Getting to know the Women in Data Science: Janet George
Janet George is a Fellow and Chief Data Officer at Western Digital. She earned
her BS and MS degrees in computer science and completed her Masters Thesis work on Artificial Intelligence. With a strong background in data science, Janet sees herself as a practitioner, rather than a theorist, of the tools with which she tackles today’s data problems. She aims to prepare and endow the large group of data scientists at Western Digital with the expertise being developed at the frontier of data science. Janet’s enthusiasm and passion for her work is paralleled only by her dedication — she inspires a contagious desire to change the world through the possibilities of data, and manages to do so while still making time for the rest of her life…
This article is the first in a series of spotlights of the Women in Data Science. Check back soon to learn about more inspiring, hardworking, and brilliant women.
What is your path in getting to Data Science?
Janet’s family was strongly rooted in mathematics and the sciences. Her two Type-A parents were strongly committed to making mathematics approachable. Unlike most children, Janet grew up feeling comfortable with mathematics, science, and probability, and when she followed a path to computer science it felt completely natural. Hearing Janet’s relationship with mathematics and computer science is nothing short of inspiring. Mathematics is something that takes hundreds of hours to understand and master, and this is one of many attributes of mathematics that Janet loves. “It’s easy to spend sleeplessness in mathematics,” Janet says of spending hours at night lost in an algorithm, trying to understand how it works. This passion and her background in computer science led her to work at Apple, eBay, and Yahoo, where she started her career. It is with these big companies that Janet “grew up”, amidst the onslaught of Big Data and Machine Learning. These experiences shaped and continue to inform the ways in which she approaches new questions and problems in her field.
What part of your job makes you most excited?
Janet is excited by the fact that she deals with a lot of challenges and limitations of the physical world. She loves complex problem solving; the more difficult the problem, the more excited she is. “I don’t like easy or simple problems.” Janet describes understanding the complexity of a problem as the peeling away of an onion — the different layers reveal increasing levels of complexity. For the types of big data with which she works, the problems always come with high orders of complexity. In Janet’s world of device-centric industry, the data she sees is born of constraints, database queries, and business-justifiications. She’s excited to shift the culture into one of returning to the un-queried, raw data from which she can unfold the genetic code.
Who do you want to be like “when you grow up”?
Janet’s answer to this question was confident, strong, and empowering. “I am already grown up and I am doing what I want to be doing.” Janet is a scholar in her profession, widely respected as a credible practitioner of her craft. She earns this respect and credibility every day by learning, deeply understanding, and sharing new algorithms and ideas. As a senior-level person in her company, this means that Janet must carve out special time to enrich and inform herself on the state-of-the art in her field. This dedication for her craft is not only fueled by her personal interests and passions, but by the credibility and respect she has earned in her field. Janet regards such credibility as an honor, as a responsibility to those around her, and as a means by which she can give to others.
What is your favorite part about being a Woman in Data Science?
Janet says that certain qualities that women tend to exhibit — focus on detail, persistence, problem solving — make them incredible data scientists. She also emphasized the importance of fair representation of the world in data science. She is frightened by artificial intelligence and machine learning platforms where the world, especially women, are not represented.
What are three improbable facts about you?
Janet also has a Bachelors degree in Yoga, and regularly practices and teaches gentle yoga. She believes in the benefits of yoga and meditation and wants to help others ease into them. “Yoga can be gentle, full of love, and focused on creation, breathing, and relaxation.” Janet’s grandfather taught grammar and writing at a British school. He spent time teaching his skills to Janet, and she credits him for her beautiful handwriting and focus on good writing. Janet loves the water and all the wisdom it holds. Water is always moving and flowing and reflects life in the way we are constantly moving, changing, and growing. People often want to judge others by their moments and behaviors, but these change in time, like the water. All of us are here in this time and space, constantly changing and moving like the water, very subtly.
If you had an alternative career, what would it be?
Janet can imagine three alternative careers. As a lover of nature, Janet can see herself as someone who works outside, leading others through trails and teaching them about the beauty and intrinsic intelligence of nature. Alternatively, Janet would love to work in climate science. She would love to be able to study and document the undiscovered parts of our world to enhance and benefit human lives. “Cooking is a form of creation, and I love to create.” Creation in cooking means inventing dishes and flavor combinations, incorporating different cultures and cuisines, and exploring options with palate. Janet treats cooking as therapy and sets aside one day each week to make a big meal for her friends and family.
