Expertise
Web Technologies
Education
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Master of Science (M.S.), University of Maine
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Boston University
Biosketch
Jesse M. Heines served on the UMass Lowell faculty of Computer Science for over 30 years before his retirement in 2016. He was an early adopter of web technologies and specialized in courses on the implementation of interactive, user-centered web applications. He is also known for his interdisciplinary work at the intersection of music and computing, for which he won three National Science Foundation grants totaling over $1 million. Jesse has published widely on these topics and was a frequent presenter at conferences on computing education. He also published on issues ranging from teaching students of diverse backgrounds to the resistance in Greece during World War II.
Since his retirement, Jesse has been active in a number of civil rights initiatives. He has written and produced a 4-part documentary for Chelmsford (Massachusetts) Television that looks at the four phases of racism highlighted by Bryan Stevenson: slavery, lynching, segregation, and mass incarceration. The documentary tries to show how these phases underlie the racial problems that persist in our country to the present day. For further information and links to the videos on YouTube, please visit the Civil Rights: A History website.
In another initiative, Jesse served as a volunteer for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, going "behind the wall" to teach inmates the basics of website development in an 11-week course. Prior to this role, Jesse worked with prison staff and inmates to develop apprenticeship programs in a variety of trades. These programs earned inmates Journeyman Certificates sanctioned by the US Department of Labor. Both of these roles help inmates get jobs upon their release, a critical factor in reducing recidivism and rebuilding lives.
Jesse's current projects include supporting a poor school in Ghana, to which he has shipped over 2 tons of donated books and school supplies. He has also funded a major renovation to the school that includes a library where children can read these books. In addition, Jesse provides on-going support to the African Community Center of Lowell and the Eliot Church Day Center for Lowell's homeless population.