Julia Stoyanovich receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)

Julia Stoyanovich, Institute Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Associate Professor of Data Science, is among this year’s recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding young STEM researchers.

Stoyanovich also directs the Center for Responsible AI, whose mission is to make responsible AI synonymous with AI, and is an affiliated faculty member at the Visualization and Data Analytics Research Center (VIDA).

With AI now increasingly used to make critically important decisions in all areas of life, including hiring, lending, education, and public service, her work is both timely and vital – a fact recognized by the National Science Foundation, which recommended her for the PECASE and has supported her research.

The PECASE, was established in 1996 to honor scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers and who have made innovative and far-reaching developments, is just the latest laurel garnered by Stoyanovich, who is also the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, as well as a senior member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

A member of the first-of-its-kind New York City Automated Decision Systems Task Force, she has engaged in technology policy and regulation in both the U.S. and around the world and has been affiliated with such prestigious institutions as the IBM Almaden Research Center, Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Informatics, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Under Stoyanovich’s leadership, the Center for Responsible AI’s impact has been felt from public libraries in New York City to Ukraine, where she has launched educational programs; in entrepreneurial activities at the Global AI Frontier Lab; and through strong international partnerships with NYU-KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology) and Australia’s ADM+S (ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society).

In addition to academic publications, Stoyanovich has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Le Monde, and she is a co-author of both “Data, Responsibly,” an award-winning comic book series for data science enthusiasts, and “We are AI,” a comic book series for the general audience. 

“Julia Stoyanovich is highlighting the importance of building and using AI systems in ways that promote fairness, transparency, and equitability,” said Executive Dean Juan de Pablo, who also serves as NYU’s Executive Vice President for Global Science and Technology. “She has proven herself to be a thought leader in the areas of AI ethics and responsible data management, and she has shown admirable dedication to educating STEM professionals, government officials, and the general public about their responsibilities and rights. We are thrilled that the White House has chosen her for this much-deserved honor.”