Eleanor leads the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the NASA Ames Research Center, and is a 2020 NASA Ames Associate Fellow. She joined NASA Ames Research Center in 2012 to work on the expanding quantum computing effort. Previously, she performed research in diverse fields at FXPAL, including quantum computation, applied cryptography, image-based geometric reconstruction of 3D scenes, bioinformatics, video surveillance, and automated control code generation for modular robotics. Her research interests include quantum heuristics, evaluation and utilization of near-term quantum hardware, fundamental resources for quantum computation, quantum error mitigation, and applications for quantum computing. She received her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is best known for her 2011 book Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction with coauthor Wolfgang Polak and published by MIT press.