Katie Spoon

Research Interests

Computational social science — big data, administrative records, surveys, networks, text analysis

Social inequalities — in education, careers, health, and their policy implications

Science of science — faculty retention, workforce development, institutional prestige

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — marginalized experiences in science, backlash to DEI, policy

Deep learning — AI for social good, computer vision, natural language processing

Education

Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder2020 – 2025

Advisors: Aaron Clauset & Dan Larremore

Dissertation: Quantifying Systemic Inequities in the Training and Retention of Professors

M.A. in Education Policy, University of Colorado Boulder2022 – 2024

Advisor: Kevin Welner

Thesis: Quantifying Inequitable Education Pathways to STEM Careers

M.S. in Computer Science, Indiana University Bloomington2018 – 2019

Advisors: David Crandall & Katie Siek

Thesis: Detecting Dyslexia in Handwriting Using Neural Networks

B.S. in Computer Science with highest honors, Minor: Math, Indiana University Bloomington2015 – 2019

Selected Employment

Data Science Fellow and New Map of Life Fellow2025 –

Stanford University, Stanford Data Science and Stanford Center on Longevity (Stanford, CA)

Data Science Fellow via Coding it Forward; 80 fellows selected from 4,500+ applicationsJune – Aug 2024

U.S. Census Bureau, Enhancing Health Data Group (Remote)

Graduate Research Assistant2024 – 2025

National Center for Women & Information Technology (Boulder, CO)

Research EngineerJune 2019 – Aug 2020

IBM Research, Artificial Intelligence Hardware Group (San Jose, CA)

Honors & Awards

Achievement Reward for College Scientists, ARCS Foundation2024 – 2025

$7,500 award of “unrestricted funding to create new knowledge & innovative technology”

Rising Star in Data Science, UC San Diego, UChicago, and Stanford2024

“Celebrating and fast-tracking the careers of exceptional data scientists”

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship2021 – 2024

$37,000/year and tuition for three years of graduate school

National Center for Women in Technology Collegiate Award2019

$10,000 award “recognizing technical contributions to projects with high innovation & impact”

Provost’s Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, Indiana Univ.2019

Mathematics & Natural Sciences winner, one of five categories total

Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year, Indiana Univ.2019

Emerging Research Scholar, Center of Excellence for Women & Technology, Indiana Univ.2015 – 2016

Publication & Presentation Awards

Annual Outstanding Research Paper, Univ. Colorado2024

Bell Family Endowed Computer Science Award, “recognizing outstanding research”, Univ. Colorado2024

Research Expo Winner, Univ. Colorado2024

Publication Recognition Award, Univ. Colorado2023

Best Poster Award, International Conference on Machine Learning2019

Highlighted Proposal, Global Challenges Workshop, Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition2019

Exemplary paper in social and interdisciplinary sciences, Science Advances2023

Publications

* contributed equally † listed alphabetically ° mentee coauthor

In Preparation

Backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts among faculty2024

K. Spoon, °J. Mendy, L. Ekpe, and L. A. Rivera. Draft available upon request.

The elite undergraduate backgrounds of U.S. professors2024

*K. Spoon, *E. Lee, A. Clauset, D. B. Larremore. Draft available upon request.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Devaluation underlies gendered U.S. faculty departures across disciplines and institutionsPaper2026

K. Spoon, °J. Mendy, °M. Martinez, M. Galesic, D. B. Larremore, A. Clauset, L. A. Rivera. PNAS Nexus.

Book bans in political context: Evidence from U.S. public schoolsPaper2024

† *M. S. O. Goncalves, *I. Langrock, *J. LaViolette, *K. Spoon. PNAS Nexus.

Gender and retention patterns among U.S. facultyPaper2023

K. Spoon, N. LaBerge, K. H. Wapman, S. Zhang, A. C. Morgan, M. Galesic, B. K. Fosdick, D. B. Larremore, and A. Clauset. Science Advances.

Annual Outstanding Research Paper, 2024 · Bell Family Endowed Computer Science Award, 2024 · Publication Recognition Award, 2023

Towards software-equivalent accuracy on transformer-based deep neural networks with analog memory devicesPaper2021

K. Spoon, H. Tsai, A. Chen, M. J. Rasch, S. Ambrogio, C. Mackin, A. Fasoli, A. Friz, P. Narayanan, M. Stanisavljevic, and G. W. Burr. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience.

