Ananda D. Gunawardena

Dr. A.D. (Andy) Gunawardena is a computer science professor, data and AI scientist, innovator, and entrepreneur. He has held faculty positions at multiple institutions, including Carnegie Mellon, Princeton, and Rutgers Universities. Currently, he leads initiatives in data science and AI education at the computer science department at Rutgers, which graduates over 800 computer science majors annually. His senior-level “Introduction to Data Science and AI” course at Rutgers is among the most popular, attracting nearly 500 students each semester. Additionally, he serves as the co-chair of the “AI in Education and Workforce” working group at the newly established NJ-AI Hub (https://njaihub.org/), leading initiatives across New Jersey to strengthen and scale AI education and training.

Dr. Gunawardena has been a pioneer in applying AI technologies to education, contributing to the development of AI-driven platforms such as https://cubits.ai and the Rutgers-developed CodeBench (http://CodeBench.us), a data science teaching platform that supports over 1,000 students each semester at Rutgers and now expanded to NJ community colleges. CodeBench was recognized with the Grossman Innovation Award in 2024. He holds two patents from Princeton University and one from Carnegie Mellon, where he was a faculty member before joining Rutgers. In addition to his research contributions, he has authored three college-level textbooks on computational linear algebra and secured over $3 million in funding from NSF, Microsoft, HP, and other foundations. His current focus is on researching and developing AI-boosted content, methods and tools to expand AI education access for all.