Missy Cummings facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Missy Cummings
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| Born |
Mary Louise Cummings
1966 (age 58–59) |
| Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) Naval Postgraduate School (MS) University of Virginia (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Duke University Pennsylvania State University Virginia Tech Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Washington |
| Senior Advisor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for Safety | |
| In office October 2021 – January 2023 |
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| President | Joe Biden |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1988–1999 |
Mary Louise "Missy" Cummings, born in 1966, is an American professor and expert in technology. She was one of the first female fighter pilots in the United States Navy. Later, she became a professor at universities like Duke and George Mason. She also worked for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Her Journey in Education
Missy Cummings studied a lot to become an expert. She earned her first degree in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1988. Later, in 1994, she received a master's degree in space systems engineering. In 2004, she completed her PhD in systems engineering at the University of Virginia.
Her Amazing Career
Missy Cummings served in the Navy for eleven years, from 1988 to 1999. She was a military pilot and became a lieutenant. She was one of the very first women to fly fighter jets for the U.S. Navy. She flew an F/A-18 Hornet, which is a powerful aircraft.
She became a fighter pilot after the rules changed in 1993, allowing women to fly in combat. Her book, Hornet's Nest, shares her experiences as one of the first women in this field. Her pilot nicknames were "Medusa" and "Shrew."
After her time as a pilot, Cummings taught at Pennsylvania State University. Then, she became a professor at Virginia Tech. After getting her PhD, she taught about aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2016, she became a full professor at Duke University.
As of 2021, Missy Cummings is a professor at George Mason University. She also directs the university's Autonomy and Robotics Center. She is also connected with the University of Washington's Aeronautics and Astronautics Department.
Working with NHTSA
In October 2021, Missy Cummings was named a senior advisor for safety at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This was a temporary role. Her appointment caused some strong reactions, especially from people who supported Tesla. This was because she had previously shared her concerns about the safety of Tesla's self-driving features.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg supported her appointment. The NHTSA stated they were excited to use her knowledge in safety and self-driving technology. In January 2022, Cummings was asked not to work on any matters directly related to Tesla. She later left NHTSA and returned to teaching at George Mason University.
Her Research and Ideas
Missy Cummings is very interested in how humans and machines work together. Her research includes artificial intelligence (AI) and how people control autonomous systems. She also studies how humans and robots interact. She looks at the social and ethical impacts of new technologies.
Cummings has written about how machine learning can sometimes be unreliable. She has also explored future uses for drones. She has openly discussed her concerns about the safety of Tesla's "Full Self-Driving Capability." She believes it relies too much on computer vision alone.
