CSC Public Interest Tech Speaker Series: Maria João Sousa

​Mark your calendars! The CSC is hosting a Zoom-only speaker series with three professionals working in Public Interest Technology.

​This month, we're lucky to host Maria João Sousa, Executive Director of Climate Change AI, a global non-profit that catalyzes impactful work at the intersection of climate change and machine learning.

​Building for Impact: A Career Path in Public Interest Technology

​Curious about how to start a career at the forefront of AI and sustainability? Maria João Sousa, a PiTech Startup Postdoc at Cornell Tech and Executive Director of Climate Change AI, is sharing her early career journey. Maria João Sousa’s journey began with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, developing intelligent wildfire detection systems – a project that sparked her interest in addressing climate issues and ultimately led her to a global non-profit tackling climate change using AI. She’ll walk you through the key decisions she made, the unexpected opportunities she seized, and the challenges she overcame, offering practical advice for students interested in using public interest technology in service of a more equitable and just society.

​Maria João Sousa is a PiTech Startup Postdoc at Cornell Tech and Executive Director at Climate Change AI, which is a global non-profit that catalyzes impactful work at the intersection of climate change and machine learning. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa. Her doctoral thesis focused on cooperative aerial robotics and artificial intelligence for wildfire detection and monitoring systems