A recognized thought leader in applying Black feminist epistemologies as a critical framework for computing education and human-computer interaction.
Dr. Yolanda A. Rankin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Emory University and the director of the DETOUR Lab. Her scholarship establishes Black feminist epistemologies as a critical framework for computing education and human-computer interaction.
As Principal Investigator, Dr. Rankin supervises all research activities — including facilitating the lab's sister circles, training graduate students in the qualitative analysis of those circles, and providing the resources that make community-centered research possible, from transcriptions and equipment to meals for every gathering.
Her work reframes intersectionality not as a buzzword but as an analytical lens, asking how the design, teaching, and practice of computing can honor the lived experiences of those it has historically excluded. Through projects like Designing the Afroverse for Black Women, she advances a vision of technology built with and for underserved communities.
Black feminist thought in HCI · intersectionality and computing education · participatory and qualitative methods · broadening participation in computing · digital experiences and games · community-centered design.
Rankin, Y. A. (PI).
Rankin, Y. A. NSF Racial Equity in STEM Early Career Award (#2239445 / #2422606).
Thomas, J. O. & Rankin, Y. A. NSF CISE EAGER Collaborative (#2240328 / 2420678).
Rankin, Y. A. (PI). NSF Building Capacity in STEM Education Research, BCSER (#1937759).
Rankin, Y. A. (PI). NSF EAGER and Cyberlearning (#1757397).