Cheryl Seals

Cheryl Seals is the Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University's College of Engineering. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech, with additional degrees from Virginia Tech, North Carolina A&T State University, and Grambling State University. Her research focuses on AI ethics, natural language processing (NLP), virtual reality (VR) applications in healthcare and education, and promoting diversity in STEM. She leads initiatives like the NSF-funded AI ethics education project and the Institute for African Americans in Computing Sciences (IAAMCS). Notable awards include the Charles W. Barkley Professorship (2020) and participation in Drexel’s ELATES fellowship program. Her work bridges technology and social impact, including VR-based empathy training for medical students and interventions to mitigate pandemic-induced learning loss. She collaborates on interdisciplinary projects, such as automated grading tools for speech therapy and pavement crack recognition systems.

Education:

• Ph.D. Computer Science, Virginia Tech
• M.S. Computer Science, Virginia Tech
• M.S. Software Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University
• B.S. Computer Science, Grambling State University

Research Interests:

• AI Ethics and STEM Education Reform
• NLP for Sentiment Analysis and Hate Speech Detection
• VR Applications in Healthcare Training and Empathy Development
• Computing Equity and Underrepresented Groups
• Interdisciplinary Tools for Education and Accessibility

Awards and Recognition:

• Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor (2020–2025)
• ELATES Fellowship Participant (2024)

Grants and Collaborations:

• NSF Grant: Integrating AI Ethics into STEM Curricula
• Collaborative Research: Evolution of IAAMCS
• National Science Foundation (NSF) AI Ethics Initiative

Labs and Affiliations:

• Center for Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Engineering
• McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security