AP Computer Science Superhero #2: Katie Bouman

Birth:

May 9, 1989

Death

N/A

Quote:

"If we come together and think creatively, we can do something that should be impossible."

Academic Events

• Studied computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Michigan and MIT
• Got her PhD in computer vision at the computer science and AI intelligence lab at MIT in 2017
• Got her B.S.E. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan in 2011
• Got her S.M. degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT in 2013
• Received a multitude of awards including the following :NSF Career Award, the Electronic Imaging Scientists of the Year Award, the Royal Photographic Society Progress Medal, an Okawa Research Grant, and a co-recipient of the Breakthrough Prize

Main Contribution:

• Worked with others to develop algorithms that took incomplete data and wove it together into the first complete image of a black hole
• It was the first image of a black hole, and it was captured with the help of coding

Other Contributions:

• Works with others combining ideas from different fields to find and uncover hidden signals for scientific discovery and technological innovation
• Researches computational imagery designing systems that combine algorithm and sensor design
• Became a symbol for women in the computer science field; inspiring a new generation of young girls in a male dominated field

Fun Fact:

When she began her work with the Event Horizon Telescope group, she hardly even knew what a black hole was!

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