Ayanna Howard

Dr. Ayanna Howard is an innovator, entrepreneur, leader, and international expert in robotics and AI. She is also the author of the best-selling audiobook – Sex, Race, and Robots : How to be Human in the Age of AI. Currently, Dr. Howard is the Dean of Engineering at The Ohio State University and Monte Ahuja Endowed Dean's Chair. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors for Autodesk and Motorola Solutions.

Prior to Ohio State, Dr. Howard was the Linda J. and Mark C. Smith Endowed Chair in Bioengineering and Chair of the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Previously, she was at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she held the title of Senior Robotics Researcher and Deputy Manager in the Office of the Chief Scientist. Her research encompasses advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), assistive technologies, and robotics, and has resulted in over 275 publications. At NASA, she worked on designing advanced technologies for future Mars rover missions. Now, she works on projects ranging from healthcare robots to developing methods to mitigate bias and trust in AI.

To date, Dr. Howard’s unique accomplishments have been highlighted through a number of awards and articles, including highlights in Vanity Fair, USA Today, and TIME Magazine, as well as being recognized as one of the 23 most powerful women engineers in the world by Business Insider. She is a Fellow of IEEE, AAAI, AAAS, the National Academy of Inventors, and elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She regularly advises on issues concerning robotics, AI, and workforce development. She is a media expert source for venues such as CNN and NPR and regularly gives invited talks at venues such as the Smithsonian Design Museum, TEDx, Science Museum of London, and the National Security Agency. She has also been featured in various interviews and podcasts hosted by places like PBS, Discovery Channel, BBC, and Huffington Post.