Computer Science Professor Recognized as Tech Leader

Dr. Darsana Josyula Named to RealList Engineers

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Saxon, jsaxon@bowiestate.edu, 301-860-3607

(BOWIE, Md.) – Bowie State University computer science professor Dr. Darsana Josyula was featured on Techincal.ly’s RealList Engineers list, which highlights some of the top minds in technology and innovation in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

“It was surprising when they reached out,” said Dr. Josyula, who serves as the director of Bowie State’s, Autonomous Technologies Lab.She works with computer science students on a range of research projects that could shape the future of technology and how it’s used. The projects range from countering malicious social engineering, designing machine-learning systems that are intuitive to users and addressing biases in the research and development stage of emerging technologies.

Dr. Josyula traces her interest in computer science back to fifth grade when she saw a computer for the first time. She was fascinated by the computer’s ability to execute commands and complete tasks based on how it was programmed by the user. Combined with the fact that her mother passed away when she was a young girl, Dr. Josyula found that computers gave her a sense of stability in a world filled with uncertainty.

“You write a program, you make the computer do something and it works,” she said. “That was my way of making sure I live with something certain. That’s how I got into computer science.”

Since Dr. Josyula started teaching at Bowie State in 2006, she has made it her personal mission to ensure that her students have as much opportunity to succeed as students that come from larger research institutions. Dr. Josyula draws inspiration from her father, who was also an educator and often filled their living room with adult literacy students. She was amazed by the look in the eyes of her father’s students, who were excited to learn, and wanted the opportunity to replicate that with her own teaching.

“I could go to a research institution, but that would just be focusing on the research,” said Dr. Josyula. “That wouldn’t give me the opportunity to make sure that I make difference in somebody else’s life.”

Beyond the technical challenges of innovations, Dr. Josyula sees the human tendency to resist change as the biggest hurdle to overcome as the adoption of new technologies continues to gain steam. She believes the key to cutting through the distrust of new technologies is demonstrating how they can be used to make our lives easier.

“Nobody likes change unless they’re convinced that change is useful,” said Dr. Josyula. “There’s anticipation and anxiety. I look at it as an opportunity for humans to be more productive.”

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.