Panelist Bios

Jelani is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is a member of the Theory Group. His research focuses on big data and development of efficient algorithms. He is well-known for his contributions to streaming algorithms and dimensionality reduction, including proving that the Johnson–Lindenstrauss lemma is optimal (with Kasper Green Larsen), and developing the Sparse Johnson-Lindenstrauss Transform (with Daniel Kane) and an asymptotically optimal algorithm for the count-distinct problem (with Daniel Kane and David P. Woodruff). He holds two patents related to applications of streaming algorithms to network traffic monitoring applications. Additionally, he is the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship. Jelani is also Founder and President of AddisCoder (addiscoder.com), a computer science summer program for Ethiopian high school students that has trained over 500 alumni thus far.

Angela is currently an AIMS-Google AI Postdoctoral Fellow at AIMS Ghana. As a postdoc at AIMS Ghana, she conducts research in quantum algebra and teaches graduate level courses in the masters programs offered at AIMS Ghana. She is the lead for the AIMS Girls in Mathematical Sciences Program (GMSP) which nurtures the talent of secondary school girls across Ghana to unlock their potential in the mathematical sciences. Angela holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Glasgow and a postgraduate diploma in mathematics from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics. She obtained an MSc in Mathematical Sciences from AIMS Ghana and a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Ghana. Angela is the Founder of Femafricmaths, an NGO that promotes female African mathematicians. Their mission is to inspire young girls about the diverse career options available when you study mathematics. They do so through interviews with #mathsqueens and school outreach activities. Their vision is to see girls being confident to pursue careers in mathematics related fields.

Prof. Billinge has more than 25 years of experience developing and applying techniques to study local structure in materials using x-ray, neutron and electron diffraction including the development of novel data analysis methods including graph theoretic, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning approaches. He earned his Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He is currently a Professor of Materials Science and Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia University and Physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Prof. Billinge has published more than 300 papers in scholarly journals. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Neutron Scattering Society of America, a former Fulbright and Sloan fellow and has earned a number of awards including the 2018 Warren Award of the American Crystallographic Association and being honored in 2011 for contributions to the nation as an immigrant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the 2010 J. D. Hanawalt Award of the International Center for Diffraction Data, University Distinguished Faculty award at Michigan State, the Thomas H. Osgood Undergraduate Teaching Award. Prof. Billinge has also been a key organizer of the JUAMI program over the past decade.