Tanmay Sinha is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, with an interdisciplinary background in computer science, artificial intelligence, and learning sciences. He earned his doctorate from ETH Zürich, Switzerland, and previously served as a Postdoctoral Scholar and Executive Director of the ETH-EPFL Joint Doctoral Program. His research delves into the emotional and cognitive processes in technology-supported learning environments, with over 2,100 citations, h-index 21, and numerous peer-reviewed publications. Tanmay’s work spans across multimodal learning analytics, emotion regulation, and productive failure in STEM education. He is recognized for his scholarly contributions through several best paper awards and research fellowships. His career reflects a strong commitment to integrating rigorous research with impactful teaching and learning design. With global academic exposure across the USA, India, and Europe, Tanmay actively contributes to reshaping education with theory-driven, tech-enabled learning innovations rooted in cognitive and affective sciences.
Profile
Scopus
Scholar
🎓 Education
Tanmay Sinha holds a Doctor of Sciences (Dr. Sc.) in Learning Sciences from ETH Zürich (2017–2021), where he explored emotion and cognition in education. He obtained a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence from Carnegie Mellon University’s Language Technologies Institute (2014–2016), backed by a full Graduate Research Assistantship. His B.Tech. in Computer Science was earned from the Vellore Institute of Technology (2010–2014), where he engaged in research at leading institutions including Carnegie Mellon and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. He has participated in numerous prestigious academic workshops and schools, such as the Alan Turing Centenary Year Workshop, ISSAS, and the Prague Summer School on Education. His educational journey integrates deep technical expertise with human-centered learning science, equipping him with a rare interdisciplinary lens. These formative academic experiences underpin his research interests in multimodal learning analytics, problem-solving, and AI-powered educational technologies designed for meaningful learning.
💼 Experience
Tanmay Sinha currently serves as a Tenure-track Assistant Professor at NTU Singapore (from July 2023). Prior to this, he was Executive Director of the ETH-EPFL Joint Doctoral Program in Learning Sciences (2021–2023), where he developed program strategy and stakeholder coordination. He also worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar at ETH Zürich (2021–2023), where he led original research, mentored Ph.D. students, and taught graduate-level courses. He has previously held research positions supported by prestigious assistantships at institutions like Carnegie Mellon and EPFL. His professional journey reflects a progression from hands-on AI development to strategic academic leadership and rigorous learning sciences research. Across these roles, he consistently bridged technology with pedagogy, contributing to impactful STEM education innovations. His cross-continental experiences in the USA, Europe, and Asia strengthen his global perspective and ability to lead transformative learning initiatives through interdisciplinary collaboration and applied research.
🏅 Awards and Honors
Tanmay Sinha has received numerous prestigious honors, including Best Paper and Best Student Paper Awards at EC-TEL (2017) and IVA (2016), and winner of a shared task at EMNLP (2014). He has been selected for elite programs like ISSAS (Switzerland, 2022), CIRCLS Emerging Scholar (USA, 2021), and the ACM Turing Award Celebration as a SIGCHI student representative (2017). He earned competitive fellowships from ETH Zürich, CMU, Microsoft, NSF, and more, totaling over $150,000 in research and conference funding. As a reviewer, he was listed in the Top 1% Cross-Field Reviewers on Publons (2018). His extensive participation in interdisciplinary workshops across Europe, Asia, and the USA underscores his global academic engagement. These recognitions highlight his scholarly impact, leadership potential, and collaborative spirit. They also affirm his standing as a leading voice in technology-enhanced education, artificial intelligence in learning, and affective computing in the learning sciences.
🔬 Research Focus
Tanmay Sinha’s research lies at the intersection of learning sciences, artificial intelligence, and emotional-cognitive processes in education. He explores the dual roles of emotions in learning—particularly regulation strategies like shame in problem-solving contexts—through multimodal learning analytics. His second major line of research focuses on productive failure and scaffolding in STEM education, emphasizing technology-enhanced, theory-driven learning design. With ~2100 citations and a growing impact (h-index 21), his publications span top-tier journals such as Journal of the Learning Sciences, Learning and Instruction, and Educational Psychology. He also contributes open-source tools for emotion research democratization. Tanmay’s work addresses how instructional interventions, emotional dynamics, and learning mechanisms interact to foster resilience, transfer, and conceptual understanding. His forward-looking vision involves integrating AI with pedagogical principles to design adaptive, affect-aware learning systems, and to reimagine educational experiences that are both intellectually rigorous and emotionally supportive.
📝 Conclusion
Dr. Tanmay Sinha demonstrates a stellar academic trajectory, with a high-impact research record, international leadership experience, and innovative interdisciplinary scholarship in the Learning Sciences. His work bridges cutting-edge AI with educational theory and practice, positioning him as a rising global thought leader in educational technology and pedagogy. With continued development in outreach, grant leadership, and broader public engagement, he is highly deserving of the Best Researcher Award and will likely remain an influential figure in the years to come.
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