The Cayuse community is thrilled to shine its Champion Spotlight on @Holly Mace, Assistant Director, Pre-Award at NYU Abu Dhabi. Keep reading below to get to know Holly better.
How do you interact with Cayuse products on a daily basis?
At NYU Abu Dhabi, we use two Cayuse systems. One tracks our external grants and is managed by the Office of Sponsored Programs in New York, and the other manages our internal funding mechanisms in Abu Dhabi. Unlike most US schools, most of our research funding is internal and having a system that tracks all our faculty grants and proposals is crucial for reporting. For our external grants, we operate as departmental and college-level administrators and liaisons with the Office of Sponsored Programs in New York for submissions. At NYU, we use Cayuse SP, 424, IRB, and Outside Interests, which has streamlined the process for both NYU and NYU Abu Dhabi.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I love to travel. That was part of the incentive to take the job in the UAE. Being able to spend a long weekend outside the country is amazing. Covid stopped the ability to travel easily, but it's returning to normal. The other wonderful thing about living here is the 300+ days of sun. Even when it's blisteringly hot, being able to go to the pool or beach for a few hours is amazing.
What do you see as the hottest trends in research today?
AI and Machine learning. This area has so many applications that haven't been discovered yet. We have experienced the rise of Machine Learning; we may not call it that specifically.
What do you consider most promising in the era of big data?
Collaboration and streamlined processes to increase efficiencies.
How can an organization stay relevant five years from now?
If Covid taught us anything, it's to pivot and quickly. So often, academic institutions resist change and, in some ways, modernization. Covid forced almost every field to pivot to stay relevant and functioning. I think the best way for any organization to remain relevant is to adapt and evolve as the world around them changes. You can stay true to your principles but evolve to a new era.
What app would be hard for you to live without?
WhatsApp. I use it for both work and in my personal life, and it's how most of us outside the US connect. The faculty all know to send me a WhatsApp if they want an immediate answer.
If you could meet any historical figure, who would you choose and why?
John Vincent Atanasoff - the inventor of the first digital computer. As a graduate of Iowa State University, the Computer Science building is named after Dr. Atanasoff. He wasn't given credit for the invention of the digital computer until the 1970s due to leaving the then Iowa State College to assist in the wartime effort in 1941. Not only do we have him to thank for the original design that launched the computer era, but his experience in not filing a patent on the invention is a lesson to all of us in Research Administration.
Thank you, Holly, for being a Cayuse Champion and sharing your thoughts!