Skip to main content

Mary "Missy" Cummings

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
131 North Building, Box 103957, Durham, NC 27708
131 North Building, Box 103957, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Mary "Missy" Cummings received her B.S. in Mathematics from the US Naval Academy in 1988, her M.S. in Space Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994, and her Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2004.
A naval officer and military pilot from 1988-1999, she was one of the Navy's first female fighter pilots.
Cummings is currently a Professor in the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering, the Duke Institute of Brain Sciences, and is the director of the Humans and Autonomy Laboratory and Duke Robotics. Her research interests include human-unmanned vehicle interaction, human-autonomous system collaboration, human-systems engineering, public policy implications of unmanned vehicles, and the ethical and social impact of technology.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Adjunct Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering · 2023 - Present Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Adjunct Professor of Computer Science · 2023 - Present Computer Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2017 - Present Duke Science & Society, Initiatives
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences · 2021 - Present Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers

Education, Training & Certifications


University of Virginia · 2004 Ph.D.