Dr. Avanna MacCalla Howard Archives - Harlem Film Institute

Dr. Ayanna MacCalla Howard was born on January 24, 1972, to Johnetta and Eric Conway MacCalla in Providence, Rhode Island. Howard’s parents owned a business called Automated Switching and Controls while managing to stay involved in her education. She attended Brown University, where she earned a B.S. in Engineering and served as the President of the National Society of Black Engineers. She then went on to earn her M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Since her high school years, Howard has actively worked on science projects, gaining experience in Computer Programming and Artificial Intelligence.

Throughout her graduate studies, Howard worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Califonia to develop navigation methods for robots in Mars explorations. In addition to this work. Dr. Howard was involved in educational outreach programs while earning an M.B.A. She then pursued a career in academia and established her own laboratory, the Human-Automation Systems (HumAnS) Laboratory at Georgie Institute of Technology with a focus on enhancing the autonomy of robot functionality. In addition, she founded Zyrbotics, where she currently works to design robots to work with children with disabilities.

She has been appointed to serve as the chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology robotics graduate program. She continues to advocate for African American communities in education, with a particular focus on math and sciences, Howard dreams of a future where robots will make a difference in the lives of people. She has already contributed to this world, publishing more than 100 peer-reviewed academic papers and has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards. As an educator, researcher, and innovator, Howard’s continued work and interest in changing the world with research, innovation, and wisdom definitely make her a Black STEAMer on the rise.

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