DR. BUBACARR BAH, BSc (UTG), MSc (Oxon), PhD (Edinburgh)

Dr. Bubacarr Bah is currently the German Research Chair of Mathematics with specialization in Data Science, a senior researcher position, at AIMS South Africa, and also a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Division of Applied Mathematics, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University since 2016. He is the head of the Data Science Research Group at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in South Africa. From 2014 to 2016 he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Mathematics Department and the Institute of Computational Engineering and Sciences, University of Texas in Austin (UT Austin), Texas, U.S.A. From 2012 to 2013 he held a Research Scientist (post-doctoral fellow) position at Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dr. Bah obtained his PhD in applied and computational mathematics from the School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh, UK in 2012; his MSc in Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing from the Mathematical Institute and Computing Laboratory, University of Oxford in 2008; and a BSc in Mathematics and Physics (suma cum laude and valedictorian) from the University of The Gambia (UTG) in 2004.

Dr. Bah is a researcher, mentor, and teacher, very passionate about developing capacity in science and technology in Africa. His research interest is focussed on the theoretical foundations, computational algorithms, and applications, of Data Science and AI. He is involved in outreach initiatives to develop capacity in the African continent in Data Sciences, Machine Learning, and AI. Key among these is that he chairs the Data Science Academic Committee of the South African National Graduate Academy of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences; he regularly organizes data science workshops at AIMS South Africa; he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Deep Learning Indaba, just to mention a few. He taught at the University of The Gambia as a Graduate Assistant from 2004 to 2007.  He also taught at UT Austin and regularly teaches in the AIMS Network since 2016.

Dr. Bah is an active member the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), where he currently serves in the Diversity Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA); the International Linear Algebra Society (ILAS); and the South African Mathematical Society (SAMS). Awards he received include: the Alexander von Humboldt Award of German Research Chair of Mathematics at AIMS South Africa in 2016 and the extension in 2020; SIAM Best Student Paper Prize in 2010;  Edinburgh University Principal’s Scholarship 2008; Commonwealth Scholarship 2007.