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 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 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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Featured as a Women's History Maker.
Video directed by Tommy Taylor. |
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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, serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Applied Data Science & Analytics (CADSA) at Howard University. A transformational leader, Dr. Washington guides CADSA’s direction in harnessing data to address society’s most pressing challenges through groundbreaking research, expanded educational opportunities, and innovative advances on a global scale. She holds the Sean McCleese Endowed Chair, is a Professor of Mathematics, and co-chair of the Howard's AI Advisory Council, which guides the university's AI strategy across research, academic, and enterprise initiatives.
Dr. Washington serves as the Past-President of the Association for Women in Mathematics. 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 is a past President of the Association for Women in Mathematics and a former member of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee of the U.S. Census Bureau. As a former Program Director at the U.S. 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. 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. 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 in 1925, was a faculty member at Howard University. The Cox Centennial Celebration was held at Howard University in September 2025. 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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October 15, 2025, Envisioning Graduate Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Fall Forum, Howard University, Washington, DC
October 30, 2025, AI's Transformative Decade: From Theory to Practice, Global Artificial Intelligence Innovation Movement and Evolution (GAIME), Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda, Africa January 7, 2026, Fifty Years of Mathematical Excellence: Reflections on Howard University's PhD Program in Mathematics, Joint Mathematics Meetings, Washington, DC February 28, 2026, Advance AI Learning Across Higher Education, Conference on Improving Health Outcomes, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA C July 9-10, 2026, Shaping the Future of Applied Mathematics Education in the Age of AI, SIAM Applied Mathematics Education Conference (SIAM ED26), Cleveland, OH January 12-15, 2027, J. Sutherland Frame Lecture - Pi Mu Epsilon, Joint Mathematics Meetings, Chicago, IL |