On Tuesday, April 14, attendees gathered at the Glass Pavilion on the Homewood campus to honor and highlight the work of women in the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence.
The third annual Celebrating Women in Data Science and AI Symposium—sponsored by the Data Science and AI Institute (DSAI), NSF NRT: AI-Driven Advances in Microelectronics, and the Institute for Data-Intensive Engineering and Science—drew a record number of attendees for a full day of speakers, panel discussions, poster presentations, and networking focused on the contributions and future of women working with AI.
The morning panel, “Experiences of Women in AI,” featured Computer Science faculty Zih-Yun “Sarah” Chiu and Suchi Saria; Laixi Shi of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Avanti Athreya and Mateo Díaz of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics.
The poster session showcased innovative research and projects by Johns Hopkins University women at the forefront of data science and AI. Two of the four Best Poster Awards went to CS PhD students: “Long-Term In-Home Robotic Support for Children” by Shiye “Sally” Cao, advised by Chien-Ming Huang and Anqi “Angie” Liu; and “Characterizing Relative Impact of Scholarly Publications” by Hannah Gonzalez Collison, advised by Benjamin Van Durme and Daniel Khashabi.
Event organizers Jessica Strongin and Paulette Clancy note the continued growth of the symposium and express enthusiasm for expanding next year’s event to accommodate rising interest in advancing equity and representation for women in AI.
“Jess and I were thrilled to see every seat taken in the Glass Pavilion and to hear how attendees were taking new ideas back to their labs for their AI-related work,” Clancy says. “We were able to help participants network with new acquaintances, and we were heartened by the nearly one-third attendance of our male allies.”