Liuba Shrira is a Professor of Computer Science at Brandeis University and is affiliated with the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. A native of Latvia, she received her PhD from the Technion (Israel).  Her research interests span aspects of design and implementation of distributed systems and especially storage systems. This includes fault-tolerance, availability and performance issues. Her recent focus is on blockchains, fast transactional storage, time travel (in storage), software upgrades.

Professor Shrira is an expert on many topics of relevance to PlanetLabs.Earth, including AI applications in education, STEM-related programs for advanced students, and training students to be creative in all fields.  Her personal experience of growing up behind the Iron Curtain, then Israel, and now the US, informs her opinions on tolerance and conflict zones in the world.