Uma Jayaram

Overview

Dr. Uma Jayaram is a technology executive and entrepreneur. She helps companies and boards oversee AI adoption and Digital Innovation. She has created seminal breakthroughs in emerging technologies such as AI, Virtual Reality, and CAD and built teams and products that have successfully commercialized them.

Leadership & Entrepreneurship

Uma serves as Global Head of PAIR at Electronic Arts, where she leads strategies for scaling research, talent, and social impact initiatives. She has also been the GM of SEED, a global team focused on applied research and innovation for the future of gaming and entertainment. A key accomplishment of the team was the launch of the Generative AI Vector in EA in 2021 to deliver cutting-edge tools and assets for game design, well ahead of the current mainstream interest and applications. Before that, she was at Intel, where her team's key accomplishment was delivering the E2E solution for the first-ever live Winter Olympics VR experience at the 2018 Olympics. Dr. Jayaram co-founded three companies: one in immersive media VR experiences for sports/concerts, one in data interoperability solutions, and one in enterprise design and process automation. She held COO and EVP roles in these companies. She sold her company VOKE to Intel in 2016. Dr. Jayaram started her career as a Professor at Washington State University, where she led a vibrant teaching and research program.

Recognition & Awards

In recognition of her work and contributions to engineering, Uma has been inducted as an ASME Fellow. She has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and has been awarded numerous patents. As a thought leader in digital innovation and emerging areas such as AI, cloud, VR, and design automation, she has lectured extensively, including giving a TEDx talk and addressing the Rubenstein Fellows of the Harvard Kennedy School. She has received several prestigious awards, including the Leadership Excellence in Technology award from the National Diversity Council, the Distinguished Alumna award from Virginia Tech, the Lifetime Achievement award from ISAM, and the Best Teacher award from Washington State University.

Background

Dr. Jayaram has Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. She has a BTech Honors degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, where she was the first woman admitted to the Mechanical Engineering Department.