Noise-resilient DNN: Tolerating noise in PCM-based AI accelerators via noise-aware training2021

S. Kariyappa, H. Tsai, K. Spoon, S. Ambrogio, P. Narayanan, C. Mackin, A. Chen, M. Quereshi, and G. W. Burr. IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

Peer-Reviewed Conference Papers

NSF EHR Core Research: Exploring faculty accountability within departmental change efforts2025

W. M. DuBow, H. Thiry, K. Spoon. ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.

Mushroom-type phase change memory with projection liner: An array-level demonstration of conductance drift and noise mitigation2021

R. L. Bruce, et al. [including K. Spoon]. IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS).

Fully on-chip MAC at 14nm enabled by accurate row-wise programming of PCM-based weights and parallel vector-transport in duration-format2021

P. Narayanan, et al. [including K. Spoon]. Symposium on VLSI Technology.

Neuromorphic computing with phase change, device reliability, and variability challenges2020

C. Mackin, et al. [including K. Spoon]. IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS).

Reducing the impact of phase-change memory conductance drift on the inference of large-scale hardware neural networks2019

S. Ambrogio, M. Gallot, K. Spoon, H. Tsai, C. Mackin, M. Wesson, S. Kariyappa, P. Narayanan, C. C. Liu, A. Kumar, A. Chen, and G. W. Burr. 65th IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM).

Ranked 2nd / 98 papers

Peer-Reviewed Workshop Papers

Accelerating deep neural networks with analog memory devices2020

K. Spoon, S. Ambrogio, P. Narayanan, H. Tsai, C. Mackin, A. Chen, A. Fasoli, A. Friz, and G. W. Burr. International Memory Workshop.

Can we (and should we) use AI to detect dyslexia in children’s handwriting?Paper2019

K. Spoon, D. Crandall, K. Siek, and M. Fillmore. AI for Social Good Workshop, NeurIPS.

Towards detecting dyslexia in children’s handwriting using neural networksPaper2019

K. Spoon, D. Crandall, and K. Siek. AI for Social Good Workshop, International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML).

Best poster award

Book Chapters

Accelerating deep neural networks with analog memory devices2022

K. Spoon, S. Ambrogio, P. Narayanan, H. Tsai, C. Mackin, A. Chen, A. Fasoli, A. Friz and G. W. Burr. In Machine Learning & Non-Volatile Memories. Ed. C. Zambelli, Springer.

Essays and Perspectives

Most US book bans target children’s literature featuring diverse characters and authors of colorOp-ed2024

K. Spoon. The Conversation.

Gendered devaluation and retention among U.S. faculty2024

K. Spoon and A. Clauset. Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) News 2, 7–10.

Dissertation

Quantifying systemic inequities in the training and retention of professors2025

K. Spoon. University of Colorado Boulder.

Grants

Quantifying the origins and impacts of book bans in U.S. schools, $1,5002022

PI, with Isabelle Langrock (co-PI), Jack LaViolette (co-PI) and Marcelo S. O. Goncalves (co-PI)

Russell Sage Foundation & Social Science Research Council

Travel Funding

Conference Support Fellowship, CU Boulder, $2,0002024

Graduate Student Travel Grant, CU Boulder, $4502024

Graduate Student Travel Grant, CU Boulder, $4502023

Summer Institute in Computational Social Science, full travel funding2022

CVPR Global Challenges Workshop, full travel funding2019

ICML AI for Social Good Workshop, travel scholarship & registration fee waiver2019

NCWIT annual conference, full travel funding2019

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, full travel funding2016

Presentations

Health across the life course

IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Amsterdam, Talk2026

Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Brussels, Talk2026

Sociological Science Conference, Palo Alto, Talk2026

Data-Intensive Research Conference, Minneapolis, Talk2026

Gendered retention patterns in academia

SCL Futures Project Convening, Invited Talk2025

NCWIT, Invited Talk2025

Rising Stars in Data Science Workshop, Talk and Panel2024 & 2025

Association for the Study of Higher Education, TalkNov 2024

University of Colorado Boulder Academic Leadership Conference, Invited TalkAug 2024

Athena Fellowship for Girls in STEM Panel, Invited TalkAug 2024

International Conference on the Science of Science & Innovation, TalkJuly 2024

Kilpatrick Group, University of Colorado Boulder Applied Mathematics, Invited TalkApr 2024

Academic Analytics Research Center, Invited TalkSlidesFeb 2024

University of Colorado Boulder Computer Science Research Expo, PosterFeb 2024

Expo Winner

University of Colorado Boulder Office of Faculty Affairs, Invited TalkDec 2023

International Conference on Computational Social Science, PosterSlidesJuly 2023

Atlanta Conference on Science & Innovation Policy, TalkSlidesMay 2023

Women in Network Science & Diversify NetSci Satellite, TalkJuly 2022

International Conference on Computational Social Science, TalkJuly 2022

International Conference on the Science of Science & Innovation, TalkJune 2022

Science and innovation policy

Atlanta Conference on Science & Innovation Policy, undergraduate sessionSlides2025

