ΑΙhub.org
 

2020-2021 Leshner fellows to engage public on artificial intelligence


by
18 February 2020



share this:
Images courtesy of those pictured and AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced the selection of 12 researchers in the area of artificial intelligence as the 2020-2021 AAAS Alan I. Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellows. These scientists and engineers were chosen for “having demonstrated leadership and excellence in their research careers and an interest in promoting meaningful dialogue between science and society”.

The 2020-2021 AAAS Leshner Fellows are (full bios are available on the AAAS website):

  • Omalabake Adenle
    Director, AJA.LA Studios
  • Benjamin Grewe
    Professor of systems circuits and neuroinformatics, ETH Zurich
  • Michael Littman
    Professor of computer science and co-director of Humanity-Centered Robotics Initiative, Brown University. Michael is also a trustee for AIhub.
  • Heather Lynch
    IACS endowed chair for ecology & evolution, Stony Brook University
  • Nicholas Mattei
    Assistant professor of computer science, Tulane University
  • Anita Nikolich
    Research professor, director of the Advanced Computational Thinking Center, Illinois Institute of Technology
  • Carolyn Rose
    Professor of computer science, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Brian Scassellati
    A. Bartlett Giamatti professor of computer science, cognitive science, and mechanical engineering, Yale University
  • William Smart
    Professor in the Robotics Program at Oregon State University
  • Biplav Srivastava
    Distinguished data scientist and master inventor, IBM Chief Analytics Office
  • Lyle Ungar
    Professor of computer and information science, University of Pennsylvania
  • John Zimmerman
    Tang Family professor of artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, Carnegie Mellon University

The fellows’ public engagement interests and approaches are as diverse as their research, and include online blogs, videos and discussions as well as traditional media, social media, podcasts, books, policy engagement, outreach and public science events and competitions. In addition to engaging the public in discussions about their research, they will promote public engagement among their scientific colleagues and within their institutions.

The AAAS Leshner Fellows program is in its fifth year and is part of the organization’s commitment to science communication and public engagement. The Leshner Leadership Institute was established in 2015 through philanthropic support. The Institute is managed by the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology, established in 2004 by Alan I. Leshner, now chief executive officer emeritus of AAAS.

Read more about the 2020-2021 Leshner programme here.




Lucy Smith is Senior Managing Editor for AIhub.
Lucy Smith is Senior Managing Editor for AIhub.

            AUAI is supported by:



Subscribe to AIhub newsletter on substack



Related posts :

Cybersecurity, evolutionary game theory, and AI safety: an interview with Adeela Bashir

  09 Oct 2026
In the latest of our interviews with the IJCAI-ECAI 2026 doctoral consortium participants, we learn about how cybersecurity attack and defence behaviours evolve.

2026 AAAI / ACM SIGAI Doctoral Consortium interviews compilation

  08 Oct 2026
We collate our interviews with the 2026 cohort of doctoral consortium participants.

Machine learning for clinical time-series forecasting: an interview with Mayra Elwes

  07 Oct 2026
Our series hearing from the IJCAI-ECAI doctoral consortium participants continues.

Can you teach yourself to detect AI writing? Maybe

  06 Oct 2026
Before generative AI, we could generally assume that written text had been composed by a human. This is no longer the case. So how can we spot AI-written text?

Interview with William Yijiang Li: vision language models and the physical world

  05 Oct 2026
How effective are vision language models at understanding how the physical world changes over time?

Forthcoming machine learning and AI seminars: October 2026 edition

  02 Oct 2026
A list of free-to-attend AI-related seminars that are scheduled to take place in the next couple of months.

Rebuilding the brain with neuromorphic computing: an interview with Oliver Rhodes

  01 Oct 2026
Neuromorphic computing takes inspiration from biology to build faster, more energy efficient systems.


↑


AUAI is supported by:







Subscribe to AIhub newsletter on substack




 















©2026.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence