Meeyoung Cha

Prof. Dr. Meeyoung Cha is a Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and a researcher at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea. Starting June 2024, she will assume the role of Scientific Director at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy in Bochum. Her research focuses on leveraging data science to address societal challenges such as sustainable development, social dynamics, and misinformation. She has pioneered studies on poverty mapping using satellite imagery and analyzed the spread of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic across 151 countries. Her work has garnered over 20,000 citations and awards.

Education and professional experience include a sabbatical at Facebook in Silicon Valley, where she engaged with cutting-edge AI technologies. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges computer science, social sciences, and policy-making, emphasizing ethical applications of data-driven insights.

Research highlights include:

• Using computer vision to infer economic development from satellite images
• Examining societal impacts of AI, social media, and chatbots
• Combatting misinformation while promoting equitable technology access

Prof. Cha’s contributions to fraud detection and long-tail content analysis further underscore her expertise in applied data science for global challenges.