Ayanna Howard is the Co-founder and Board Member of Zyrobotics and the Dean of Engineering at Ohio State University. Recognised as one of The Most Powerful Women Engineers by Business Insider, Ayanna is a leading figure in the world of robotics and AI, who specialises in the ethical development and innovation of AI to be used in the workplace, home, and society. Ayanna is a prominent speaker on the necessity of developing AI technologies ethically and is a respected thought leader whose advice is highly sought after by organisations across multiple sectors. Through Zyrobotics, Ayanna focuses on developing AI for use in paediatric healthcare and people with physical or cognitive disabilities.
With excellent academic credentials including a BSc in Engineering from Brown University, MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California, MBA from Claremont Graduate University and a PhD in Electrical Engineering, Robotics and Computer Science, it is no surprise that Ayanna landed a job with NASA. Spending 11 years at NASA’S Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ayanna worked her way up to become a Senior Robotics Researcher. She then went on to work for the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she currently holds the role of Adjunct Professor. In addition, Ayanna presently sits on the Board of Directors of Motorola Solutions and Autodesk.
With over 250 peer-reviewed publications, Ayanna demonstrates her authority on human emotion-centred robotic design. In recognition of her outstanding work, she was named one of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes, become one of two engineers to be elected to the National Academy of Inventors and in 2018 received the Richard A Tapia Achievement Award for Scientific Scholarship, Civic Science and Diversifying Computing. Ayanna shares her knowledge on her award-winning Amazon audiobook Sex, Race and Robots, in addition to her popular podcast Enginuity which can be found on Apple. Her work has featured in several leading publications such as USA Today, Black Enterprise and Time Magazine. Furthermore, Ayanna has appeared on the ABC television talk show The View.
Honoured with a Fellowship from the prestigious Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Ayanna was also appointed to the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee which advises the President. Believing diversity is key to preventing biases in AI, Ayanna is optimistic about the role AI can play in assisting humans and constantly advises leaders and developers on the most ethical and efficient ways to develop AI. A highly respected scholar in the field of robotics and AI, Ayanna will leave her audience well-informed on the latest and most exciting changes in AI technology.
How to hire Ayanna Howard
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Ayanna Howard for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Ayanna's official speaking topics include:
- The Power of AI During a Pandemic
- The Future of Work in the Age of AI
- Are We Trusting Our Systems Too Much? Hacking the Human Bias in AI
- Debunking Myths Around Innovation and Creativity
- How to Make Robots Smarter- and Why We Should
- Opportunities and Challenges of AI for Business
- How to Prepare Students for the AI Economy
- Robots As Helpful Health Care Givers
- Bringing Your Whole Self to the Job: Making the World Better Through Engineering and Science
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Ayanna was a great partner to work with for our event. She shared her story in an engaging way that hit on the key points I was hoping her talk would deliver. Her talk was very well received, with many of our attendees specifically appreciating the examples she shared. I was looking for Ayanna to provide a motivating and inspiring vision into the future of work for our community, and she definitely delivered on that. She was a fabulous addition to our event." - David, Executive Director, The eLearning Guild
"We recently engaged Ayanna to speak at Baker McKenzie’s fourth FutureWorks Global Employer Forum in New York. The audience comprised of senior leadership from progressive global organizations and we discussed the megatrends impacting the future of work. Ayanna did a great job speaking plainly and intelligently about AI and its impact in the workplace. She was fantastic at engaging the audience on an otherwise highly technical subject. Our audience was largely inexperienced in this area but very sophisticated in business, and she was able to strike exactly the right tone for communication and to enable a meaningful discussion. We enjoyed working with her from the moment we had an opportunity to speak directly. She was highly responsive, very easy to work with and she completely understood our requirements and exceeded them in every respect. I would highly recommend Ayanna as a speaker." - Rashi , Lead Knowledge Lawyer, Global Employment & Compensation, Baker & McKenzie LLP
- 2022 - Member of the Board of Directors of Motorola Solutions
- 2021 - Dean of Engineering at The Ohio State University College of Engineering
- 2019 - Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2019
- 2019 - Member of the Board of Directors of Autodesk
- 2018 - Chair of the School of Interactive Computing, College of Computing at Georgia Tech
- 2018 - Named a Top 50 US Women in Tech by Forbes
- 2016 - Visiting Research Scientist for Microsoft
- 2016 - Associate Chair for Faculty Development of the Georgia Institute of Technology
- 2015 - Named one of the 23 Most Powerful Women Engineers in the World by Business Insider
- 2013 - Co-Founder & Board Member of Zyrobotics LLC
- 2013 - Associate Director of Research at the Institute for Robotics & Intelligence Machine at Georgia Tech
- 2010 - Chair of the Robotics PhD Program at the Georgia Insititute of Technology
- 2005 - Adjunct Professor of the Georgia Institute of Technology
- 2005 - Awarded the IEEE Early Career Award in Robotics & Automation
- 2003 - Named a Top 100 Young Innovators of the Year by the MIT Technology Review
- 1994 - Senior Robotics Researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
