Dr. Alexandra Pasi, CEO of Lucidity Sciences and Women Tech Award finalist, pioneers advanced machine learning to solve complex problems, champion diversity, and inspire future STEM leaders through mentorship and innovation.
Dr. Alexandra Pasi has been chasing big problems since she was a teenager. Now she’s the CEO and co-founder of Lucidity Sciences, a Salt Lake City startup using advanced machine learning (ML) to tackle challenges too complex for humans alone. Named a finalist for the 2024 Women Tech Awards, she’s proving that curiosity, math, and leadership can create real breakthroughs.
From Math Prodigy to PhD
Dr. Pasi graduated high school at just 16 and immediately pursued mathematics at Westminster University, exploring topics far beyond the standard curriculum. Her passion led her to Baylor University, where she earned a PhD in mathematics and received the Outstanding Dissertation Award. Her research tackled deep theoretical questions in abstract algebra and logic, including the Whitehead problem, which concerns whether certain algebraic statements are undecidable. She developed novel proof techniques in abelian group theory, identified and characterized new classes of groups, and created methods that bridged set theory and algebra, providing mathematicians with powerful new tools.
Teaching at Baylor also shaped her leadership philosophy. She loved mentoring students, including one who entered her PreCalculus class at a 5th-grade math level but eventually excelled. These experiences reinforced her belief that young people, when given freedom, guidance, and resources, can achieve far more than expected.
Industry Leadership and Innovation
Before founding Lucidity Sciences in 2021, Dr. Pasi gained extensive real-world experience. As VP of Data Science and Analytics at Zartico, one of the fastest-growing travel tech companies, she built the data science team from scratch, led the development of technologies that provide actionable insights for destination leaders, and helped establish the company’s patent portfolio.
At Lucidity Sciences, her team develops Aleph One, a machine learning platform designed for industries like healthcare, finance, and laboratory research. Unlike generative AI, which imitates human creativity, her ML models find patterns “too complicated for the human mind to process,” helping guide better treatments, smarter market interventions, and innovative solutions across multiple industries.
Dr. Pasi’s work spans more than a decade across finance, oncology, laboratory science, and mathematics, with publications in multiple fields. For her, the goal isn’t just smarter algorithms, but tools that solve problems humans can’t tackle on their own. “You can use the machinery of math,” she says, “to answer very human, very operational, and tactical questions.”
Leadership and Culture
As a leader, Dr. Pasi prefers to stay “invisible,” guiding from behind the scenes while synthesizing ideas and negotiating incentives. She champions cultural diversity by incorporating practices from her Pacific heritage, including Talanoa, a collaborative dialogue method that builds understanding across teams. She also values healthy conflict: “Bringing counterposing perspectives and assumptions allows ideas and opportunities to be refined and rounded out.”
Advocating for Women in STEM
Throughout her career, Dr. Pasi has seen many of the strongest leaders in math and technology be women. She argues that excluding or limiting women isn’t just unfair — it holds companies back. Recognizing and elevating the talents of women and other underrepresented groups, she says, brings “true talent, true competence, and true insight” to the table. She has also helped establish mentorship programs, fostering youth and promoting STEM participation for girls and underrepresented groups.
Her advice for students considering STEM careers? Don’t be intimidated. “Take yourself seriously enough and believe in yourself even if other people don’t quite see it yet,” she says. With drive, curiosity, and persistence, even uncertain steps move you closer to your goals.
Outside the office, Dr. Pasi is an avid adventurer, exploring the outdoors and studying native plant life. These pursuits reflect her curiosity and hands-on approach to learning — a mindset she carries into business, research, and mentorship.
From tackling unsolvable math problems to pioneering machine learning technologies, Dr. Alexandra Pasi’s journey demonstrates how intellect, creativity, and empathy can transform industries. She shows that blending technical brilliance with curiosity and inclusivity not only drives innovation but also opens doors for the next generation of women in tech.
To learn more about Lucidity Sciences, visit luciditysciences.com.
Isabelle Wolchek and Lexaide (Lexi) Araujo, SheTech Student Board members, have been actively involved in SheTech programs over the past two years, including the media internship with TechBuzz.
Lexi is a senior attending American Preparatory Academy, where she participates in the yearbook committee, volunteers with N.M.D.P, plays violin, and performs with her Mariachi band.
Isabelle graduated from DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts in Ogden, Utah, where she started a SheTech Chapter and conducts university-level research in molecular medicine. Currently, she is a freshman at Yale University.