Missy Cummings
{{short description|American space systems engineer and Navy pilot}}
{{About|the Navy pilot and college professor|the American philanthropist|Mary Cummings}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
__NOTOC__
{{Infobox academic
|name=Missy Cummings
|image = Missy Cummings crop.jpg
|birth_name=Mary Louise Cummings|birth_date={{birth year and age|1966}}|education=United States Naval Academy (BS)
Naval Postgraduate School (MS)
University of Virginia (PhD)|workplaces=Duke University
Pennsylvania State University
Virginia Tech
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Washington|module={{infobox officeholder
| embed = yes
| office = Senior Advisor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for Safety
| term_start = October 2021
| term_end = January 2023
| president = Joe Biden
| branch = {{flag|United States Navy}}
| serviceyears = 1988–1999
}}}}
Mary Louise "Missy" Cummings{{cite book |url=https://majorevents.virginia.edu/sites/majorevents2017.virginia.edu/files/program_graduates04.pdf |title=One Hundred and Seventy-Fifth Final Exercises |date=May 16, 2004 |page=5 |publisher=University of Virginia |accessdate=February 11, 2021}} (born 1966) is an American academic who was a professor at Duke University and director of Duke's Humans and Autonomy Laboratory.[http://hal.pratt.duke.edu/ Duke Humans and Autonomy Laboratory] She was one of the United States Navy's first female fighter pilots.{{cite web |url=http://esd.mit.edu/staging/Faculty_Pages/cummings/cummings.htm |title=Mary (Missy) Cummings |publisher=MIT Engineering Systems Division |accessdate=October 13, 2013}}{{cite news |url=http://www.mitcio.com/prof-mary-missy-cummings-duke-university|title=MIT Sloan CIO Symposium: Missy Cummings|work=MIT Sloan CIO Symposium|date=May 18, 2015|accessdate=May 30, 2015}} In November 2021, Dr. Cummings joined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). She currently teaches at George Mason University.
Education
Cummings received her Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the United States Naval Academy in 1988, a Master of Science in space systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1994, and a PhD in systems engineering from the University of Virginia in 2004. Her doctoral thesis was Designing Decision Support Systems for Revolutionary Command and Control Domains.
Career
File:Michael Toscano, Missy Cummings, Shane Harris.jpgCummings spent eleven years (1988–1999) as a naval officer and military pilot, earning the rank of lieutenant, and was one of the United States Navy's first female fighter pilots, flying an F/A-18 Hornet.{{Cite web|last=Fadulu|first=Lola|date=April 26, 2018|title='I Don't Know How Professors Teach Without Fighter-Pilot Experience'|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/04/missy-cummings-professor-fighter-pilot/558701/|access-date=October 19, 2021|website=The Atlantic|language=en}} She became a fighter pilot shortly after the Combat Exclusion Policy was repealed in 1993, and her book Hornet's NestCummings, M. L., 1999. Hornet's Nest, entire book is under the sample chapter icon [http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?AuthorID=630] recounts her experience with discrimination and hostility as one of the first women in the fighter pilot community. Her first call sign was MedusaCummings, M. L., 1999. Hornet's Nest, iUniverse.com and her second was Shrew.[http://www.thedailyshow.com/extended-interviews/423170/playlist_tds_extended_missy_cummings/423153 The Daily Show - Missy Cummings Extended Interview]
For her last tour in the Navy, Cummings was an NROTC instructor at Pennsylvania State University. After the Navy, she became an assistant professor at Virginia Tech in the school's Engineering Fundamentals Division. After obtaining her PhD at the University of Virginia, she became an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She became a full professor at Duke University in 2016.{{Cite web|title=From fighter pilot to robotics pioneer: An interview with Missy Cummings {{!}} McKinsey|url=https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/from-fighter-pilot-to-robotics-pioneer-an-interview-with-missy-cummings|access-date=October 19, 2021|website=www.mckinsey.com}} Cummings served on the Board of Directors for the automotive technology company Veoneer, Inc. from 2018 to 2021. She resigned and sold all of her shares in October 2021 prior to starting at the NHTSA.{{Cite web|title=Board of Directors|url=http://www.veoneer.com/en/board-directors|access-date=August 22, 2021|website=Veoneer|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Resignation of Mary Louise Cummings from the Board of Directors – Becomes Senior Advisor At NHTSA|url=https://news.cision.com/veoneer/r/resignation-of-mary-louise-cummings-from-the-board-of-directors---becomes-senior-advisor-at-nhtsa,c3439411|access-date=October 25, 2021|website=News Powered by Cision|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=EDGAR Filing Documents for 0001733186-21-000107|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001733186/000173318621000107/0001733186-21-000107-index.htm|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=www.sec.gov}}
{{asof|2021}}, Cummings is the director of George Mason University's Autonomy and Robotics Center and a professor at the university.{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Philip E. |date=May 13, 2023 |title=A Former Pilot On Why Autonomous Vehicles Are So Risky - IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/self-driving-cars |access-date=May 21, 2023 |website=IEEE |language=en}} She is an affiliate professor with the University of Washington’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Fellow.{{Cite web |date=February 12, 2016 |title=Momentum Member Spotlight – February 2016; AIAA Congratulates Mary Cummings |url=https://www.aiaa.org/list/newsletters/Momentum-Member-Spotlight-February-2016 |access-date=August 22, 2021 |website=www.aiaa.org |language=en}}
= NHTSA appointment and responses =
