Drew Crenshaw, a first-year Public Health Sciences doctoral student at the Brown School, has been selected into the inaugural class of the AI Advancements and Convergence in Computational, Environmental and Social Sciences (AI-ACCESS) National Research Traineeship (NRT). The National Science Foundation-funded fellowship trains students working in the intersection of artificial intelligence, environmental science, and social sciences.
As part of the two-year fellowship, Crenshaw will conduct transdisciplinary research investigating climate change, sustainable development, and the built environment on individual and community health using data sciences. AI-ACCESS participants receive a yearly stipend, financial support to attend national conferences, mentoring and professional development support, and workshop and internship opportunities. The goal of the program is to build a cohort of new investigators, with the skills to capitalize on the enormous potential of the convergence of AI and environmental social sciences.
Brown School Associate Professor Patrick Fowler leads the program’s social sciences track. Additional Brown School faculty involved in the program include Professors Lora Iannotti, Rodrigo Reis, and Professor of Practice Joe Steensma.
Crenshaw earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Health and Master of Public Health with a concentration in Environmental Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Most recently, he worked as the Program Manager for the UAB Center for the Study of Community Health, where he implemented research activities for their core project, Community Health through Engagement and Environmental Renewal, as well as other projects that focused on community health in urban settings.