Erin Fitzgerald

Shaping social science research to support national security: Dr. Erin Fitzgerald works in the Basic Research office within the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering where she directs the Minerva Research Initiative, a $27 M university-based basic research program for improving fundamental understanding of the social and cultural forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the Nation. In the Basic Research office she also develops strategic plans for future basic research investments and was instrumental in revamping DoD policies on export control and restrictive clauses on fundamental university research. Her internships at Microsoft, Intel, BBN Technologies, and elsewhere have given her a complementary familiarity with the industry research and development environment.

Dr. Fitzgerald received her B.S. in electrical and computer engineering (with a minor in music performance) from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, where she also served as Student Body President, and her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Her research in speech and language processing combined electrical engineering, computer science, and cognitive science approaches to contribute to efforts in automatic speech recognition and language translation.

In 2010 she consulted for Mattel through the National Academy of Engineering on the design of the Barbie® I Can Be...™ Computer Engineer Doll, which led to interviews on Marketplace, the Wall Street Journal, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, WQED television, and other venues.