Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize Jury Members

Nora S. Newcombe is the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology at Temple University and currently serves as Editor of Psychological Science in the Public interest, an APS journal. Her research focuses on spatial cognition and development, as well as the development of autobiographical and episodic memory. Dr. Newcombe is the author of numerous chapters, articles, and books, including Making Space with Janellen Huttenlocher (published by the MIT Press, 2000).

Dr. Amy Margolis is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University and Head of Strategy for the Learning and Development Research Initiative at the Child Mind Institute. She specializes in developmental neuroscience, focusing on how environmental factors influence brain development. Dr Margolis leads research that explores the impact of environmental chemical exposures on cognitive development in children, with the goal of uncovering mechanisms that could inform interventions for cognitive and learning disorders. A dedicated clinician and researcher, she is committed to advancing knowledge at the intersection of developmental psychology, environmental neuroepidemiology, and learning disability research.

Isaac M. Mbiti is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. He is also a research affiliate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Jameel Abdul Latif Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), the Institute for Labor Economics (IZA), and the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD). He serves as a scientific director at JPAL Africa and is also a co-editor at the Journal of Human Resources. His research focuses on African economic development with particular interest in examining the role of education policies such as free primary education and teacher performance pay programs, as well as the potential for new innovations and technologies to spur the development process.

Jaime Saavedra is the Director of Human Development for Latin America and the Caribbean of the World Bank. Previously, he led the institution’s Global Education Practice and was Global Director for Poverty Reduction. Between 2013 and 2016 he served as Minister of Education of Peru. Dr. Saavedra holds a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Universidad Católica of Peru. He has also held teaching positions at Universidad Católica of Peru, Universidad del Pacifico, and Harvard University. He has been the Executive Director of Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE), a leading think tank in Peru. He is currently a board member of Teach for All, the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel, and the International Institute for Educational Planning for the UNESCO.

Kenneth A. Dodge is the William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023), he is a leading researcher on aggression and violence prevention in children. He is the founding director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, and he is also the creator of Family Connects International. His work, including the evidence-based Family Connects Program, focuses on early intervention to prevent violence’s costly consequences for children and their communities. In addition, he also gained wide recognition for his work with the Parenting Across Cultures (PAC) initiative.

Marcus Hasselhorn is Director of the Center of Education and Human Development, Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF) in Frankfurt. His research focuses on educational psychology, differential developmental psychology and special education. He leads projects on learning disabilities and is interested in the possibilities of changing and influencing cognitive learning prerequisites as well as in early education and school readiness.

Pierre Dillenbourg is professor in learning technologies in the School of Computer & Communication Science, and Associate Vice-President for Education at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Along with EPFL colleagues, he launched the Swiss EdTech Collider in 2017, an incubator with 80 start-ups in learning technologies. He co-founded 5 start-ups, does consulting missions in the corporate world, and joined the board of several companies or institutions. In 2018, he co-founded LEARN, the EPFL Center of Learning Sciences that brings together local initiatives in educational innovation.