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Amarda Shehu is a tenured Professor in the Department of Computer Science at George Mason University. She serves as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering and Computing and as the university's Inaugural Vice President and Chief AI Officer, leading institutional AI strategy and deployment. She previously held the position of Associate Vice President for Research at the Institute for Digital Innovation from 2022 to 2024. Shehu earned her PhD in Computer Science from Rice University in 2008 as an NIH fellow in the Nanobiology Training Program of the Gulf Coast Consortia, an MS in Computer Science from Rice University, and a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from Clarkson University in 2002. She holds affiliate appointments in the Department of Bioengineering and the School of Systems Biology at George Mason University.
Shehu's research advances foundational methods in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, with applications to complex problems in computational structural biology, biophysics, bioinformatics, stochastic optimization, deep learning, generative models, and language models. Her laboratory develops probabilistic search and optimization algorithms for modeling protein structures, dynamics, and functions, contributing to AI for science initiatives. Her work is supported by the National Science Foundation, including a 2012 CAREER Award and programs in Intelligent Information Systems, Computing Core Foundations, and Software Infrastructure, as well as the Department of Defense, Jeffress Memorial Trust, and other sources. Shehu has authored over 200 refereed publications. She is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a member of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Her honors include the 2022 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the 2021 Beck Family Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Research and Scholarship, the 2018 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award, the 2014 Emerging Researcher-Scholar-Creator Award, the 2013 OSCAR Undergraduate Mentor Excellence Award, and the Jeffress Memorial Trust Award. As an educator and leader, she designs AI literacy curricula, degrees, and programs across disciplines.
Explore Amarda Shehu's transformative role as GMU's Chief AI Officer, her research in AI/ML, policy contributions, and vision for ethical AI in universities worldwide.
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