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CMU Computer Science Dean Headed To Google, But Staying In Pittsburgh

Carnegie Mellon University
In January Andrew Moore, dean of CMU's School of Computer Science, will leave the school to head Google Cloud AI.

The dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science is leaving higher ed at the end of the year to lead Google Cloud AI.

Andrew Moore will remain in Pittsburgh, where Google has offices in Bakery Square. He previously worked for the tech company from 2006-14, most recently as vice president of engineering.

Moore said he’s excited about the new gig.

"The thing that I've seen happening in the last few years at Google is this real push to democratize AI tools and make them available to folks who are not themselves technology companies,” he said. “I think that is a really positive direction for the world.”

"I am bursting with excitement about this,” said Moore. “I have always deeply believed in the power of technology to improve the state of the world, so for me it's a big opportunity to help Google bring useful AI to all the other industry verticals."

Cloud AI provides machine learning services. Machine learning is increasingly used to analyze large data sets. Google reports it has more than 15,000 paid costumers on the platform.

When asked if other staff would be based at the Pittsburgh office with Moore, Google said there was, "Nothing else to share at this time." Moore said he anticipates travel to various Google work sites in his new role.

“Andrew is a global pioneer in computer science and a cornerstone of the Pittsburgh region’s tech community,” said David Ruppersberger, president of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance. “He very well could have chosen to work anywhere in the world, and we’re proud he’ll continue solving some of the world’s most complex and disruptive technology problems in the city that views him as one of its own.”

According to his CMU bio, Moore grew up in Bournemouth, England and becamee a U.S. citizen in 2003.

The current head of Google Cloud AI, Fei-Fei Li, will be returning to her professorship at Stanford University, but will continue working as an adviser for Google Cloud.

Sarah Boden covers health and science for 90.5 WESA. Before coming to Pittsburgh in November 2017, she was a reporter for Iowa Public Radio. As a contributor to the NPR-Kaiser Health News Member Station Reporting Project on Health Care in the States, Sarah's print and audio reporting frequently appears on NPR and KFF Health News.