Jesse Spencer-Smith

Faculty Head

Sutherland House

Jesse Spencer-Smith (he, him, his) is the Chief Data Scientist and Interim Director for the Data Science Institute and a Professor of the Practice of Computer Science. Although he is currently in the School of Engineering, he (and the Data Science Institute) will soon become part of the new College of Connected Computing, Vanderbilt's first new College in over 40 years!

As Chief Data Scientist for the DSI, Jesse coordinates the work of the DSI Data Science team and dozens of Vanderbilt undergraduate and graduate students in collaborating with researchers across Vanderbilt on AI and Data Science research engagements. He teaches courses in generative AI at Vanderbilt, and leads workshops on AI for companies, governments, and nonprofits worldwide. He loves speaking with students about AI, careers, and future plans. He and his wife, Caren, and the family geckos, Loki, Ghost, Baby, Dexter and Scout are all happy residents of Sutherland, and welcome visitors for a coffee or tea.

Sutherland is named after Earl W. Sutherland, a Vanderbilt professor of physiology who won the Nobel Prize in 1971. There are seven Nobel laureates affiliated with Vanderbilt, most recently being John Jumper who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in protein structure prediction. Prof. Spencer-Smith can't wait to see meet the next Sutherland residents, and to see what THEY do in the future!