Owen Astrachan

Owen Astrachan is a Professor of the Practice in the Department of Computer Science at Duke University, where he has taught for over 25 years. Before joining Duke, he spent seven years teaching high school. He is known for his efforts to redesign Duke's introductory computer science course to attract a diverse range of students from various backgrounds. Additionally, he leads the Computer Science Principles project, which aims to engage previously uninterested students in computing.Dr. Astrachan holds a PhD in Computer Science and a Master of Arts in Teaching (Mathematics), both from Duke University. He has received numerous accolades for his teaching, including an NSF Career award and the ACM Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award for his contributions to computer science education.On Coursera, he offers several courses focused on Java programming, including "Java Programming: Arrays, Lists, and Structured Data," "Java Programming: Build a Recommendation System," and "Programming Foundations with JavaScript, HTML and CSS." His courses are designed to make programming accessible and engaging for learners at all levels. Through his work, Owen Astrachan continues to inspire future generations of computer scientists and broaden participation in the field.