Ellen M. Markman

Ellen M. Markman, the Lewis M. Terman Professor of Psychology, is the senior associate dean for the social sciences at Stanford University. Markman, who previously served in this role from 1998 to 2000, has been a member of the Department of Psychology for almost four decades and was its chair from 1994 to 1997. She is regarded as one of the nation's leading developmental psychologists. 

 After earning a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and teaching at the University of Illinois, Markman joined Stanford's faculty in 1975. Much of her research has focused on cognitive and early language development, understanding how very young children and infants use categorization and inductive reasoning to figure out what words mean. A current research project aims to lay the groundwork for a preschool curriculum on nutrition.

Markman is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2004, she received the American Psychological Association's Outstanding Mentoring Award, and in 2013, the Association for Psychological Science honored her with the William James Lifetime Achievement Award for Basic Research. Markman has written and edited several influential books and published more than 80 articles in leading academic journals. She teaches undergraduates and graduate students, and has advised many doctoral candidates. Beyond her academic service, Markman was Stanford's Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA and the Pacific-10 Conference from 2005 to 2010. In this role, she was responsible for monitoring student-athlete welfare.