Petit Institute Antiracism Distinguished Lecture

"Considering Citizenship in a New World"

Kamau Bobb, Ph.D.
Global Lead for Diversity Strategy and Research, Google
Senior Director, Constellations Center for Equity in Computing, College of Computing, Georgia Tech

In a world profoundly divided along lines of race, skills and ideology, Kamau Bobb, Ph.D., will discuss the role of STEM education as an arm of justice and a requirement for modern citizenship.

AGENDA

• 11:00 a.m. - Petit Institute Antiracism Distinguished Lecture - “Considering Citizenship in a New World”
• Noon - Panel Discussion with GT Leadership
  • Chaouki Abdallah, Ph.D. - Executive Vice President for Research, Georgia Tech
  • Andrés García, Ph.D. - Executive Director, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Tech
  • Samuel Graham, Ph.D. - Chair, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech
  • Kaye Husbands Fealing, Ph.D. - Dean and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Georgia Tech
  • Susan Margulies, Ph.D. - Chair, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech / Emory University
• 1:00 p.m. - Trainee Discussion with Kamau Bobb - open to all postdocs, graduate, and undergraduate students
• 2:00 p.m. - Adjourn

BIO
Kamau Bobb, Ph.D., is the Global Lead for Diversity Strategy and Research at Google and the founding Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at Georgia Tech. He is an engineer and science and technology policy scholar whose work focuses on the relationship between equity in the STEM enterprise, large educational systems, and the structural conditions that influence contemporary American life.

He brings to his current position a wealth of experience as a former Program Officer at the National Science Foundation (NSF). At NSF he was responsible for $30 million annually of investments targeted on improving computing and STEM education. In that role Dr. Bobb worked at the highest levels of the federal government to help shape the national research agenda for effective means of delivering equitable and quality computational education to all students. He has worked with members of the Office and Science and Technology Policy in the Obama Administration to set the national strategy for STEM education at both post-secondary and secondary school levels. He was selected as a member of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper STEM + Entrepreneurship Taskforce to help U.S. cities craft strategies to engage young men and boys of color in the STEM landscape. Prior to his federal appointment, Dr. Bobb was the Director of the STEM Initiative for the University System of Georgia, a collaborative effort with the governor’s office to improve STEM education across the 30 public institutions serving approximately 325,000 students in the state.

Bobb holds a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Policy from Georgia Tech and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Organizing Committee
Edward Botchwey, Ph.D. - Chair
Andrés García, Ph.D. - Petit Institute executive director
María Coronel, Ph.D. - Postdoctoral representative
Nettie Brown - Predoctoral representative
Milan Riddick - Undergraduate representative
Lakeita Servance - Petit Institute staff representative