Kiran Gajwani

Kiran Gajwani

Faculty Dean
Photo of Steve, Kiran, Bodhi, and Annie
Hello Winthrop!  We are Stephen Chong, Kiran Gajwani, Bodhi, and Annie (aka, the Chongwannies).  In the summer of 2020, about six months after our son Bodhi was born, we became the Faculty Deans of Winthrop House.  Steve’s other Harvard home is the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Kiran’s is the Economics Department.

Steve grew up in a small city in New Zealand and (after taking a gap year) attended Victoria University of Wellington (Te Herenga Waka), where he studied Computer Science and Mathematics. On graduating, he worked for several years in management consulting and as a software contractor in New Zealand and Australia before moving to the US to study for a PhD at Cornell University.

Kiran grew up in upstate New York and is a proud alum of Vestal Senior High School and Binghamton University.  She received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Bing (spending one year at the London School of Economics) and her PhD from Cornell University in gorges Ithaca, NY.

After graduating from Cornell, we moved to Claremont, CA where Kiran was a faculty member at Scripps College (and Steve explored Disneyland). We adopted our beloved dog Annie in California and drove across the country to join Harvard in 2010. Steve is a Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science; his research focuses on making it easier to build computer systems that handle information correctly. Kiran is a Lecturer/Advisor and Associate Director of Undergraduate Advising in the Economics Department. Her research focuses on developing country economies, particularly issues related to governance and development interventions.

We are so excited to be a part of the Winthrop community and look forward to getting to know you all!

Contact Information

Fall '23 drop-in hours: Mondays 1-2pm (with Annie the pup!), Wednesdays 4-5pm (with Steve), Winthrop House Office