Our Personal Story: Andy diSessa

Andy is a Professor of the Graduate School in the Berkeley School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has worked for many decades. Among many academic accomplishments and honors, he is a member of the National Academy of Education. Andy has devoted his adult life (and some of his childhood) to loving, studying, and understanding physics. He has researched how children learn and how their intuitive knowledge may be a fundamental resource, rather than an impediment, in reaching expert understanding.

He began developing Boxer while at the Logo Lab (part of the AI Lab) at MIT in the 1970s and has worked with many graduate students, classroom teachers, and their students to perfect this “computational medium” for the purposes of building (1) scientific understanding, (2) broad intellectual competence and confidence, and (3) personal engagement and expression.

In 2021, he formed and is the President of the Andrea A and Melinda M diSessa Family Foundation to support wide dissemination of Boxer Sunrise and to build a community of developers and users.

The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) entity and donations are entirely tax deductible. We welcome inquiries about the Foundation and donations.