In October 2021, the NHTSA named Cummings as a new senior advisor for safety at the NHTSA on a "temporary assignment" through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act.{{Cite news|date=October 19, 2021|title=Biden to tap No. 2 official to head U.S. auto safety agency|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-autos-biden-idUSKBN2H92CV|access-date=October 19, 2021}} Her appointment to the NHTSA was met with criticism from Tesla's CEO Elon Musk{{Cite news|last=Shepardson|first=David|date=October 21, 2021|title=U.S. transport chief defends auto safety agency after Musk criticism|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-transport-chief-defends-auto-safety-agency-after-musk-criticism-2021-10-20/|access-date=October 21, 2021}} and personal harassment and death threats from Tesla advocates{{Cite web|last=Zipper|first=David|date=October 22, 2021|title=The Anger of Tesla Fans Is Becoming a Problem|url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/tesla-missy-cummings-nhtsa-elon-musk.html|access-date=October 23, 2021|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}}{{Cite web|author=Matt McFarland|title=Tesla fan attacks on government's new safety advisor are 'calculated,' says head of safety agency|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/28/cars/tesla-ntsb-cummings/index.html|access-date=October 29, 2021|website=CNN|date=October 28, 2021 }} in response to her previous statements critical of Tesla.{{Cite web|last=Ruffo|first=Gustavo Henrique|date=October 20, 2021|title=Tesla Bulls Panic After Missy Cummings Is Named Senior Adviser for Safety at NHTSA|url=https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-bulls-panic-after-missy-cummings-is-named-senior-adviser-for-safety-at-nhtsa-172163.html|access-date=October 22, 2021|website=autoevolution|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Walker|first=Alissa|date=October 22, 2021|title=A Federal Transportation Official Deleted Twitter to Avoid Elon Musk's Fans|url=https://www.curbed.com/2021/10/elon-musk-missy-cummings-transportation-twitter.html|access-date=October 23, 2021|website=Curbed|language=en-us}} U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg defended Cummings' appointment, and the NHTSA said that it was "look[ing] forward to leveraging her experience and leadership in safety and autonomous technologies."{{Cite news|date=October 20, 2021|title=Tesla Fans, Musk Lash Out at NHTSA Safety Adviser as Biased|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-20/tesla-fans-musk-in-uproar-as-nhtsa-taps-biased-safety-adviser|access-date=October 21, 2021}} National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy surmised the Tesla advocates' responses to be a "calculated attempt to distract from the real safety issues". In January 2022, Cummings was required by NHTSA to recuse herself from any matters related to Tesla.{{Cite news |last=FitzGerald |first=Rebecca Elliott, Justin Scheck and Drew |date=January 15, 2022 |title=Elon Musk's Tesla Asked Law Firm to Fire Associate Hired From SEC |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-tesla-asked-law-firm-to-fire-associate-hired-from-sec-11642265007 |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220513062923/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/elon-musks-tesla-asked-law-firm-to-fire-associate-hired-from-sec-11642265007 |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |issn=}}
Cummings later parted ways with NHTSA and joined George Mason University as a professor and director of Mason's Autonomy and Robotics Center.{{Cite web |title=A Former Pilot On Why Autonomous Vehicles Are So Risky - IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/self-driving-cars |access-date=February 15, 2024 |website=IEEE |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Missy Cummings |url=https://computing.gmu.edu/profiles/cummings-0 |access-date=February 15, 2024 |website=School of Computing |language=en}}
Focus and views
Cummings's research interests include human supervisory control, artificial intelligence, human-autonomous system collaboration and human-robot interaction, human-systems engineering, and the socio-ethical impact of technology. Cummings has written on the brittleness of machine learning{{Cite web|last=Cummings|first=Missy|title=The Surprising Brittleness of AI|url=https://www.womencorporatedirectors.org/WCD/News/JAN-Feb2020/Reality%20Light.pdf|access-date=October 19, 2021}} and future applications for drones.{{Cite web|title=Former fighter pilot Missy Cummings discusses drones {{!}} NYU School of Law|url=https://www.law.nyu.edu/news/Missy-Cummings-discusses-drones-at-Engelberg-conference|access-date=October 19, 2021|website=www.law.nyu.edu}} In addition, she has spoken critically of the safety of Tesla's Full Self-Driving Capability surrounding its reliance on computer vision.{{Cite news |last1=Fedor |first1=Lauren |last2=Waters |first2=Richard |date=August 16, 2021 |title=US opens formal probe into Tesla's Autopilot technology |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/afb75ffd-44eb-4ae3-8bca-ae830fa52111 |access-date=October 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210817104056/https://www.ft.com/content/afb75ffd-44eb-4ae3-8bca-ae830fa52111 |archive-date=August 17, 2021}}{{Cite web|last=Vassallo|first=Steve|title=Missionary Misfits: Meet A Former Fighter Pilot, Current Autonomous Vehicles Road Warrior|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevevassallo/2020/10/17/missionary-misfits-meet-a-former-fighter-pilot-current-autonomous-vehicles-road-warrior/|access-date=October 19, 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/cummings.html Hargrave Pioneers profile]
- [http://www.engineergirl.org/Engineers/Directory/2923.aspx Missy Cumming's profile on EngineerGirl.org]
- {{google scholar id|TqARAGcAAAAJ}}
- [https://news.mit.edu/2010/profile-cummings-0405 MIT Profile]
- [https://omny.fm/shows/factually-with-adam-conover/why-self-driving-cars-aren-t-coming-any-time-soon Factually episode on autonomous driving featuring Cummings]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Mary}}
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:United States Naval Academy alumni
Category:Female United States Navy officers
Category:United States Naval Aviators
Category:American women aviators
Category:Naval Postgraduate School alumni
Category:University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni
Category:Women systems engineers
Category:21st-century American women engineers
Category:21st-century American engineers
Category:Virginia Tech faculty
Category:MIT School of Engineering faculty