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Elaine Schaertl Short Receives the CRA Skip Ellis Early Career Award

Elaine Schaertl Short Receives the CRA Skip Ellis Early Career Award

Elaine Schaertl Short

AccessComputing is excited to celebrate co-PI Elaine Schaertl Short on receiving the Computing Research Association’s 2026 CRA Skip Ellis Early Career Award!

The CRA Skip Ellis Early Career Award “honors the legacy of Clarence ‘Skip’ Ellis, recognizing early career individuals in academia, industry, or government research labs who exemplify the spirit of Skip Ellis through significant research contributions and outreach that broadens participation in computing.” Elaine is an assistant professor in the Tufts University Department of Computer Science. Her work in human-centered design and robotics incorporates feedback and values that represent underrepresented and marginalized populations, using grassroots collaboration to further technology development, deployment, and evaluation for all. 

As a PhD candidate, Elaine was awarded the Viterbi School of Engineering Merit Award and the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Merit Award for Current Doctoral Students, as well as the Best Research Assistant Award, Best Teaching Assistant Award, and Service Award from the Department of Computer Science. She has continued in her faculty position to receive the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, USC Provost’s Fellowship, a Google Anita Borg Scholarship, and, from 2019 to 2024, the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professorship. She also recently won the Tufts University Lillian and Joseph Leibner Award for Excellence in Teaching and Advising of Students. Elaine’s past awards celebrate her strong mentorship, community-oriented research and teaching, and passion for inclusion within technology. 

Elaine is passionate and outspoken about accessibility within robotics research, conference accessibility, and ensuring that disabled researchers have a seat at the table. Since she first became an AccessComputing partner, she has pushed us as an organization to move in new directions. We at AccessComputing are grateful for her work on our team, and we are elated that the Computing Research Association has honored her with this award.