Emma Westerman is a mathematician who specializes in emerging technology requirements and acquisition, lifecycle sustainment, cybersecurity, and risk management. She is currently on an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment serving as the Special Assistant for Artificial Intelligence to the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
During her time at RAND, Westerman co-founded the Technology and Security Policy (TASP) Center in the Global and Emerging Risks Division focusing on the global risks of dual-use technology. Prior to that, she led the Management, Technology, and Capabilities Program within the Homeland Security Research Division which conducted research on a wide range of technology focused topics for the Department of Homeland Security and partners (e.g., 5G, biometrics, drones, border technology, etc.). Prior to joining RAND, Westerman worked as a lifecycle logistics manager for the Department of Defense. She was responsible for the development, acquisition, testing, operations and sustainment for multiple large mission systems. She has experience in Lean Six Sigma, metrics development, Total Ownership Cost, risk reduction, and the federal budgeting cycle.
Westerman is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a joint B.S. in mathematics and statistics and a B.A. in philosophy. She received a dual M.S. in mathematics and statistics from Georgetown University. At Carnegie Mellon she studied graph theory, logic, and optimization. At Georgetown she studied signal processing and data mining. She has received funding to study the minimum crossing numbers of complete graphs, has taught in Ecuador, and enjoys speaking about the importance of data-driven capability analysis.
M.S. in mathematics and statistics, Georgetown University; B.S. in mathematics and statistics, Carnegie Mellon University; B.A. in philosophy, Carnegie Mellon University
