Katlyn Lee Milless strives to promote high quality and accessible education, and is passionate about accessible and engaging science communication.
Milless’s work develops and evaluates interventions intended to (1) foster learning and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, (2) understand how instructors’ mindsets and pedagogy affect student outcomes, and (3) investigate the importance of students’ sense of belonging for their psychological well-being and performance in school. Milless’s work also focuses on efficacious grant making and merit review—especially regarding evaluating societal impacts of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research. Her work has had broad dissemination across various audiences including policymakers, practitioners, and lay people.
Since joining Mathematica in 2022, Milless has worked on education projects for the Institute of Education Sciences; National Science Foundation; Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation; and the Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic. Milless was also a Mathematica summer fellow in 2021.
Milless holds a Ph.D. in basic and applied social psychology with a concentration in quantitative methods from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York and a B.A. in psychology from San Francisco State University.
This report describes how reviewers assess scientific grant proposals. We find that while assessments of intellectual merit depend on the potential findings and the proposed approach, assessments of social impact tend to overlook how these outcomes will be attained.
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