Katie Bouman

Katie Bouman is a Rosenberg Scholar and associate professor of computing and mathematical sciences at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., with courtesy appointments in electrical engineering and astronomy. Her research focuses on computational imaging, where she designs systems that integrate algorithms with sensor design to make it possible to observe phenomena that are otherwise difficult or impossible to measure. At Caltech, she leads a group that combines concepts from signal processing, computer vision, machine learning and physics to uncover hidden signals for both scientific discovery and technological innovation.

Bouman was a postdoctoral fellow with the Event Horizon Telescope project, which produced the first image of a black hole in April 2019. She earned her doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017 after completing her master’s degree in the same field at MIT in 2013. She received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan in 2011.

Her contributions to science and engineering have earned her numerous honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a Sloan Fellowship, an NSF CAREER Award, the Electronic Imaging Scientist of the Year Award and the Royal Photographic Society Progress Medal. She has also received an Okawa Research Grant, the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award from the University of Michigan, a Caltech faculty teaching award, and was a finalist for the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. Bouman is also a co-recipient of the Breakthrough Prize.