Thomas Woodson

I grew up going to church. My father is a pastor and my mom was the worship director. At a young age, about 6, I recognized that some of my behavior, such as lying, fighting with my brothers, and being selfish, displeased God and caused me to be separate from him. However, I learned that through Jesus’s death and resurrection, he bridged the gap between me and God so that we could have a full relationship. After I put my trust in Jesus, God helped me re-oriented my life around him as opposed to my own desires. Of course, a 6-year-old has a limited understanding of deep spiritual issues, but as I got older, I learn more about being a follower of Jesus. During college, I grappled with questions about my value. Does my value come from going to a top university, having a fancy job, and earning a lot of money? After reading and reflecting on the Bible passage Luke 12:22-32, I slowly started to accept that my value does not come from worldly success, but my value comes from God. He loves and cares for me. Since college, I still struggle with placing value in the wrong things. As a professor, it is easy for me to overvalue research and be selfish with “my time” at the expense of helping others. I can also be timid to talk about my faith for fear of being marginalized. However, God is constantly helping me follow his will and find ways to love him and love others.

My Life

My undergrad alma mater

Princeton University

My worst subject in school

French

Current Research

I investigate the effects of technology on inequality throughout the world and the causes/consequences of inclusive innovation. For the past several years I have studied the effectiveness of scientific funding to have broader impact, and ways to improve diversity in STEM fields