Panel on Metaverse
Panelists
Andrea Colaco
Panelist
Andrea Colaco, PhD, is an engineering lead at Google working on AI-mediated
wearable computing systems. With a background in computational sensing and
applying learning approaches to various camera-based and camera-less systems
Andrea’s work enables new forms of object detection leading to novel interaction
possibilities. Andrea has also played a key role transferring the tech she builds in
various VR devices, Home devices at companies such as Google and Meta.
Jeewika Ranaweera
Panelist
Jeewika Ranaweera is an engineer, author, illustrator, inventor, sustainability champion,
frequent conference speaker, and an avid volunteer. She is an IEEE Senior Member,
vice chair for IEEE Future Directions, committee member of Engineering Accreditation
Activities. Jeewika authored an eBook about her engineering journey to inspire others to
follow STEM careers and illustrated the 1 st children’s book published by IEEE. She is
listed as one of the “Women Engineers You Should Know in 2023” by Society of Women
Engineers. She received her BSc in CS from ISPJAE in Havana, Cuba and her Master’s
and PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Toronto, Canada.
She has authored numerous technical papers and presented at international
conferences. Jeewika holds five US Patents.
May Wang
Panelist
Dr. May Dongmei Wang is Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Faculty Fellow and full professor of
Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computational Science and
Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) and Emory University (EU) in Atlanta,
Georgia, USA. She is Director of Biomedical Big Data Initiative, Georgia Distinguished Cancer
Scholar, Petit Institute Faculty Fellow, Kavli Fellow, AIMBE Fellow, IAMBE Fellow, IEEE Fellow,
and Board of Directors of American Board of AI in Medicine. She has 20+ years academic
professorship and ~4 years industrial research experience, focusing on Biomedical Big Data
with AI-Driven Intelligent Reality (IR) for predictive, personalized, and precision health (pHealth).
She published 300+ articles in referred journals and conference proceedings with more than
15,500 Google Scholar citations, and has delivered 300+ invited and keynote lectures. Dr. Wang
received BEng from Tsinghua University China, and MS with PhD degrees from GT. She is a
recipient of GT Outstanding Faculty Mentor for Undergrad Research Award, and EU MilliPub
Award (for a high-impact paper that is cited over 1,000 times. Dr. Wang is the Senior Editor for
IEEE Journal of Biomedical & Health Informatics (Impact Factor 7.7), an Associate Editor for
IEEE Transactions for BME and IEEE Reviews for BME, a panelist for NIH CDMA (Clinical Data
Management and Analysis) Study Section, NSF Smart and Connect Health, and Brain Canada.
She is currently serving as a member of IEEE Future Directions Committee and steering
committee of Metaverse. Professor Wang is selected into 2023-2024 national Executive
Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) Fellow program, and
2022-2023 GT President LeadingWomen program. She was also 2021-2022 GT Provost
Emerging Leaders, and 2018-2021 GT Carol Ann and David Flanagan Distinguished Faculty
Fellow. Dr. Wang has been elected Vice President of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology
Society (IEEE-EMBS), a member of International Academy of Med. and Bio. Eng. (IAMBE)
Executive Committee, and ACM SIGBio chair. She was 2014-2015 IEEE-EMBS Distinguished
Lecturer, and an Emerging Area Editor for Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences
(PNAS). She was past GT Biomedical Informatics Program Co-Director in Atlanta Clinical and
Translational Science Institute (ACTSI), Director of Bioinformatics and Biocomputing Core in
NIH/NCI-sponsored U54 CCNE, and Co-Director of GT Center of Bio-Imaging Mass
Spectrometry. Her research has been supported by NIH, NSF, CDC, VA, Georgia Research
Alliance, Georgia Cancer Coalition, Shriners’ Hospitals for Children, Children’s Health Care of
Atlanta, Enduring Heart Foundation, Coulter Foundation, Imlay Foundation, Microsoft Research,
HP, UCB, and Amazon.
Moderator
Kathy Grise
Panelist
Kathy Grise, Senior Program Director – IEEE Future Directions, supports new and
emerging initiatives, including cloud computing, big data, digital realities, AI/ML, digital
twins, digital transformation, and quantum, supports IEEE Future Directions, and
manages the digital presence team for Future Directions. Ms. Grise serves as the
Technical Program Chair of the IEEE COMPSAC 2024 Symposium – Data Sciences,
Analytics, & Technologies (DSAT).
Prior to joining the IEEE staff, Ms. Grise held numerous positions at IBM, and most
recently was a Senior Engineering Manager for Process Design Kit Enablement in the
IBM Semiconductor Research and Development Center. Ms. Grise led the overall IT
infrastructure implementation, and software development in support of semiconductor
device modeling verification, packaging, and delivery; device measurement and
characterization data collection and management, andautomation for device modeling
engineers. Ms. Grise is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College, and an IEEE
Senior member.