Dr. Christopher Emdin is the Robert A. Naslund Endowed Chair in Curriculum Theory and a Professor of Education at the University of Southern California. He also serves as the Director of Youth Engagement and Community Partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center. Additionally, he holds the position of Scholar/Griot in Residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Previously, Dr. Emdin served as the Associate Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education and the Director of the Science Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Dr. Emdin is an alumni fellow at the Hip-hop Archive and Hutchins Center at Harvard University. He has also served as a STEAM Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State and as a Minorities in Energy Ambassador for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Dr. Emdin holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education with a concentration in Mathematics, Science, and Technology. He has earned Master's degrees in Natural Sciences and Education and Bachelor's degrees in Physical Anthropology, Biology, and Chemistry.
He is widely known as the creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement, Science Genius BATTLES, and the CREATE Accelerator. Time magazine recently recognized him as one of the 27 people bridging divides in the United States, and he has been listed in the Root 100 as one of the most influential African Americans.
Dr. Emdin is an accomplished author with numerous award-winning works to his name. Notable among them are "Urban Science Education for the Hip-hop Generation," which received awards, and the New York Times bestseller "For White Folks Who Teach In the Hood and the Rest of Y'all Too."