Uri Wilensky, a professor at Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy (SESP), has been named the 2025 Yidan Prize winner for Education Research. The Yidan Prize is recognized as the largest award in education globally and includes $3.8 million in support, with half allocated to expand the recipient's educational initiatives.
The Yidan Prize Foundation announced the award on September 29, acknowledging Wilensky’s work in agent-based modeling (ABM). ABM helps promote complex systems literacy and connects knowledge across disciplines. Wilensky holds the Lorraine H. Morton Professorship in Learning Sciences and Computer Science at SESP and the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Wilensky is known for developing NetLogo in 1999, an open-source platform that allows users to build models illustrating how individual agents interact to create larger patterns. NetLogo is used by both children and researchers to understand complex issues such as climate change, pandemics, and economic instability.
“This is such an exciting recognition of the work that I’ve been doing for over 30 years,” Wilensky said. “With the prize, I now want to get NetLogo more deeply embedded in institutions, including classrooms, newsrooms and government. I want to see most individuals and organizations become literate in agent-based modeling.”
Andreas Schleicher, who leads the Yidan Prize Education Research judging panel, commented on Wilensky’s impact: “Professor Uri Wilensky explores how computational representations can recast knowledge across scientific and social domains. By equipping students with tools to understand nonlinear, complex systems, he fosters their confidence and agency to navigate today’s interconnected world.”
Wilensky credited his students as a major motivation: “I've been really fortunate to have incredible doctoral students over the years. So many of them have become close colleagues,” he said. “Most of them are professors at universities around the world. I take great pride in the accomplishments of my students, and that’s a major way I measure my success in my field: how well my students do and how much they can expand upon the ideas they learned here and move them into their own territories.”
He serves as founding director of several centers at Northwestern focused on connected learning and computer-based modeling. He has created a library of over 400 computational models for education use, published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, and authored a widely reprinted book on agent-based modeling.
Northwestern President Henry Bienen praised Wilensky’s achievements: “Uri Wilensky’s contributions to computer modeling and simulations have been immeasureable, he is truly a pioneer,” Bienen said. “His impact is felt on our campus and well beyond our University. His dedication to democratizing his groundbreaking research and work for the benefit of all makes him deserving of not just this incredible award, but of our gratitude.”
Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, dean of SESP, highlighted Wilensky's influence: “Uri Wilensky’s contributions to how we think about learning are extraordinary, whether it is making NetLogo available to schools across the world or helping us understand the complex intersections between learning and technology,” Brayboy said. “Uri's research lives at the intersection of learning, computation, complexity theory and computer science. While that sounds rather inaccessible for many, his life’s work has been about making it available to everyone. He’s a gift.”
Christopher Schuh, dean of McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science added: “Engineering faculty are expected to change their field by innovating in research and technology, but it is a very special engineer who also innovates the very fundamentals of education. Uri’s research has pioneered new ways to teach complexity and modeling, bringing together computer science and learning sciences to develop a tool with widespread global adoption. We are proud that Northwestern serves as the home of such pioneering interdisciplinary excellence.”
Wilensky is also recognized as a fellow by both the National Academy of Education and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His honors include awards from organizations such as the National Science Foundation Early Career Award.
Alongside Wilensky's recognition for education research this year, Mamadou Amadou Ly from Senegal will receive the Yidan Prize for Education Development at an awards ceremony scheduled for December 6 in Hong Kong.
The Yidan Prize was established in 2016 by Charles CHEN Yidan with an endowment managed by an independent trust valued at $323 million. It aims to encourage global dialogue around education through its two annual awards: one for education research—the category won by Wilensky—and another for education development.
Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy focuses on understanding human development across ages through interdisciplinary study involving fields like psychology, economics, computer science, organizational studies, political science, sociology, and education.