Announced January 15, 2025 - Talitha Washington Named Executive Director of Howard University Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics
The Howard University Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics has named Talitha Washington, Ph.D., as its new executive director. Through research and academic programming, the center focuses on using data to achieve new insights into long-standing societal challenges and to protect the exploitation of data to harm historically marginalized groups. Washington will also hold the Sean McCleese Endowed Chair in Computer Science, Race, and Social Justice.
“In these new roles at Howard University, I am honored to lead efforts in advancing data science, analytics, and artificial intelligence to tackle complex global problems, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and create impactful experiential opportunities that drive the university’s mission of excellence, innovation, and service forward through the power of data,” said Washington.
The Howard University Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics has named Talitha Washington, Ph.D., as its new executive director. Through research and academic programming, the center focuses on using data to achieve new insights into long-standing societal challenges and to protect the exploitation of data to harm historically marginalized groups. Washington will also hold the Sean McCleese Endowed Chair in Computer Science, Race, and Social Justice.
“In these new roles at Howard University, I am honored to lead efforts in advancing data science, analytics, and artificial intelligence to tackle complex global problems, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and create impactful experiential opportunities that drive the university’s mission of excellence, innovation, and service forward through the power of data,” said Washington.
As a mathematical scholar, Dr. Talitha Washington educates and stewards students, faculty, and the larger community to impact the grand challenges of our world.
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From UConn Magazine, Summer 2022 - Revenge of the Data Scientists
"'She has done wonders for the mathematics community,' says Choi. Washington’s work has garnered many industry accolades, among them an NSF Women’s History Maker award and a Howard University Outstanding Faculty award. She recently became the first person ever to be named both a 2021 Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) — one of just 46 Fellows from around the world — and a 2021 Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) in the same year. She is now the president-elect of AWM. None of this surprised McKenna. 'Indomitable is the word I’d use,' he said. 'You could see the joy she had in doing what she did. And she was just not intimidated by anything.'" |
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ABout
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Talitha Washington, Ph.D., a distinguished mathematician, began serving as the Executive Director of the Center for Applied Data Science & Analytics (CADSA) at Howard University on January 1, 2025. A transformational leader, Dr. Washington guides CADSA’s direction in harnessing the power of data to address society’s most pressing challenges through groundbreaking research, expanded educational opportunities, and innovative advancements on a global scale. She also serves as the Sean McCleese Endowed Chair in Computer Science, Race and Social Justice, a Professor of Mathematics, and co-chair of the AI Advisory Council at Howard University.
Dr. Washington serves as the Past-President of the Association for Women in Mathematics and is a former member of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee of the U.S. Census Bureau. Her research interests include applied mathematics, dynamical systems, nonstandard finite difference schemes, data science, artificial intelligence, and education. An accomplished scholar and advocate for excellence, Dr. Washington has been recognized with numerous honors. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi, as well as mathematics honor societies Kappa Mu Epsilon and Pi Mu Epsilon. Her accolades include the 2019 BEYA STEM Innovator Award, the 2019 Outstanding Faculty Award from Howard University, and the 2020 NSF Director’s Award for Superior Accomplishment. She is a Fellow of the African Scientific Institute (ASI), the American Mathematical Society (AMS), the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Washington’s professional journey reflects her commitment to advancing knowledge and equity in STEM. She was a VIGRE Research Associate in the Department of Mathematics at Duke University and served as the inaugural Director of the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Data Science Initiative and the U.S. NSF National Data Science Alliance. Her academic appointments include assistant professorships at The College of New Rochelle and the University of Evansville, and a full professorship at Clark Atlanta University. As a former Program Director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), she worked in the Convergence Accelerator within the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) and in the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), where she led the development of NSF's first Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program, coauthoring solicitations that awarded $85 million. Dr. Washington’s educational foundation is as impressive as her professional achievements. After graduating early from Benjamin Bosse High School in Evansville, Indiana, she studied abroad in Juan Viñas, Costa Rica. She earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics from Spelman College, which included a semester abroad at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico. She later completed her master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics at the University of Connecticut, which recently awarded her an honorary doctorate of science. Dr. Washington shares a unique connection with Dr. Elbert Frank Cox, as both are mathematicians from Evansville, Indiana. Dr. Cox, the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, was a faculty member at Howard University. Dr. Washington looks forward to honoring Dr. Cox’s legacy through her dedication to excellence, truth, and service. Click for high-resolution photos. |
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speaking engagements
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May 16, 2025, Removing Barriers to Data and AI Innovation to Advance Human Flourishing, Data Science Institute Special Seminar, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
May 30, 2025, Unlock Discoveries and Opportunities through AI and Cyberinfrastructure, MS-CC Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN July 22-23, 2025, Power Moves: Positioning HBCUs as AI Leaders for the Future, UNCF's UNITE Summit, Atlanta, GA August 4, 2025, Keynote, HBCU Humanities and STEM Faculty Virtual Institute, Virtual August 6, 2025, Leading Through Purpose Through Servant Leadership in the Mathematical Sciences, Project NExT, MAA MathFest, Sacramento, CA August 8, 2025, How Elbert Frank Cox Rewrote Equations of Possibility, MAA MathFest, Sacramento, CA August 9, 2025, NAM Blackwell Lecture: 100 Years of Inspiration: Elbert Frank Cox and the Future of Mathematics, MAA MathFest, Sacramento, CA |