Amanda Fernandez, Ph.D., is an Assistant Director of Scientific AI Research on Kitware’s Scientific Computing Team located in Clifton Park NY. She conducts research in machine learning methods that perform reliably with limited and shifting data, including few-shot learning and out-of-distribution generalization, and applies these methods to experimental data in science and engineering. In her role, Amanda leads collaborative projects and proposals that bring advanced AI to complex data in specialized domains. She works with government, academic, and industry partners to identify opportunities where AI can accelerate scientific discovery.

Prior to joining Kitware, Amanda was a tenured associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) until 2026. There she served as the machine learning and deployment thrust lead for the MATRIX AI Consortium, and her research applied AI to domains including nuclear materials characterization, medical imaging, and planetary science. She collaborated with researchers across universities, national laboratories, and government agencies, secured more than $13 million in research funding, and mentored more than 200 graduate and undergraduate researchers.

Before her academic career, Amanda worked at United Services Automobile Association (USAA) as a senior research engineer, where she researched and developed machine learning solutions to challenges in materials applications, resulting in over 22 U.S. patents. Prior to this, she built her software engineering foundation at Auto/Mate Dealership Systems, Captira Analytical, and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Amanda’s graduate work, conducted in the Machine Learning & Vision Lab at the University at Albany, focused on visual salience estimation and content-based image retrieval. She earned her Ph.D. and master’s degree in computer science from the University at Albany, State University of New York. She received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Siena College.

Awards

• Kay and Steve Robbins Faculty Teaching Fellowship in Computer Science, UT San Antonio – 2025-2026

• Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Mathematical, Computing, and Statistical Sciences (MCS) Mid-Career Faculty Mentor Award – 2026

• Richard S. Howe Excellence in Service to Undergraduate Students Award, UT San Antonio – 2026

• Outstanding Acheivement Award – Research Excellence, UT San Antonio – 2019

• Distinguished Dissertation Award – University at Albany – 2015

Invited Talks & Media

• “Getting Started with Research in Computing” with the Cambridge University Press

Professional Associations & Service

• CVF Member 2011 – present

• Senior Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) – 2026 to present

• Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – 2023 to present

• Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) – 2022 to present

• Reviewer for NeurIPS, AAAI, CVPR, WACV, ICPR, TPAMI, JEI