Ayanna MacCalla Howard
Personal Information
Born: 1972
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: Black
Education
Brown University BS Computer Engineering 1993; USC MS 1994 & Phd 1999 Electrical Engineering; Claremont Graduate University MBA 2005
Professional Life
Field of Study: Robotics; Artificial Intelligence
Institution/Corporation: Ohio State University; NASA s Jet Propulsion Lab; Georgia Tech; Axcelis, Inc; Microsoft
Degrees & Memberships: Member: American Association for the Advancement of Science (2022), National Academy of Inventors(NAI), National Artifical Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC), Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE,2021), Trustee Brown University (2022)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2018, America s Top 50 Women in Technology, Forbes Magazine; 2021, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)Athena Lecturer; 2016, A. Nico Habermann Award, Computer Research Association;2018, Richard A. Tapia Achievement Award; 2003, 1 of the Top 100 Innovators in the World Under 35, MIT Technology Review TR100; 2001, Lew Allen Award for Excellence, Jet Propulsion Lab; 2010, NAE Gilbreth Lectureship; 2014, A Richard Newton Educator ABIE Award, Anita Borg Institute; 2016, Brown Engineering Alumni Medal (BEAM); 2016-17, AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador; 2017, Women Making a Mark, Atlanta Magazine; 2017, Walkers Legacy #WLPowers25 Atlanta Award; 2023, AAAI/EAAI Patrick Henry Winston Outstanding Educator Award; 2015, 1 of the 23 Most Powerful Women Engineers in the World, Business Insider; 2009, NSBE Janice Lumpkin Educator of the Year Award; 2005, California Women in Business Award for Science & Technology; 2005, IEEE Early Career Award in Robotics & Automation; 2004, Engineer of the Year Award, Los Angeles Council of Engineers & Scientists
Achievements: Founder & President of the Board of Directors of Zyrobotic a non-profit that develops mobile therapy & educational products for children with special needs; founder & director of Human-Automation systems Lab (HumAnS) at Georgia Tech
1st woman to lead the Ohio State College of engineering
While working at JPL developed the next generation of Mars rover that uses AI & doesn't need a human to program it's every move
2013, co-founded Zyrobotics, a STEM education & therapy company that designs products for children with special needs
2008, developed SnoMote, robots to study the impact of global warming on Antarctic ice shelves
Holds 4 patents