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Rana el Kaliouby

b. 1978

Egyptian-American computer scientist and entrepreneur

Computer scientist
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About Rana el Kaliouby

Born 1978. Rana el Kaliouby is an Egyptian computer scientist.

Rana el Kaliouby (; born 1978) is an Egyptian-American computer scientist. She is the co-founder, with Rosalind Picard, and CEO of Affectiva.

Education

El Kaliouby earned a bachelor's degree and Master of Science degree from the American University in Cairo, then a Ph.D. at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Career

El Kaliouby worked as a research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, helping to found their Autism & Communication Technology Initiative. At the Affective Computing group of MIT Media Lab, she was part of a team that pioneered development of the "emotional hearing aid", which are emotion-reading wearable glasses.

She cofounded Affectiva with Rosalind Picard, leading its emotion science team. In 2016, she became the CEO of Affectiva.

Books El Kaliouby's memoir Girl Decoded was published in April 2020.

El Kaliouby also contributed one chapter to the 2018 book Architects of Intelligence: The Truth About AI from the People Building it by the American futurist Martin Ford.

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Important facts

Born
1978, Cairo
Birth century
20th century
Occupation
Computer scientist
Nationality
Egypt
Education
The American University in Cairo, Newnham College, American University in Cairo, Master of Science
Employers
Affectiva
Awards
BBC 100 Women
Also known as
Rana El Kaliouby, Rana El-Kaliouby, رنا القليوبي

Family & relationships

Child
Jana Amin

People in Rana el Kaliouby's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Portrait of Rosalind Picard
Rosalind Picard
b. 1962
Computer scientist
 Portrait of Martin Ford
Martin Ford
b. 2000
Writer

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Rana el Kaliouby's

Portrait of Ajdar Ismayilov
Ajdar Ismayilov
1938 – 2022
Philologist
 Portrait of Eileen Barker
Eileen Barker
b. 1938
Sociologist
 Portrait of Gavriel Salomon
Gavriel Salomon
1938 – 2016
Psychologist
 Portrait of Humpy Wheeler
Humpy Wheeler
1938 – 2025
Manager
 Portrait of Kurt Wüthrich
Kurt Wüthrich
b. 1938
Chemist
 Portrait of Margarita Salas
Margarita Salas
1938 – 2019
Biochemist

Frequently asked questions

Who is Rana el Kaliouby?

Egyptian-American computer scientist and entrepreneur

When was Rana el Kaliouby born?

Rana el Kaliouby was born in 1978 in Cairo.

What is Rana el Kaliouby's occupation?

Rana el Kaliouby is a computer scientist.

What nationality is Rana el Kaliouby?

Rana el Kaliouby is Egyptian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Rana el Kaliouby

· Wikidata: Q17465952

· DBpedia: Rana el Kaliouby

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Rana el Kaliouby. https://biography.guide/rana-el-kaliouby/

MLA: "Rana el Kaliouby." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/rana-el-kaliouby/.

Chicago: "Rana el Kaliouby." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/rana-el-kaliouby/.

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