As Executive Director of the Council on Science and Technology (CST) at Princeton, Dr. Sami Kahn works to advance the CST’s mission of promoting scientific literacy for all through quality interdisciplinary course development, robust STEM education research, and creative programming.  An award-winning STEM educator, teacher educator, and author, she uses her background in science education and law to inform her research and scholarship on inclusive science practices, socioscientific issues (SSI), argumentation, and social justice.  

With over thirty years of experience in STEM teaching and learning, Dr. Kahn has authored/co-authored numerous journal articles and four books on enhancing scientific inquiry experiences for learners of all ages. Her recent efforts have included a co-edited/authored book entitled, Towards Inclusion of All Learners Through Science Teacher Education (Brill, 2018) and a sole-authored book entitled, It’s Still Debatable! Using Socioscientific Issues to Develop Scientific Literacy, K-5 (NSTA Press, 2019) which uses controversial societal issues related to science as the context for developing an informed, participatory, STEM-literate citizenry.  Other recent efforts include moderating a New York Times panel on STEM teaching and learning in times of public mistrust, serving as a research mentor to emerging STEM education scholars in Thailand for the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), and spearheading NSTA’s position statement on gender equity.  In addition, Ohio Magazine named her as an Excellence in Education Honoree in recognition of her efforts as a university-level educator.

Prior to coming to Princeton, Dr. Kahn served as Assistant Professor of Science Education at Ohio University (promoted to Associate Professor with tenure), with earlier appointments at Rutgers University, University of South Florida, and Collegiate School in New York City.  Dr. Kahn holds an M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Rutgers University, a J.D. in Law from Rutgers School of Law, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Science Education from the University of South Florida where she served as a Presidential Doctoral Fellow.