Karene Chu

Karene Chu serves as the Assistant Director of Education and Research Scientist at MIT's Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, where she has made significant contributions to digital learning initiatives. After receiving her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Toronto in 2012, she completed postdoctoral fellowships at both the University of Toronto/Fields Institute and MIT, specializing in knot theory and quantum invariants. In 2015, she transitioned to become a digital learning lab fellow at MIT, where she has since played a pivotal role in developing and managing the MicroMasters Program in Statistics and Data Science. Her educational impact includes co-authoring the MITx Calculus Series, which became a Top 10 edX course in 2016, and leading the development of a five-course series on differential equations. She is also a key instructor in MIT's Machine Learning with Python course alongside Regina Barzilay and Tommi Jaakkola. Her teaching excellence was first recognized at the University of Toronto, where she received a teaching award for her work in single and multi-variable calculus and linear algebra. As part of MIT's edX group, she collaborated with colleagues to earn the inaugural MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs, demonstrating her commitment to advancing digital education and making complex mathematical concepts accessible to learners worldwide.