Email: anna.haensch at wisc dot edu
Github: @annahaensch
LinkedIn: annahaensch
Twitter: @extremefriday
Pronouns: she/her
My first name is pronounced "Ah-Nah" and my last name rhymes with "bench."
Anna Haensch holds a PhD in mathematics and is currently an Associate Research Professor at the Data Science Institute at University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is also the Associate Director of the Digital Scholarship Hub at the UW Libraries. Her research interests are in science and technology policy, especially the use of artificial intelligence in the public sector and critical infrastructure. Her recent work spans applications of artificial intelligence and statistical machine learning across social and complex systems, energy infrastructure, and law enforcement, with the goal of fairness, safety, and equity.
Anna Haensch holds a PhD in mathematics and is currently an Associate Research Professor at the Data Science Institute at University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is also the Associate Director of the Digital Scholarship Hub at the UW Libraries. Her research deals with applications of AI and statistical machine learning to problems at the intersection of technology and society. In 2024 she spent a year working in the office of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren as a AAAS Legislative Fellow focused on AI and emerging technology. She has led NSF-funded work alongside engineers in renewable energy, applying machine learning models to offshore wind farm safety and reliability. She is director emeritus of the Data Science, Police Accountability, and Community Engagement (formerly SToPA) Research Lab, where she works with an interdisciplinary team to develop statistical tools and neural networks to make data on policing more accessible and useful. In 2013 she was awarded a AAAS Mass Media Fellowship which she spent working on the science desk at National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. In addition to her academic research, Anna is interested in the ways that numerical literacy shape democracy and how that is reflected in the media. Prior to her present position, Anna also held a postdoctoral position at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Germany, was a tenured faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Duquesne University, and held the position of Data Scientist and Provost Lecturer at Tufts University.
For a really long account of where I've been, you might enjoy this essay that I wrote for the American Mathematical Monthly about my journey from theoretical mathematics to where I am today.