Since 2013, the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships program has charted an innovative course for interdisciplinarity in research and scholarship at Johns Hopkins and in higher education. Now Johns Hopkins’ impact will be further enhanced by incorporating BDPs as a signature element of the new Johns Hopkins Data Science and AI Institute to harness emerging opportunities and address challenges presented by the explosion of available data and the rapid rise of AI technologies.

Purpose

Thirty new BDPs will be recruited to act as human bridges in data science and AI through dual-appointments. Bringing depth and breadth in both data science and AI and one or more other areas of application, these BDPs will weave data science, data-driven research, and AI even more fully into the fabric and future of the university, integrate diverse application domain knowledge into the data science and AI initiative, and transform discovery and innovation in areas such as medicine, energy, public policy, society, the humanities, climate, public health, business, and education.

Each BDP cluster will focus on advancing a specific interdisciplinary research area closely tied to data science, machine learning, or artificial intelligence. The goal is to address urgent global challenges by bringing together BDPs with a shared focus on translating these technologies into practical solutions within carefully chosen domains. By concentrating on distinct fields, the BDP clusters strive to make targeted and impactful contributions, solving real-world problems and effectively translating technological progress into practical applications.

Commitment

We anticipate that each research cluster will be composed of 3-4 BDPs at the associate or full professor level. A handful of positions will be held for investment in targeted hires. We expect the majority of the appointments to be between the Whiting School of Engineering and another academic division or APL; however, joint appointments outside of Whiting will be considered based on the research scope of the BDP. The BDP can hold their administrative home in either school depending on the academic case.

The clusters will include investment by the participating departments or schools through start-up packages, salary support, infrastructure investments, and more. Junior hires will not be pre-assigned to these clusters; additional faculty lines can be added to the recruitment packages based on the specific needs and requests of the candidates.