James Lester
Goodnight Distinguished University Professor in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
lester@ncsu.edu
James C. Lester is the Goodnight Distinguished University Professor in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at North Carolina State University. He is the Director of the Center for Educational Informatics and the Director of the National Science Foundation AI Institute for Engaged Learning. His research centers on transforming education with artificial intelligence. His current work ranges from AI-driven narrative-centered learning environments and virtual agents for learning to multimodal learning analytics and sketch-based learning environments. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, four Best Paper Awards, and the International Federation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems Influential Paper Award. At North Carolina State University, he has been recognized with the Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award, the Outstanding Teacher Award, and the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, and the Army Futures Command. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI).