Judith A. Resnik Memorial Lecture- What Flying Upside Down Taught Me About Engineering, Science, and AI

Join us as Dr. Cecilia Aragon describes her journey from extremely fearful daughter of immigrants to daredevil airshow pilot to using supercomputers and human-centered artificial intelligence to solve some of the greatest mysteries of the universe. She'll present examples from a 30-year career in data science, artificial intelligence, and aviation and talk about how using math to face her fears enabled her to become the first Latina pilot on the US Unlimited Aerobatic Team. She scaffolded that courage to build a career in data science and Al, developing the new field of human-centered data science and becoming the first Latina to achieve the rank of full professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington in its 100-year history.

Dr. Aragon is an award-winning author, airshow pilot, and the first Latina to earn the rank of full professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington in its 100-year history. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley in 2004, and her B.S. in Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology. She's worked with Nobel Prize winners and has taught astronauts to fly. Her innovative research, and a stint at NASA designing software for Mars missions, led President Obama to call her "one of the top scientists and engineers in the country:' In addition to her love of math and science, she's passionate about helping others face their own fears and challenges to achieve their goals. Her award-winning memoir, Flying Free (2020), shares her journey of breaking past her own fears to become a champion aerobatic pilot. It debuted on five bestseller lists and is a TODAY Show and Hip Latina Recommended Read, and winner of the 2021 Nancy Pearl Award from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and the International Latino Book Award Gold Medal for Most Inspirational Nonfiction in English. Her 2019 book, Writers in the Secret Garden, takes a close look at the fascinating world of fanfiction to explore how young people express themselves. Her latest book, Human-Centered Data Science (2022), is an accessible guide to best practices for addressing bias and inequality in data science and artificial intelligence. Learn more at CeciliaAragonAuthor.com.