About Dr. Kelly
Dr. Kelly is an Assistant Professor of Technology, Design, and Engineering Education in the Department of STEM Education in the College of Education at NC State University where he has served since 2023. Dr. Kelly also serves as the graduate program coordinator for Technology and Engineering Education and is affiliated with the Engineering Education Program, a joint venture with the College of Engineering. Prior to his current position, he was an Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology and STEM education at Texas Tech University. Dr. Kelly also served as a Teaching Assistant Professor in Technology Education at NC State after completing his doctorate in 2017.
Dr. Kelly is a proud Wolfpack alumnus having earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from NC State, both in Technology Education. He also received his bachelor’s degree in physics from the State University of New York (SUNY) Potsdam. Dr. Kelly is a veteran of the US Navy where he served as an electronics technician.
Research
Dr. Kelly’s research is focused on increasing access to STEM education for students who are historically underrepresented in Technology and Engineering fields and improving academic outcomes for students who are already in academic pathways and are at high risk if not completing their education. This manifests itself in both K-12 and higher education settings. In K-12 settings, Dr. Kelly focuses on engagement and access for students with limited or no access to high-quality STEM education activities. Dr. Kelly is primarily focused on children in foster care and youth involved with the criminal/juvenile justice system. He received a National Science Foundation CAREER grant award to work with incarcerated and justice-involved youth to combine programming and robotics activities with social and emotional learning to increase STEM educational access and interest with the goal of reducing recidivism.
In higher education, Dr. Kelly works with students in engineering graphics courses to increase their skills and efficacy in foundational engineering practices to increase persistence and engagement in engineering education and career pathways. His current project uses artificial intelligence (AI)—through machine learning and computer vision—to provide formative feedback and assessment for students in large-format classes and when instructors are not available. Dr. Kelly also researches methods by which engineering instructors can increase the levels of self-efficacy among their students.
Personal
Dr. Kelly is a proud former foster kid and works hard to de-stigmatize the issues that arise from the trauma of being a child in non-parental custody, which includes justice-involved youth, and addressing the educational barriers that result from being removed from the home. This has implications across his career and personal life and has led Dr. Kelly to write a book about his experiences as a teenager, start a housing project for homeless former foster youth, found the Journal of Foster Care (the only dedicated academic journal dedicated to the subject in the United States), and use the resources and exposure that comes with being a university professor to try to make quality education accessible for all, regardless of background.
Dr. Kelly is also a proud parent of a wonderful daughter (as of November 2024) and enjoys the challenges of being a dad while working (often simultaneously), and loves spending as much time as possible with family.