Betsy Sinclair and Nathan Jacobs have been appointed assistant vice provosts for digital transformation at Washington University in St. Louis, bringing renewed focus and leadership to the Digital Intelligence & Innovation (DI2) Accelerator. Their appointments represent a pivotal step in advancing faculty research excellence, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and accelerating the translation of innovation into real-world impact.
Digital Transformation is integral to the research pillar of the university’s Here and Next strategic plan. The DI2 Accelerator was founded in 2023 as the institutional home of Digital Transformation at WashU. Under Sinclair and Jacobs’ leadership, the accelerator will continue to evolve as a catalyst for digital research and innovation.
“The DI2 Accelerator has established itself as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration at WashU,” said Mary McKay, executive vice provost. “Betsy Sinclair and Nathan Jacobs bring a powerful combination of experience, ingenuity, and enthusiasm to further expand this work. Their knowledge of both the technical and human aspects of Digital Transformation will enhance WashU’s digital research ecosystem and create new opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate in transformative ways.”
Sinclair, the chair of the Department of Political Science and the Thomas F. Eagleton University Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science, is known for her pioneering work at the intersection of technology, political behavior, and civic engagement. Her recent research focuses on measuring language patterns of elected representatives to understand dynamics of power and influence.
“This is my dream job,” said Sinclair. “I got into this field to better understand human behavior through data science. We are living in one of the most exciting times for digital innovation, as the AI revolution is transforming how we collect and analyze data to create insights that drive real change in our communities. I’m excited to bring that human-centered perspective to this work.”
An early champion of the Digital Transformation initiative, Sinclair was among the first WashU researchers to collaborate with the accelerator’s Digital Solutions Studio to build a web platform that collects and analyzes political origin stories.
Jacobs, a professor of computer science and engineering at McKelvey School of Engineering and co-director of the Geospatial Research Initiative, has spent his career developing computational tools at the forefront of what’s possible in computer vision and artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on geospatial and medical applications. His research centers on developing learning-based algorithms and systems for extracting information from large-scale image collections.
“The DI2 Accelerator has an ambitious vision with the potential to drive research and educational excellence,” Jacobs said. “On a personal level, I’m eager to meet researchers across campus to see how their work might benefit from new digital tools and techniques. My research focuses on computer vision, and I’ve always enjoyed hearing how the algorithms we develop might overcome critical bottlenecks in other disciplines.”
Sinclair and Jacobs take the reins at a pivotal moment for the accelerator, as it rolls out significant new initiatives including a university wide faculty research profiling system, an expanded Digital Solutions Studio, and search committees for “digital first” faculty cluster hires.
“The DI2 Accelerator is entering an exciting new phase of work that will broaden the scope and activities of Digital Transformation,” said Philip R.O. Payne, the Janet and Bernard Becker Professor at WashU Medicine, who led the initiative’s incubation and implementation during its first three years. Payne is stepping down from his role with the DI2 Accelerator to focus on his new position as the inaugural Chief Health AI Officer at the Center for Health AI, a joint initiative of WashU Medicine and BJC HealthCare. “We are fortunate to tap into the dynamic and multidisciplinary leadership of Betsy and Nathan, both of whom have the vision and expertise to drive innovation across the breadth of scholarship at WashU.”
Sinclair and Jacobs will receive guidance from multiple advisory groups, including a newly convened Digital Transformation steering committee comprised of Philip Payne, Mary McKay, Aaron Bobick, Feng Sheng Hu, and Jessie Minton. They will also consult existing faculty advisory committees for innovation planning.
Find more information on the work of Digital Transformation at https://di2accelerator.wustl.edu/
