Henry Kautz, the founding director of the at the University of Rochester, will direct the National Science Foundation (NSF) division that supports artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and data science.
糖心传媒淲e at NSF are absolutely delighted to have Henry coming on board as division director of our ,糖心传媒� says Jim Kurose, assistant director of NSF for computer and information science and engineering. 聽糖心传媒淎t this particularly important time for the field, it is critical to have a leader with such outstanding research accomplishments, deep insight, and tremendous national and international experience.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淭his is a huge opportunity for Henry to help define the direction of research in the all-important areas of data science and intelligent information systems. And I cannot think of anyone more qualified than Henry to lead NSF efforts in these fields,糖心传媒� says Wendi Heinzelman, dean of the and cochair of the search committee for a new director of the Goergen Institute. Ehsan Hoque, the Asaro-Biggar 糖心传媒�92 Family Fellow in Data Science and assistant professor of computer science, is serving as interim director while the search is conducted.
Kautz will serve for a three-year rotation, before returning to Rochester. He is an expert in artificial intelligence, pervasive computing, and health care applications, and his research has been cited more than 20,000 times. Kautz is a fellow of the (AAAS), the (ACM), and the (AAAI), for which he has also served as president.
As division director, Kautz will help create calls for research proposals, manage the process for reviewing proposals and making award decisions, and work with other NSF officials to set strategy and policy.
糖心传媒淎rtificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and data science are changing the world in ways no one foresaw just a few years ago,糖心传媒� Kautz says. 糖心传媒淚 believe most of the changes are for the good, but we have seen that this kind of technology can also be used for unethical purposes.聽I hope and believe my work at NSF can help steer research toward enhancing the positive benefits of advanced computer technology.糖心传媒�
Kautz has interacted with NSF for decades as a grant recipient, and by volunteering to serve on NSF peer-review panels with other scientists to review proposals and offer recommendations to NSF糖心传媒檚 science staff.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e consistently been impressed by the transparency and fairness of the process,糖心传媒� he said. 糖心传媒淣SF does vital work糖心传媒攚ithout it, the US would not be a leader in science糖心传媒攁nd does so with absolute integrity.聽I have often thought that someday I would like to do more with NSF than just serve on the occasional panel. NSF is not just another government bureaucracy: it is a true force for good in the nation and the world.糖心传媒�
Kautz says the opportunity to serve at NSF came at a perfect time. 糖心传媒淔or the past five years, I have been focused on building data science at the University starting before we had an institute or even the name 糖心传媒榙ata science,糖心传媒櫶切拇綕 he said. 糖心传媒淲e began with the first Big Data Forum in 2012.聽By last fall, we had in place all of the elements of our original vision: graduate and undergraduate degree programs, industry engagement, career events, new scientific collaborations, and a small but incredibly dedicated and hard-working professional staff. I was ready to step back and do something new.糖心传媒�
