Ayanna M. Howard
Encyclopedia
Ayanna MacCalla Howard is an American
roboticist
and an Associate Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
. To date, her unique accomplishments have been documented in more than a dozen featured articles. In 2003, she was named to the MIT
Technology Review
TR100
as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. She was featured in TIME magazine’s "Rise of the Machines" article in 2004. In 2008, Howard received worldwide attention for her SnoMote robots, designed to study the impact of global warming on the Antarctic ice shelfs.
in Engineering
from Brown University
in 1993 and her M.S.
and Ph.D.
in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Southern California
in 1994 and 1999, respectively. Her thesis Recursive Learning for Deformable Object Manipulation was advised by George A. Bekey
.
Howard also holds a M.B.A with a concentration in Strategy from Claremont Graduate University
in 2005.
. Later she joined NASA
's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
, where she led research efforts on various robotic projects utilizing soft computing methodologies such as computer vision
, fuzzy logic
, and neural networks
. She primarily worked on the Mobility Systems Concept Development as a Senior Robotics Researcher, and the Technology Review journal named her as one of the world's top young innovators of 2003 for her work in this area. In 2005, Howard left JPL to join the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology
as an Associate Professor and founded the Human-Automation Systems Laboratory.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
roboticist
Roboticist
A roboticist designs, builds, programs, and experiments with robots. Since robotics is a highly interdisciplinary field, roboticists often have backgrounds in a number of disciplines including computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering...
and an Associate Professor at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. To date, her unique accomplishments have been documented in more than a dozen featured articles. In 2003, she was named to the MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
Technology Review
Technology Review
Technology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
TR100
TR35
The TR35 is an annual list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.Some of the most famous winners of the award include Larry Page and Sergey Brin , Linus Torvalds , Jerry Yang , Jonathan Ive , Mark Zuckerberg...
as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. She was featured in TIME magazine’s "Rise of the Machines" article in 2004. In 2008, Howard received worldwide attention for her SnoMote robots, designed to study the impact of global warming on the Antarctic ice shelfs.
Education
Howard received her B.S.Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in 1993 and her M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 1994 and 1999, respectively. Her thesis Recursive Learning for Deformable Object Manipulation was advised by George A. Bekey
George A. Bekey
George A. Bekey is a renowned American roboticist and the Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow in various professional societies...
.
Howard also holds a M.B.A with a concentration in Strategy from Claremont Graduate University
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont Graduate University is a private, all-graduate research university located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
in 2005.
Career
Shortly after finishing her undergraduate studies at Brown, Howard headed up the software team at Axcelis, Inc., coding the first commercial genetic algorithm package EvolverEvolver (software)
Evolver is a software package that allows users to solve a wide variety of optimization problems using a genetic algorithm. Launched in 1990, it was the first commercially available genetic algorithm package for personal computers. The program was originally developed by Axcelis, Inc. and is now...
. Later she joined NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
, where she led research efforts on various robotic projects utilizing soft computing methodologies such as computer vision
Computer vision
Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analysing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions...
, fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic; it deals with reasoning that is approximate rather than fixed and exact. In contrast with traditional logic theory, where binary sets have two-valued logic: true or false, fuzzy logic variables may have a truth value that ranges in degree between 0 and 1...
, and neural networks
Neural Networks
Neural Networks is the official journal of the three oldest societies dedicated to research in neural networks: International Neural Network Society, European Neural Network Society and Japanese Neural Network Society, published by Elsevier...
. She primarily worked on the Mobility Systems Concept Development as a Senior Robotics Researcher, and the Technology Review journal named her as one of the world's top young innovators of 2003 for her work in this area. In 2005, Howard left JPL to join the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
as an Associate Professor and founded the Human-Automation Systems Laboratory.
Press and Media
On several occasions, Howard has been a guest on the CNN and PBS television networksResearch
Howard describes her research as "centered around the concept of humanized intelligence, the process of embedding human cognitive capability into the control path of autonomous systems".Honors and awards
- JPL Technology and Applications Program (TAP) Honor Award, 2000
- Lew Allen Award of Excellence for significant technical contributions, 2001
- NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Honor Award for Safe Robotic Navigation Task, 2002 - San Francisco Airport Museum Honoree, African-American technology trailblazers in California, 2002
- Best Paper Award, 9th International Symposium on Robotics and Applications, 2002
- NASA Space Act Award for Path Planning Graphical User Interface, 2003
- MIT Technology ReviewTechnology ReviewTechnology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
Top 100 Young Innovators of the Year, 2003 - Engineer of the Year Award, Los Angeles Council of Engineers and Scientists, 2004
- Allstate InsuranceAllstateThe Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...
Distinguished Honoree for achievement in science, 2004 - Selected participant, NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, 2004
- NASA Space Act Award for Fuzzy Logic Engine for Space Applications, 2004
- Selected presenter, National Academy of Science Frontiers of Science Symposium, 2005
- California Women in Business Award for Science and Technology, 2005
- IEEE Early Career Award in Robotics and Automation, 2005
- Howard has an Erdős numberErdos numberThe Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
of 4: A. M. Howard - Vittorio M. Canuto - George Keith Batchelor - George G. Lorentz - Paul Erdős.