Dr. Lynne E. Parker is Interim Dean of the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Engagement, and Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She received her Ph.D. in computer science from MIT. She is an internationally recognized expert in distributed and heterogeneous robot systems, machine learning, human-robot interaction, and artificial intelligence. She has published extensively and has received numerous awards for her research, teaching, and service, including the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s Distinguished Service Award, and many UTK Chancellors, College, and Departmental awards. She previously served as Division Director for Information and Intelligent Systems at the National Science Foundation, where she co-chaired a White House-commissioned task force that created the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development (R&D) Strategic Plan. She also worked for several years as a Distinguished R&D Staff Member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She is a Fellow of IEEE and a Distinguished Member of the Association for Computing Machinery.