Join us at ICMI-2025 for a groundbreaking panel discussion titled "Women in Computing and Education". This session brings together five leading women who are pioneers in their respective fields. Our panelists will share their experiences and insights, shedding light on the challenges and triumphs of women in these dynamic sectors. This discussion is not just a platform for exchanging ideas but also a celebration of the remarkable contributions women make to computing and education.
Dr. Nelly Elsayed is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information Technology. She is the Leader and Founder of the Applied Machine Learning and Intelligence Lab. Her research focuses on Applied AI and Machine Learning for Healthcare, Smart Technologies, Computer Vision, Cybersecurity, and Business. She received a BS. and MS. degree in Computer Science from Alexandria University and her MS. and Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is an active member of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society. She has served as a principal and co-co-principal investigator in different federal, educational, and industrial level-funded research projects. She received the Faculty Incentive Award for Research and Scholarship from the CECH, UC, recognizing her research contributions, journal and conference peer-reviewed publications, and professional presentations in 2020-2021. She received the Love of Learning Award from the Honor Society Phi Kappa Phi in 2019, and 2023. She received the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching (Graduate Level), CECH. She received the UCAADA Sarah Grant Barber Outstanding Advising Faculty Award for AY21/22 from the University of Cincinnati. She has been an Ambassador for Goodwill of Lafayette, Louisiana, since 2017. Dr. Nelly Elsayed has been nominated for the for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) which is the most prestigious mentoring award in the Nation.
Dr. Rasha Karakchi is a faculty member at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Karakchi's primary research area of interest is in high-performance computing systems design including architecture, reconfigurability and security.
Dr. Eman El-Sheikh is a global award-winning leader with 30+ years of experience in AI, Machine Learning, and Cybersecurity. Eman serves as Associate Vice President and Professor at the University of West Florida Center for Cybersecurity. She received over $26 Million in competitive grants and several awards, including the 2024 GISEC Global Educator of the Year, 2024 Cybersecurity Woman of the World finalist, UWF Million Dollar Research Hall of Fame induction, and 2020 Women Leaders in Cybersecurity by Security Magazine. Dr. El-Sheikh leads several national initiatives, including the National Cybersecurity Workforce Development Program, CyberSkills2Work®, and received numerous grants to enhance cybersecurity education, workforce development and capacity building. She launched the award-winning Cybersecurity for All® Program to enhance competencies and hands-on skills for evolving cybersecurity work roles. Dr. El-Sheikh has published several books, over 100 peer-reviewed articles, and given over 150 keynote and invited talks and presentations. Eman serves as a Global Ambassador for the Global Council for Responsible AI. She teaches and conducts research related to the development, use, and evaluation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Cybersecurity.Eman founded the Florida Women in Cybersecurity Affiliate and serves on its Advisory Board. She holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science and AI from Michigan State University.
Dr. Vanessa Aguiar-Pulidois an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Miami (UM). Her research is at the interface of Computer Science and Biomedical Sciences and my lab focuses on Data Science and Computational Biology. Dr. Aguiar-Pulido is passionate about problem solving in biomedical research, with a focus on developing tools and algorithms that will impact diagnosis and therapeutics of rare and complex genetic disorders. Her background and interests include machine learning, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, bioinformatics, big data analytics data mining, ontologies, biomedical data integration, health informatics, epigenetics and omics in general.
Before joining UM, Dr. Aguiar-Pulido was a junior faculty a Weill Medical School of Cornell University and, prior to that, a postdoctoral associate at Florida International University. Dr. Aguiar-Pulido received her Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of A Coruña, where she also completed a B.S. in Computer Engineering. During her Ph.D., she was awarded with an Inditex scholarship to carry out a research stay at Stanford University.
Dr. Soon Ae Chun is a professor and director of the Information Systems and Informatics program at CUNY College of Staten Island (CSI), and a professor of Computer Science Ph.D Program and Data Science MS Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is the director of the Information Security Research and Education Lab (iSecure Lab). Her research area includes AI and Machine Learning; Security, Privacy and Trust; Semantic Web; Social Media Data Analytics; and Service Integration, focusing on applied areas in Digital Government and Digital Health. She worked on IT Innovations, Emergency Management and Scientific and Environmental Data Management projects in collaboration with the New Jersey State Government, NJ Meadowlands Environmental Center, NY/NJ Port Authority, Newark City Government, NASA as well as SAP, and Panasonic. She received the CSI President’s Dolphin Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement, a Fulbright Scholarship, and a Distinguished Service Award by the Digital Government Society. She served as the President for the Digital Government Society. She is a founding Editors-in-Chief for the ACM Digital Government Research and Practice. She is a senior member of IEEE and ACM Computing Society, and a member of the Digital Government Society and the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor
Dr. Nawar Shara is the founding director of AI CoLab, chief research data science, director of the Center of Biostatistics, Informatics, Data Science at the MedStar Health Research Institute, and Associate Professor of Medicine and Chief of AI Applications (“Chief AI”) at Georgetown university with over 20 years of experience. As an NIH-funded investigator, she leads multidisciplinary teams to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence in promoting ethical, transparent, and trustworthy solutions in healthcare. Dr. Shara has several leadership positions spanning the CTSA/NCATS consortium to the national AIM-AHEAD program, charged with raising awareness about the potential role AI plays in health equity. She leads the development of curricula focused on the role AI plays in healthcare to train and educate the next generation of frontline healthcare workers. Dr. Shara earned her Master and PhD in applied statistics from American University after completing her undergraduate degree in Economics at Damascus University.