Translating Tech: Alumna Joanna Smiley Shares the AI Story at CMU
By Rob Biertempfel
Joanna Smiley, a technical writer with the Machine Learning Department (MLD) in the School of Computer Science, has found that Carnegie Mellon University’s researchers often move so quickly that not even AI can catch them.
“When I need to fact-check something, like a concept on an algorithm, I’m better off asking our faculty instead of going to Google or ChatGPT,” Smiley said. “Even the biggest AI companies in the world can't keep up with the knowledge at Carnegie Mellon. It's inspiring to be part of a school that's propelling innovation.”
CMU is home to the country’s top-ranked artificial intelligence program and world-renowned faculty performing groundbreaking research in the field.
Smiley’s role is new, born from the department’s increasing demand for persuasive, high-stakes grant proposals that fuel cutting-edge research. MLD Director Zico Kolter described Smiley, a 2002 CMU graduate who was hired last spring, as a great fit for the role.
“Her experience in scientific and technical communication showcased her ability to translate complex research into clear and compelling narratives,” Kolter said. “With experience in science writing, national media outreach and proposal development, Joanna offers a rare combination of journalistic skill and academic fluency. Her work has already made a meaningful impact and she has quickly become an invaluable member of the MLD team.”
Smiley distills dense technical concepts into sharp, accessible language — shaping them for expert reviewers and translating them for everyday readers. She’s a linguistic bridge, carrying breakthroughs from the lab to the living room.
“It’s like both parts of my brain are working at the same time,” Smiley said with a laugh. “That makes every day invigorating.”
A professional writing major at CMU, Smiley sharpened her storytelling skills by working as an editor for the arts and living section of the student newspaper, The Tartan. One early assignment pulled her into the world of science and challenged her assumptions about how discovery works.
As she put together a story about the robotics program, Smiley expected to see the students quickly assemble a functioning robot. What she saw instead were the researchers persisting through failures to develop new iterations of the project.
“I learned that as a journalist you need to take an objective stance when you go into a story, because you never know how anything's going to unfold,” Smiley said. “And I learned that patience and constant, obsessive curiosity are important to succeeding as a scientist.”
That story piqued Smiley’s interest in science and technology, which has shaped her work as a communicator in corporate, academic and nonprofit settings over the past 20 years.
Smiley has worked as a senior science writer at the University of Pittsburgh's Innovation Institute, a communications specialist at the Consultation Center at the Yale School of Medicine and a technical writing consultant for the Association of University Technology Managers.
In 2014, Smiley founded Journal Junkies, a nonprofit writing center for disadvantaged high school students in Springfield, Mass. Supported by private and corporate donations and the YMCA of Greater Springfield, the program offered after-school workshops for written and audio storytelling.
“There was a student who was dealing with some heavy topics — she had been removed from her home because her parents were not equipped to raise her,” Smiley said. “She had a tough time writing about it, so we tried an audio version that ended up being so beautiful. Her story was a powerful reminder to me of the different tools we can use to create meaningful narratives.”
Journal Junkies shared space and collaborated with Tech Foundry, an IT workforce training program. “I set out on a mission that was rooted in journalism, and it wound up being rooted in tech as well,” Smiley said.
That convergence of mission-driven work and cutting-edge technology makes CMU feel like home again.
“I’m driven by a deep commitment to use my work to help people and society,” Smiley said. “I’ve achieved the most success when I care about the mission that is behind it, so it’s really inspiring to be here at CMU, surrounded by all the groundbreaking research and talent in our Machine Learning Department.”
Prior to being hired, Smiley had not been back to Carnegie Mellon in more than 20 years. As she toured campus before starting work, Smiley took a selfie with Scotty and got a little teary eyed when the reality of her homecoming sunk in.
In a fitting twist, she’s now working in a tech-driven department at the university that invented the smiley emoticon nearly 50 years ago.
“I even landed the coveted smiley@andrew.cmu.edu (email address),” Smiley said.