Jakita O. Thomas, Ph.D., is the co-founder of Pharaoh’s Conclave (PCX), a tech company that prepares youth for eSports careers. Dr. Thomas is also co-founder of PCX’s non-profit arm, PCX GO!, which builds on PCX’s mission of pioneering eSports education through capacity building around eSports career pathways. Dr. Thomas is a graduate of digitalundivided’s BIG Incubator as well as the YC Startup School, and she is currently in the inaugural cohort of the Google for Startups Atlanta Founder’s Academy. PCX is also a Microsoft Startup.
Dr. Thomas is a Philpott Westpoint Stevens Associate Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University in Auburn, AL. Dr. Thomas is also Director of the CUltuRally & SOcially Relevent (CURSOR) Computing Lab. Her research interests include exploring the development of computational algorithmic thinking, Intersectional Computing promoting access to healthcare information and services for under-served populations, improving reasoning using expert cases, scientific reasoning, complex cognitive skills learning, and computer-supported collaborative learning.
She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer & Information Science with a minor in Mathematics from Spelman College in 1999. In 2006, Dr. Thomas was conferred a Ph.D. in Computer Science with a specialization in the Learning Sciences and Technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA, where she was a Presidential Fellow, National Physical Science Consortium Fellow, tutor, mentor, and Research Assistant.
Prior to her current position at Auburn University, Dr. Thomas was a member of the Computer & Information Science faculty at Spelman College (2010 – 2016), where she was awarded the Spelman College Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Junior Faculty Member (2013) as well as the Spelman College Presidential Award for Scholarly Achievement by a Junior Faculty Member (2015). Dr. Thomas was also Research Staff Member in the Service Design and People and Practices groups at IBM Research – Almaden in San Jose, CA (2005 – 2010). Dr. Thomas is a member of the International Society of the Learning Sciences, Association of Computing Machinery, Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, African-American Ph.Ds in Computer Science, Upsilon Pi Epsilon Computer Science Honor Society, and Golden Key National Honor Society.
Dr. Thomas is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award (2012 – 2019). She is also a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) (2016). Dr. Thomas has been awarded Dr. Thomas has received over $700k in funding to support her research.