Jim Thomas

Jim Thomas is a computer scientist in his second decade of creating computer games that provide safe, enriching environments in which children can learn and practice social skills. This work builds on the Graduate Research Fellowship received from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to complete his doctoral thesis to establish a framework to use Artificial Intelligence to tutor learners in virtual environments. Dr. Thomas helped create Zoo U and is leading the development and scientific evaluation of Zoo Academy, as the Principal Investigator of the NSF award for the Artificial Intelligence advances that power the tutoring within that game.

Education: BA, mathematics, University of Virginia – Masters of Engineering, computer science, University of Virginia – PhD, computer science, artificial intelligence, North Carolina State University.