an age where people often only talk about someone’s accomplishments based on the merit of their successes, Dr. Bobb’s way of doing things is different, in a good way. In a Press release, talked about how he disagreed with the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling because he believed it would not bring justice to education. Dr. Bobb doesn’t just want to work with the current system; he wants to improve. He believes in the need to guarantee real opportunities for everyone, especially those who are often forgotten by society.

Dr. Bobb will never stop trying to open up new possibilities for others, while speaking out against rules that hold the public back and actively working to discover ways in which those previously disadvantaged can succeed through education. Dr. Bobb’s thoughts are made clear in interviews with publications such as IdeaMenschdemonstrating that we know that what’s to come isn’t just about more technology, but about using technology to help the next generation move forward.