Francine Berman is a data scientist and the Director of Public Interest Technology and Stuart Rice Research Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the former Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center, former Vice President for Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and co-founded the international Research Data Alliance.
Berman is a thought leader and a passionate advocate for a more socially responsible tech landscape. She is a leader in the emerging area of Public Interest Technology and works to build communities of doers to craft a future in which tech can be better, and more beneficial for the people who use it.
Berman was awarded the ACM/IEEE-CS Ken Kennedy Award for "influential leadership in the design, development, and deployment of national-scale cyberinfrastructure" (2009), the 2020 Paul Evan Peters award (given by Educause and the Association of Research Libraries), the 2024 Pioneer in Tech award (given by National Center for Women in Technology), and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Berman currently serves as a Trustee of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
