Emlen Metz

Emlen Metz joined SEPUP in 2022. She grew up in Berkeley, visiting the Lawrence Hall of Science as a child and graduating from Berkeley High in 2005. She earned a B.A. in philosophy and psychology from Swarthmore College in 2009, and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. While at Penn, she conducted research on how attitudes and beliefs about knowledge and science influence reasoning and beliefs among adolescents and adults. She did a postdoc with Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter at UC Berkeley developing assessments and curriculum for an interdisciplinary undergraduate course on scientific critical thinking, adapted for use in universities around the country. Throughout her career, she has been deeply invested in empowering students to develop confidence and competence in reasoning about science and society, teaching elementary, middle, and high school students in a variety of informal settings. She is passionate about giving students experiences that evoke curiosity, collaboration, and hope.