Date: September 17, 2026
Time: 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Location: G01 Gates Hall
Title: AI: The View From NSF
Speaker: Ellen Zegura, Senior Science and Engineering Advisor, Office of the Director at the National Science Foundation
Host: Fred Schneider
Abstract: I have spent the last three years on loan from Georgia Tech working at the National Science Foundation, first as Division Director for Computer and Network Systems, then as Acting Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, and for the past seven months as Senior Science and Engineering Advisor in the Office of the Directorate. In my current role, I am responsible for the AI portfolio across the agency, spanning research, infrastructure, education/workforce, and translation. In this talk I will discuss the evolution of NSF’s AI investments, along with selected stories from my time at the agency.
Bio: Dr. Ellen W. Zegura is the Fleming Chair and a Professor in the School of Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). She also serves as a Senior Science and Engineering Advisor for Artificial Intelligence in the Office of the Director at the U.S. National Science Foundation. Dr. Zegura is a Fellow of both IEEE and ACM and has served as an elected member of the Computing Research Association (CRA) Board, including its Executive Board since Fall 2014.
She earned bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, as well as an M.S. and D.Sc. in Computer Science, from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Zegura’s research focuses on computer networking, wireless and mobile networks, and using computing to address social challenges. Her work includes Internet architecture, disruption-tolerant networks, and improving technology access and connectivity for underserved and rural communities.
