Meet The Team
J.P. Singh
J.P. (Principal Investigator) is Distinguished University Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnership at George Mason University. He is also Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow with the Robert Bosch Academy, Berlin. He works at the intersection of technology, culture and political economy in global contexts examining transformative impacts from provision of telephone service in poor countries, to the use of AI in global value chains in cutting-edge industries. J.P. has consulted or advised international organizations such as the British Council, UNESCO, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, and conducted field research in 36 countries. His current book project explores AI and innovation in Germany, India, and the United States. A winner of numerous research awards and fellowships, he has written 10 books and over 100 scholarly articles.
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Key Skills: Political economy of AI in comparative contexts
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Superpower: "Jugaad" (a colloquial South Asian term, referring to problem-solving innovation, often termed a "hack")
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Naoru Koizumi
Dr. Naoru Koizumi is Professor of Public Policy and the Associate Director of Research and Grants at the Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University. She specializes in medical policies, particularly in the fields of organ transplantation and end-stage kidney and liver diseases. Her research focuses on the applications of various quantitative methods such as biostatistics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), simulation and mathematical optimization to analyze various clinical and policy questions related to organ transplantation and other chronic disease treatments. Her projects funded by NIH and NSF include simulations and optimizations of organ allocation (NIH-R21) and bed allocation in a mental health system (NIH-R21 & R01), simulation of slum expansion in India (NSF) and mathematical analysis of illicit kidney trade networks (NSF). Her grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation investigated effectiveness of ICT-based interventions designed to enhance medication adherence among Tuberculosis patients in India.​
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Key skills: Medical/Bio-statistics, Liver and Kidney Failures and Transplantation, GIS and Spatial Statistics
Superpower: Make people around me “unique”
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Jesse L Kirkpatrick
Jesse Kirkpatrick is a Research Associate Professor and the Acting Director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at George Mason University. He is also an International Security Fellow at New America and serves as a consultant for numerous organizations. His research is interdisciplinary, cutting across such fields as Philosophy, Political Science, Public Policy, and the Life and Computer Sciences. At its core, it aims to explore two central, interrelated themes: (1) how a suite of technologies, singularly and in convergence, impact peace and security, and (2) what the ethical, social, and policy implications of these impacts may be.
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Key Skills: Peace and security, with an emphasis on technology
Superpower: The ability to conjure the sound of dial-up internet while playing on a Commodore 64
Amarda Shehu
Amarda (Co-Principal Investigator) is a Professor of Computer Science and Associate Vice President of Research for the Institute of Digital InnovAtion. During 2019-2022, Amarda co-directed the Transdisciplinary Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnerships and served as an NSF Program Director in the CISE Directorate.
Amarda considers herself an interdisciplinary scientist. Her research record includes foundational advances in AI, Machine Learning, and Algorithmics, and purposeful research that pushes the barriers of our understanding of the physical world. Amarda has a galvanizing view of computing and relentless energy and advocacy for the advancement of knowledge across scientific disciplines and the improvement of the human condition.
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Key Skills: Broad knowledge on Old/Classic and New/Deep AI.
Superpower: Brings a cheerful spirit and "AI zen" to the team.
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Terry L. Clower
Terry L. Clower (Co-Principal Investigator) is Northern Virginia Chair and Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. He is director of GMU’s Center for Regional Analysis. The Center provides economic and public policy research services to sponsors in the private, non-profit and public sectors. He also leads the Stephen S. Fuller Institute for Research on the Washington Region’s Economic Future. Prior to joining GMU, he was director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas. Dr. Clower also has almost ten years of private sector experience in transportation, logistics, and site location management.
Dr. Clower has authored or co-authored over 250 articles, book chapters, and research reports reflecting experience in economic and community development, land use planning, labor market analysis, real estate market analysis, economic and fiscal impact analysis, transportation, and economic and market forecasting. His scholarly articles have appeared in Economic Development Quarterly; Urban Studies; Economic Development Review; Regional Studies, Regional Science; the Australasian Journal of Regional Studies; Sustaining Regions; and Applied Research in Economic Development. He co-authored the textbook Globalization, Planning and Local Economic Development with Prof. Andrew Beer of the University of South Australia (Taylor-Francis, London, 2020).
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Dr. Clower received a B.S. in Marine Transportation from Texas A&M University in 1982, a M.S. in Applied Economics from the University of North Texas in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Information Sciences from the University of North Texas in 1997 specializing in information infrastructure policy and the use of information resources.
Key skills: Economic Development and Policy, Regional Development, Quantitative methods, Transportation policy
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Superpower: Ability to see the connections across an economic eco-system to see how regions can become more competitive
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Sonali Chowdhary
Sonali Chowdhary is a third-year Ph.D. student in Public Policy at the Schar School for Policy and Government, George Mason University. She has over two decades of experience in inclusive economic development across emerging markets in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Sonali has held managerial, leadership and consulting roles within multilateral development organizations, public programs, nonprofits, and purpose-driven businesses. Her research interests lie in leveraging policy, data analytics, and emerging technologies such as AI to drive social impact.
She holds a Master of Science in International Development from the University of Bath, UK, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, India.
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Key skills: Technology for development, Enabling ecosystems for purpose-driven businesses, Program and policy evaluation, Rural and Agriculture finance, Enterprise, value chain and supply chain development.
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Superpower: Crealogical thinker (creative +logical) with ability to simplify complex problems while maintaining calm