Learn from MIT professors named 2024 AAAS Fellows
Cynthia Breazeal, Alan Edelman, and Noelle Eckley Selin are among six current MIT affiliates recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Cynthia Breazeal, a trailblazer in artificial intelligence education, Alan Edelman, an expert in high-performance computing, and Noelle Eckley Selin, a leader in modeling the impacts of air pollution on human health, are three of six current MIT affiliates and 27 alumni who have been elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Through MIT Open Learning resources, you can learn online from Breazeal, Edelman, and Selin.
Other MIT affiliates honored as 2024 AAAS Fellows include: Noubar Afeyan PhD ’87, life member of the MIT Corporation; Robert B. Millard ’73, life member and chairman emeritus of the MIT Corporation; and Jagadeesh S. Moodera, senior research scientist in the Department of Physics. Learn more about the 2024 AAAS Fellows.
Cynthia Breazeal: Innovating in artificial intelligence education and social robots
Cynthia Breazeal SM ’93, ScD ’00 is dean for digital learning at MIT Open Learning and a professor of media arts and sciences. At Open Learning, she leverages her experience in emerging digital technologies and business, research, and strategic initiatives to lead Open Learning’s business and research and engagement units. Breazeal founded and directs the Personal Robots group in the MIT Media Lab. She is also the director of the MIT-wide Initiative on Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education.
Breazeal co-founded the consumer social robotics company, Jibo, Inc., where she served as chief scientist and chief experience officer. She is author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications on personalized learning companions for language, literacy, and social-emotional development. Breazeal is recognized for distinguished contributions in the field of artificial intelligence education, particularly around the use of social robots, and learning at scale.
Learn with Professor Breazeal:
- Driving Innovation with Generative AI: Explore the generative AI landscape and the future of productivity with this six-week course.
- Relational Machines: Dive into issues, principles, and challenges toward building relational machines through a combination of studio-style design.
- AI Literacy for All: Listen to this Chalk Radio podcast episode, where Breazeal discusses artificial intelligence in our lives, digital citizenship, and AI education for all.
Alan Edelman: Leading in high-performance computing, linear algebra, random matrix theory, and computational science
Alan Edelman PhD ’89 is an applied mathematics professor for the Department of Mathematics and leads the Applied Computing Group of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the MIT Julia Lab. He is recognized as a 2024 AAAS fellow for distinguished contributions and outstanding breakthroughs in high-performance computing, linear algebra, random matrix theory, computational science, and in particular for the development of the Julia programming language.
Edelman has been elected a fellow of five different societies — AMS, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and AAAS.
Learn with Professor Edelman:
- Matrix Calculus for Machine Learning and Beyond: Learn a coherent approach to matrix calculus with techniques that allow you to think of a matrix holistically, generalize and compute derivatives of important matrix factorizations, and understand how differentiation formulas must be reimagined in large-scale computing.
- Introduction to Computational Thinking: Become a trained scientific “trilingual” via revolutionary programmable interactivity that combines material from the computer science, mathematics, and applications fields.
- Introduction to Computational Thinking with Julia, with Applications to Modeling the COVID-19 Pandemic: Master computational thinking through applications of data science, artificial intelligence, and mathematical models using the Julia programming language.
- Climate Change Seminar: Obtain a broad overview of issues related to climate change, with an emphasis on aspects most relevant to computer scientists.
- Parallel Computing: Get an introduction to applied parallel computing on modern supercomputers.
- Infinite Random Matrix Theory: Discover the tools used to characterize infinite random matrices, including the Stieltjes transform and free probability.
- Random Matrix Theory and Its Applications: Get introduced to the basics of random matrix theory, motivated by engineering and scientific applications.
Noelle Eckley Selin: Modeling the impacts of air pollution on human health
Noelle Eckley Selin, the director of the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy and a professor in the Institute for Data, Systems and Society and the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, uses atmospheric chemistry modeling to inform decision-making strategies on air pollution, climate change, and toxic substances, including mercury and persistent organic pollutants.
Selin has also published articles and book chapters on the interactions between science and policy in international environmental negotiations, in particular focusing on global efforts to regulate hazardous chemicals and persistent organic pollutants. She is named a 2024 AAAS Fellow for world-recognized leadership in modeling the impacts of air pollution on human health, in assessing the costs and benefits of related policies, and in integrating technology dynamics into sustainability science.
Learn with Professor Selin:
- Modeling and Assessment for Policy: Explore how scientific information and quantitative models can be used to inform policy decision-making.
This article was adapted from MIT News. Read the original story.
The courses and resources listed in this article are available through MIT OpenCourseWare and MIT xPRO, both part of MIT Open Learning. OpenCourseWare offers free, online, open educational resources from more than 2,500 courses that span the MIT undergraduate and graduate curriculum. MIT xPRO provides professional development opportunities to a global audience via online courses and blended programs.
