Feminist Anthropologist
Collaborating with communities in science, engineering and technology to broaden participation & enhance civic engagement
In the News
- President Biden Named Coleen Carrigan a Recipient of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Science and Engineering (PECASE)
- Radio IQ—Virginia Public Radio Interview
- Distinguished Lecture at Missouri University of Science & Technology
- Coleen Carrigan Named Copenhaver Fellow
- An Engineering Powerhouse: Meet UVA's Newest Presidential Honorees (Hoos in STEM with Ken Ono)
- Taking on the Tyranny of the Tech Bros (WIRED)
- UVA Book Press Release: 'Cracking the Bro Code' in Computing Cultures
"The point of studying power relations is to change them." – Nancy Hartsock
Coleen Carrigan is a Professor in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia. Using ethnography, her research advances knowledge on the allocation of resources, opportunities and respect in US engineering and computer science. She shares the findings from her research to foster welcoming environments in technological fields and help strengthen alliances between liberal arts scholars, engineers, scientists, activists and policy makers. Her book, Cracking the Bro Code, is available from MIT Press.
A recipient of a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, Carrigan’s research investigates gender, race and social values in computing. In 2025, Carrigan received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Prior to joining the University of Virginia, she was an Associate Professor of Anthropology and STS at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She was also a senior manager in the high-tech industry before on-ramping into academia.
Carrigan’s work is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Public Interest Technology University Network, the Luce Foundation, and the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and has been featured in WIRED, Prism, USA Today, Science, The Seattle Times, LA Times, and Inside Higher Ed.