Meredith Ringel Morris is an American

computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...

whose contributions span HCI (

human–computer interaction Human–computer interaction (HCI) is the process through which people operate and engage with computer systems. Research in HCI covers the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and comp ...

) and AI (artificial intelligence) research, including contributions in gesture interaction design, computer-supported cooperative work, information retrieval, accessible technologies and human-centered AI. She is a principal scientist and director at Google DeepMind (and was previously Director of the People + AI Research team in Google Research’s Responsible AI division) and an affiliate professor at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in The Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and in The Information School. Prior to joining Google, she was Research Area Manager for Interaction, Accessibility, and Mixed Reality at Microsoft Research, where she founded the Ability team. Morris’ expertise in accessible technologies served as a bridge to her transition from an HCI researcher to an AI researcher, beginning with a focus on issues such as how AI tools could extend the capabilities of people with vision, hearing, motor, and cognitive disabilities as well as considerations of related ethics and fairness concerns, such as the inclusion (or lack thereof) of people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

and older adults in AI training data.

Early life and education

Morris earned her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(B.S.) in computer science from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'', where her undergraduate research was advised by Andy van Dam. She earned her

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in computer science from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where she was advised by

Terry Winograd Terry Allen Winograd (born February 24, 1946) is an American computer scientist. He is a professor at Stanford University, and co-director of the Stanford Human–Computer Interaction Group. He is known within the philosophy of mind and artificia ...

. Her high school didn’t offer computer science coursework, but she was inspired to study computer science after attending the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences, a summer magnet program at Carnegie Mellon University for high school students residing in Pennsylvania.

Recognition

ACM Fellow ACM Fellowship is an award and fellowship that recognises outstanding members of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The title of ACM Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals ...

ACM SIGCHI The Special Interest Group on Computer–Human Interaction (SIGCHI) is one of the Association for Computing Machinery's special interest groups which is focused on human–computer interactions (HCI). It hosts the flagship annual international H ...

CHI Academy The SIGCHI Academy is a group of researchers honored by SIGCHI, the Special Interest Group in Computer–Human Interaction of the Association for Computing Machinery. Each year, 5–8 new members are elected for having made a significant, cumulative ...

* ACM Distinguished Members * TR35 Award * UIST Lasting Impact Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Meredith Ringel Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American computer scientists American women computer scientists Brown University alumni Stanford University alumni