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Meltem Ballan, General Motors

EPISODE SUMMARY
Meltem Ballan, a data scientist working on Connected Cars at General Motors, explains how data science is transforming the automotive industry.

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EPISODE NOTES

Ballan brings multiple perspectives to her current work on Connected Cars—drawing on expertise in data science and neuroscience gained during her ever-changing career in academia, entrepreneurship and consulting.

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Ballan grew up in Turkey where it’s not unusual for women to pursue careers as scientists. In her youth, she was inspired by Mission Impossible TV shows where agents used futuristic technologies like fingerprint recognition and iris detection. She also loved cars. “Those were the things that I was really interested in. And I think my journey started from there,” she explained during a conversation with Stanford’s Margot Gerritsen, Stanford professor and host of the Women in Data Science podcast.

After studying engineering in college, she pursued her love of cars to work for Bridgestone in Turkey. “I love patterns. And our problem was the tire patterns, how we can identify the right pattern and then balance the car on that right pattern.” She left there for a chance to develop fingerprint recognition algorithms for a NATO-sponsored research center in Turkey.

While she was drawn to technology, she was also fascinated with the brain and got a PhD in complex systems and neuroscience. “I always try to run away from technology because I like to work with people. One of the reasons that I picked neuroscience was I wanted to interact with people.”

This diverse background has prepared her well for understanding both the human and technological perspectives on transforming the driving experience where the car is connected to everything. She says today the car is a platform, and we design the driving experience around sensors and data.

She believes that within her lifetime we will see autonomous cars everywhere. And she says all data scientists should be trained in the ethics of AI as we need be very mindful how we are using these technologies to improve our lives.

RELATED LINKS
Connect with Meltem Ballan on Twitter (@meltball) and LinkedIn 
Connect with Margot Gerritsen on Twitter (@margootjeg) and LinkedIn 
Find out more about Margot on her Stanford Profile 
Find out more about Margot on her personal website
Read more about GM and NATO


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© 2021 Women in data science

  • Conference
    • Schedule 2021 >
      • Main Stage
      • Workshops
      • Meet the Speakers
      • Best of WiDS
    • Speakers 2021
    • Regional Events 2021 >
      • March 8th Regional Events
    • Ambassadors 2021
    • Videos >
      • Videos 2021
    • Sponsors
    • Collaborators
    • Conference Committee
  • Datathon
    • Datathon Details
    • Datathon Workshops 2021
    • Datathon Resources
    • Excellence in Research Award
    • Datathon News
    • Datathon Committee
  • Podcast
    • Podcast Committee
  • Education
    • Education Outreach Resources
    • Education Outreach Committee
    • Education Outreach Student Advisors
  • Blog
    • WiDStory
    • News
  • Contact