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BY ZACHARY SCHERMELE AUGUST 18, 2021

Jeannette Wing, the Avanessians director of Columbia's Data Science Institute and a professor of computer science, will become the next executive vice president for research, University President Lee Bollinger announced on Wednesday. She will officially start her new role on Sept. 1.

Wing has led the Data Science Institute since 2017. Under her tenure, she has supported a variety of research initiatives in personalized medicine, the impacts of climate change, wireless technology, and other areas.

Wing is widely recognized for her scholarly leadership and contributions in computer science and data science. Following the publication of her essay "Computational Thinking" in 2006, she is credited with innovating the application of core computer science principles to other disciplines. Her current research focus is artificial intelligence.

"Jeannette will advance the office's mandate to grow our research efforts in ways that align with the challenges and opportunities ahead, building on the University's longstanding strengths, supporting collaborations across disciplines, and encouraging work that takes advantage of anticipated new sources of funding from the federal government," Bollinger wrote in an email to students and faculty.

Wing joined Columbia after working at Microsoft, where she was corporate vice president of Microsoft Research. Prior to that, Wing was the head of the department of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. During that time, she also briefly served at the National Science Foundation as the assistant director for the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.

The coronavirus pandemic leveled an unprecedented blow to academic research at Columbia and its peer institutions. In spring 2020, research at wet labslabs equipped with the right ventilation, plumbing, and other resources to conduct hands-on scientific experiments that were logistically difficult to conduct remotelywas brought to a standstill, with only COVID-19-related research being conducted. The delay created a backlog of data for some researchers.

The pandemic also brought major financial losses to the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and hit the University's endowment in a way that could have an indirect, negative effect on its research capabilities. But Wing insists that now, over a year after many of Columbia's labs were physically shuttered, research productivity is high again, and she is excited about new federal funding opportunities.

"I don't actually know what the situation will be like in September, but what I can assure you is that wet lab research, where people have to come on campus, has continued throughout COVID-19, and the good news is that anything that was essentially non-wet lab research, that has been able to continuenot a problem," she said.

The announcement of Wing's appointment comes during what Bollinger referred to as an "extraordinary moment in national advancement and funding of university research." In recent months, Congress has introduced significant legislationnotably the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021that, if passed, would make historic investments to further the research capabilities of higher education institutions.

"We're all holding our breath, because you know how Congress operates," Wing said.

The bill was originally introduced in May 2020 as the Endless Frontiers Act, but died in committee in both houses.

The spirit of the legislation was revived this year in the Innovation and Competition Act, which was passed by the Senate in June and, pending House approval, will invest around $200 billion toward advancing the United States' "global research competitiveness." A significant portion of that money would go to higher education institutions like Columbia in the form of grants, which postdoctoral students and researchers rely on to fund their work.

"This is the reason why I'm excited about this new position, because if it does happen, and assuming it will happen, I want to help Columbia be prepared for these new opportunities," Wing said.

While at the Data Science Institute, Wing worked to promote diversity among researchers by creating a task force on and an action plan for racial equity. She also appointed an associate director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and through pipeline and recruitment initiatives, hopes to continue that work in her new role.

"I also, from my own experience as a researcher, have seen the benefits of having a diverse team," she said. "Diversity along all dimensions is very important for advancing science and engineering and all disciplines, in terms of research."

Senior staff writer Zach Schermele can be contacted at zachary.schermele@columbiaspectator.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZachSchermele.

Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.

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Jeannette Wing Promoted To Executive Vice President For Research - Patch.com