Atlanta Conference on Science & Innovation Policy, grants sessionSlides2025

Measuring community-level risk of declining healthcare access

Coding it Forward Public Technology Showcase, Talk [12 fellows selected]Aug 2024

Quantifying inequitable education pathways to scientific and technical careers

Association for the Study of Higher Education, TalkNov 2024

International Conference on the Science of Science & Innovation, TalkJuly 2024

American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, PosterApr 2024

Quantifying the origins and impacts of book bans in U.S. schools

International Conference on Computational Social Science, TalkJuly 2023

The elite undergraduate backgrounds of U.S. professors

International Conference on Computational Social Science, PosterJuly 2022

International Conference on the Science of Science & Innovation, PosterJune 2022

Accelerating deep neural networks

International Memory Workshop, Invited TalkMay 2020

Towards detecting dyslexia in children’s handwriting using neural networks

American Handwriting Analysis Foundation, Invited TalkNov 2019

AI for Social Good Workshop, NeurIPS, PosterDec 2019

AI for Social Good Workshop, ICML, PosterPosterJune 2019

Best poster award

AI for Social Good Workshop, ICML, TalkJune 2019

Computer Vision for Global Challenges Workshop, CVPR, TalkJune 2019

Teaching

Guest Lectures, Univ. ColoradoFall 2024

PHIL 2800: Ethical Puzzles and Moral Conflicts

Professional Development Teaching Assistant, IBM ResearchFall 2019

IBM Research Upskilling Class on Deep Learning

Designed and gave mini-lectures; held office hours

Lead Graduate Assistant Instructor, Indiana Univ.Fall 2018; Spring 2019

CS C343: Introduction to Data Structures & Algorithms

Designed lab activities, homework assignments, test questions, in-class activities; led lab sections; held office hours and study sessions; evaluated projects, homework and tests; managed a staff of 12 teaching assistants

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Indiana Univ.Spring 2018

CS C343: Introduction to Data Structures & Algorithms

Led lab sections; held office hours and study sessions; evaluated projects, homework and tests

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Indiana Univ.Fall 2016 – Fall 2017

CS C241: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science

Led lab sections; held office hours and study sessions; evaluated projects, homework and tests

Research Mentoring

Joanna Mendy2022 – 2023

Univ. Colorado Sociology & Political Science undergraduate student (2022); Information Science graduate student (2023)

Project: Gendered devaluation underlies faculty retention

Maria MartinezSummer 2022

Univ. Colorado School of Education graduate student

Project: Gendered devaluation underlies faculty retention

Swag DasSpring 2022

Univ. Colorado Computer Science undergraduate student

Project: Beliefs about why women leave academia

Jordan RoosSpring 2022

Univ. Colorado Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student

Project: Academic fields with fewer women are more stressful

Service

Graduate & Family Housing Resident Council Secretary & Treasurer2024 – 2025

CU Computer Science PhD Application Mentor2020 – 2025

You’re @ CU Research Program Graduate Student Mentor2022

McNair Scholars Graduate Student Mentor2021 – 2022

CU Engineering Mentor for Underrepresented First-Year Undergraduates2020 – 2022

Lead Ambassador, IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing & Engineering2016 – 2019

Software Development Intern, Serve IT Nonprofit Technology Clinic2016 – 2017

Reviewer for: Behaviour Research and Therapy, eLife, The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, Research Policy, Social Policy & Administration

Additional Employment

Research AssistantSep 2017 – June 2019

Indiana University Computer Vision Lab (Bloomington, IN)

Research InternSummer 2018

IBM Research, Artificial Intelligence Hardware Group (San Jose, CA)

Research InternSummer 2017

MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Machine Learning Group (Boston, MA)

Research AssistantAug 2016 – Sep 2017

Indiana University Kelley School of Business (Bloomington, IN)

Research AssistantSummer 2016

NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (Bloomington, IN)

Professional Activities

Atlanta Academy on Science and Innovation Policy at Georgia Tech2024

Selected participant. Funded by Georgia Tech School of Public Policy.

Summer Institute in Computational Social Science at Duke University2022

Selected participant. Funded by the Russell Sage Foundation.

Grad Cohort for Women Workshop, Computing Research Association (CRA)2021

Selected participant. (Remote)