Jesse Spencer-Smith (he, him, his) is the chief data scientist and director of the Data Science Institute, director of the new master’s in artificial intelligence program, and professor of the practice and associate dean in the College of Connected Computing.
As chief data scientist for the DSI, Professor Spencer-Smith coordinates the work of the DSI data science team and dozens of Vanderbilt undergraduate and graduate students in collaborating with researchers across Vanderbilt on AI and data science research engagements. He teaches generative AI courses at Vanderbilt, including AI 1010, an introduction to AI for students from all backgrounds He consults with and leads workshops on AI for companies, governments, and nonprofits worldwide. He loves speaking with students about AI, careers, and future plans. He and his wife, Caren, and the family geckos, Loki, Ghost, Baby, and Dexter are all happy residents of Sutherland.
Sutherland is named after Earl W. Sutherland, a Vanderbilt professor of physiology who won the Nobel Prize in 1971. There are seven Nobel laureates affiliated with Vanderbilt, most recently being John Jumper, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in protein structure prediction. Prof. Spencer-Smith can’t wait to meet the next Sutherland residents, and to see what THEY do in the future!