Lylybell Teran is a New York native, a dancer, and an advocate for Latin American women in tech. She is also a new graduate student in Columbia University’s M.S. in Data Science program and a recipient of a Graduate Education for Minorities (GEM) full scholarship, which provides funding for students from underrepresented groups to pursue degrees in applied science and engineering. GEM fellows are offered practical engineering summer work experiences and tuition support at member universities, including Columbia. 

“This support is really meaningful,” Teran said. “At my internships, I’m usually the only minority woman; I don’t usually see similar representation. Even in my classes, being a woman is a minority. It can be isolating. I would love to, in the future, mentor other Latinas, which is something I did as an undergrad.”

Teran is a recent graduate of Adelphi University with a double major in mathematics and computer science. She started exploring data science when she worked as a student fellow at Brookhaven National Laboratory and furthered her experience in machine learning in Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs.

In the summer before her senior year, Teran collaborated with the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles and worked for GumGum, an artificial intelligence and advertising technology platform with a focus on computer vision. She created algorithms and models to improve the viewability of digital advertisements.

“When you go on a website, a lot of factors are taken into consideration in order to find an ideal spot for the ad you see. They use these algorithms to see what’s the most ideal place for the viewer,” Teran explained. “By improving this performance, they’re able to offer companies a certain amount of accuracy or assurance that their ads will be viewed by people.”  

Teran worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory during her final semester of college and created machine learning models for computer vision to measure and quantify plant roots. She also spent Summer 2022 with Riverside Research, a GEM employer, to build a foundation in machine learning and deep learning before coming to Columbia.

Teran intends to leverage her computing skills in the “femtech” industry, or software and technology products and services addressing women’s health and wellbeing. She is excited for graduate studies with a vibrant community of students in the tech and cultural hub that is New York City, and she plans to join the Columbia Association for Women in Mathematics and the Onyx Dance Troupe.

“I’m looking forward to being in a place where my creative and academic sides can come together,” she said. “I can’t wait to continue this aspect of my life, dancing and meeting other like-minded people on campus.”

— Karina Alexanyan, Ph.D. and Shane Tan