Nilanjana Dasgupta

Nilanjana Dasgupta is Provost Professor of Psychology and founding Director of the Institute of Diversity Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology and neuroscience from Smith College and a Master’s degree and PhD in social psychology from Yale University. She is a leader in research on implicit bias and diversity science, applying it to complex social problems, and moving seamlessly between lab and real-world settings. She enjoys applying the tools of science to understand complex real world social issues: Why does something happen? When does it happen? Does it affect different people differently--if so, why? For social problems, what interventions make a positive difference? How long do the benefits endure? She likes weaving together science with stories of ordinary people to humanize results. And she likes metaphors. She thinks they clarify complicated ideas. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health and featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, London Times, National Public Radio, Wired, Slate, PBS News Hour, ABC News, Boston Globe, Scientific American Mind, and more. She received the Hidden Bias Research Prize from the Kapor Foundation, Application of Personality and Social Psychology Award from the Society for Personality & Social Psychology, and the Chancellor’s medal for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity.