The U.S. Department of State selected Bangladeshi American scientist Dr. Rumman Chowdhury as one of the four distinguished scientists to serve as U.S. Science Envoys for 2024.
The other named scientists include Dr. Stephanie “Steffi” Diem, Dr. Sian Proctor and Dr. Dawn Wright, Bangladesh Post reported. This lineup serves as the first all-female cohort in the history of the U.S. Science Envoy Program since it began in 2010.
The cohort will travel to international civil societies and engage in government dialogue in hopes of informing the Department of State and other agencies about science and technology opportunities, the U.S. Department of State reported.
“The Department selected the 2024 cohort to take advantage of their expertise in key issues facing the world today: Artificial Intelligence; Fusion Energy; Civil Use of Space; and Ocean Sustainability,” reads a statement from the U.S. Department of State.
Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, a data scientist and social scientist, is the CEO of Humane Intelligence, a nonprofit organization that supports the community by evaluating artificial intelligence models, according to Bangladesh Post.
Chowdhury currently serves as a Responsible AI Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. She formerly acted as director of the Machine Learning Ethics, Transparency and Accountability (META) team at Twitter and the global lead for Responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence, Dhaka Tribune reported.
She holds two undergraduate degrees from MIT, an MS in Quantitative Methods of the Social Sciences from Columbia University and a PhD in political science from UC San Diego.
Chowdhury has earned several awards that celebrate her contributions to the field of AI, including Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, BBC’s 100 Women, Worthy Magazine’s Top 100 and the Bay Area’s Top 40 under 40, Bangladesh Post noted.
“Through the U.S. Science Envoy Program, eminent U.S. scientists and engineers leverage their expertise and networks to forge connections and identify opportunities for sustained international cooperation to advance solutions to shared challenges, champion innovation, and demonstrate America’s scientific leadership and technical ingenuity,” reads the statement from the U.S. Department of State.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We are supported through donations and such charitable organizations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. A big thank you to all our readers who supported our year-end giving campaign. You helped us not only reach our goal, you busted through it. Donations to Asian American Media Inc and AsAmNews are tax-deductible. It’s never too late to give.
Please also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.