Computing Research Association

Wrapping up our highlight of the inaugural class of 2025 CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellows, we connected with Lucretia Williams to chat about her experience and hopes for the future of trustworthy AI. As a Research Scientist at Howard University’s Institute of Human-Centered AI and director of the ATHENA Lab, Lucretia’s research spans AI ethics, health, and education, rooted in community-based design approaches.

As a Trustworthy AI Research Fellow, her research focuses on:
🔹 Designing AI systems aligned with the values and agency of historically excluded communities
🔹 Analyzing privacy policies and data protection standards for AI mental health applications
🔹 Creating strategic institutional frameworks for trustworthy AI implementation

Learn more about Lucretia’s research and her commitment to trustworthy AI: https://cra.org/crn/2026/06/cra-trustworthy-ai-research-fellow-spotlight-lucretia-williams/

Meet the faces advocating for and shaping the future of AI education! 🤖

Continuing our series highlighting our newly announced NSF NAIRR AI Education Fellows, this week we’re celebrating Bingbing Li! 🌟

Bingbing Li, PhD, is a Professor of Manufacturing Systems Engineering at California State University Northridge. His research focuses on Smart Manufacturing (industrial AI, multimodal data fusion for autonomous system, digital twin, extended reality), Additive Manufacturing, and Sustainable Manufacturing, and industrial partners.

We’re inspired by his passion to foster innovation.

If you teach in a U.S. computing department, there's still time to help shape the future of accessibility in computing education.

Please share your perspective before the survey closes July 31.

CRA-E is inviting computing faculty to complete a brief 3–5 minute survey about the digital tools they use in teaching. The results will help inform a practical white paper for computing departments preparing for new digital accessibility requirements.

Take the survey: https://crasurvey.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_29Ml3vS6l9ImbGe

Catching up on highlighting our 2025 CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellows, we connected with Vinitha Gadiraju to chat about her experience and hopes for the future of trustworthy AI. As an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Wellesley College, Vinitha’s research explores how people use and are impacted by AI tools in high-stakes and vulnerable contexts, drawing from human-computer interaction, education, and sociology.

As a Trustworthy AI Research Fellow, her research focuses on:
🔹 Perception, trust, and harm mitigation in sensitive AI use contexts
🔹 Community co-design approaches that center underserved communities
🔹 Disability-inclusive AI development and user safety

Learn more about Vinitha’s research and her commitment to trustworthy AI: https://cra.org/crn/2026/06/cra-trustworthy-ai-research-fellow-spotlight-vinitha-gadiraju/

Join us this Thursday, July 30, at 5:00 PM ET for the second session of the NAIRR AI EDU RCN Webinar Series: CloudBank Classroom. Learn how CloudBank Classroom provides a cloud-hosted JupyterHub with persistent storage, pre-configured data science tools, and seamless university login—making it easier to integrate AI computing into your courses.

Featuring Eric Van Dusen (Computing, Data Science and Society, UC Berkeley), alongside NAIRR AI Education Fellows Christian Servin (El Paso Community College) and Narges Norouzi (UC Berkeley).

This session is free and open to U.S.-based faculty teaching undergraduate or graduate courses with AI content.

Register today: https://cra-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gGmwIgygQteBOtiPUGWcKg

NSF CSGrad4US Fellow Natalie Neamtu is currently a PhD student entering her third year at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Her path to advanced academia was sparked during her time as a software engineer, specifically when she had the opportunity to present her undergraduate research at a workshop. This influential experience acted as a catalyst, motivating her to transition from industry back to graduate school.

Natalie's current research focuses on formal verification, a method that employs mathematical proofs to ensure code performs exactly as intended, moving beyond standard software testing. Her specialized work addresses "weak memory," which occurs when computers utilize shortcuts to optimize performance during multi-tasking.

Natalie notes that her background in software engineering provides "practical experience in the processes of developing, deploying, and maintaining services that others rely on." This industry perspective offers valuable "insight into the decision-making processes inside of software organizations and what might incentivize teams to invest in using a tool like ours," allowing her to refine the tool with a unique, practical lens.

We are excited to follow Natalie's continued progress and achievements in the field of formal verification!

That’s a wrap on the 2026 CRA Summit!

A huge thank you to everyone from academia, industry, and government who joined us in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Your insights, candid dialogue, and strategic vision made this year's summit a defining moment for the future of computing research.

We covered a lot of ground over the last few days—from navigating the impacts of AI in education to exploring AI in entertainment.

While we’re all packing up and heading home, the work is just beginning. Let’s keep this momentum going! We encourage you to continue the conversations started in our sessions, collaborate across sectors, and keep pushing the boundaries of computing research.

What was your biggest takeaway from this year’s summit? Share your thoughts below! 👇

Meet the faces advocating for and shaping the future of AI education! 🤖

Continuing our series highlighting our newly announced NSF NAIRR AI Education Fellows, this week we’re celebrating Shanshan Li! 🌟

Shanshan Li, PhD, is an Assistant Instructional Professor at the School of Computing and the WyGISC (Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center) at the University of Wyoming. With a background of bridging geospatial science and computational methods to prepare the next generation of geospatial professionals for an AI-augmented workforce, her efforts contribute to making AI education at the University of Wyoming and beyond more inclusive and applied.
We’re inspired by her drive to create open educational resources to expand access to AI training.

Catching up on highlighting our 2025 CRA Trustworthy AI Research Fellows, we connected with Lindsay Sanneman to chat about her experience and hopes for the future of trustworthy AI. As an Assistant Professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University, Lindsay’s research focuses on transparent value alignment, explainability, and mutual understanding between humans and AI systems.

As a Trustworthy AI Research Fellow, her research focuses on:
🔹 Transparent value alignment and system steerability
🔹 Interdisciplinary ethics and critical reflection in tech education
🔹 Socio-technical design that augments human thinking and worker well-being

Learn more about Lindsay’s research and her commitment to trustworthy AI: https://cra.org/crn/2026/04/cra-trustworthy-ai-research-fellow-spotlight-lindsay-sanneman/