Earlier this month, two FIU researchers — Artificial Intelligence expert Mark Finlayson and STEM education expert Remy Dou — received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
This is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.
It recognizes innovative, far-reaching developments in science and technology, expands awareness of careers in science and engineering, recognizes the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhances connections between research and impacts on society, and highlights the importance of science and technology for our nation’s future.
Mark Finlayson
Tracking disinformation with AI
An eminent scholar chaired associate professor of computer science in the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, Finlayson specializes in an area of AI called natural language processing. He develops novel AI technology to better understand the connections between stories, cognition, and culture, while simultaneously helping AI better understand human language and behavior. His work has advanced knowledge in a wide variety of fields, from computer science and AI to defense and the digital humanities.
In his lab, called the Cognition, Language, and Culture Laboratory, Finlayson mentors students in research at the doctoral, masters, and undergraduate level. Many of his students have gone on to be professors themselves.
Finlayson was a recipient of an NSF Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award in 2018. He is also an active member of the international AI research community. Recently, he served as a chair of the 2024 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing, a top conference on AI which was held in Miami last November.
Remy Dou
Exploring how STEM identities are formed
Dou is in search of a moment: The moment a person first sees themselves as a scientist. It’s a moment that can be so elusive because typically, it’s based on little somethings that happen over time. A conversation here. A book read there. A TV show seen at the right time. Putting a finger on something so ephemeral could lead to understanding why students choose to major in science or not.
An assistant professor in the STEM Transformation Institute, Dou also leads the Talking Science Research & Development Group which focuses on investigating how family science conversations support the development of children’s STEM identities.
Dou has previously received aNSF Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award to explore STEM identity development in the context of at-home, family conversations. He currently serves as PI or Co-PI on four NSF-funded projects.