ACM-W Council Women in Computing News Blog

ACM-W Scholarship recipient wins Best Presentation Award

2011-07-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to ACM-W travel scholarship recipient Tasneem Kaochar, University of Arizona, who received the Best Presentation Award at the IJCAI 2011 workshop on Agents Learning Interactively from Human Teachers (ALIHT), which concluded this past weekend. The conference was held in Barcelona. Tasneem's travel was supported by three sources: The ACM-W (ACM's Women In Computing) travel

Women in technology conferences and women's rights: The DisconnectAmbassador: Gayatri Buragohain, India

2011-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

I just returned from Bangalore after attending the first Grace Hopper Conference (GHC) in India organized by the US based non-profit Anita Borg Institute of Women and Technology (ABI). This conference is a celebration of women in technology, a conference to discuss woman's role in technical workforce and find solutions to the challenges faced by women in the technical workforce owing to which

Elaine Weyuker wins ACM Presidential Award

2010-06-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Our own Elaine Weyuker has been named as a Presidential Award winner by ACM President Dame Wendy Hall. She is cited "For her tireless efforts in the development and growth of the ACM Women's Council. Under her guidance, she built a network of enthusiastic volunteers to help propel ACM-W forward, in the process creating many new ideas for activities, awards, and scholarships to cultivate and

Janie Irwin - 2010 ACM-W Athena Lecturer

2010-03-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

We celebrate Ada Lovelace Day today by honoring Janie Irwin, recent recipient of the ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award. I have known Janie for a while now, and she is inspirational both in her research and in her commitment to women in computer science. The photo shows Janie (right) along with Laura Haas and me at the 2008 CRA-W CAPP Workshop - an effort to bring more women into senior positions in

New Ambassador from India: Gayatri Buragohain

2010-01-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our newest ACM-W Ambassador, Gayatri Buragohain of India. We are excited about Gayatri's coming on board since she is has lots of experience encouraging girls and women in IT. Gayatri is organizing an ACM-W (ACM's Council on Women in Computing) event on the evening of 21st January 2010. This event is an effort to encourage women in computing in India to network and organize to form

Reaching Out and OutreachAmbassador: Mary Anne Egan, United States

2009-09-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

There are several projects keeping me busy this year. First, the Student IMPACT alternative programming contest continues (www.cs.siena.edu/~maegan/impact). The template of a full day program for mathematically talented high school juniors (16 year olds) introducing them to various areas of computer science and using their new found knowledge to compete against other schools has been used

A German Kiwi in BerlinAmbassador: Annika Hinze, New Zealand

2009-08-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

It is an interesting thing to visit your country of origin after several years. The New Zealand ambassador has just completed a six month secondment to the Humboldt University in Berlin.Just as in other countries, women in computer science are a rare breed in Germany (less than 15%). To strengthen their situation, each German university has a full-time women's representative - some are called '

Increasing Female Participation – A CS Project Team Experience with a Difference News from Turkey (Ambassador: Reyyan Ayfer)

2009-06-17T09:17:00.001-07:00

I have always dreamed of my students working with an international student team on a computing project. This dream became reality when I met Archana Chidanandan at the 2008 ITiCSE conference at Madrid. Archana is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Cary Laxer and Archana Chinandran have been carrying out such an international

Two Projects in the PipelineAmbassador: Catherine Lang, Australia

2009-05-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

The Australian ACM-W Ambassador has two exciting projects in the pipeline this year. The first, Digital Divas targets junior secondary school students. It is a collaborative project funded by the Australian Research Council, with the Education Department, the Australian Computer Society and three universities to design and deliver an interesting curriculum for Years 8 and 9 girls to increase

Hello from Saskatoon Canada! Ambassador: Julita Vassileva, Canada

2009-04-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

Hello from Saskatoon, Canada!(where in April the ice is hesitantly thawing)Let me present to you Carrie Demmans (in the photo), a 2nd year M.Sc. student in Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan and a Science Ambassador in a First Nations Community on the Prairies, 2.5 hours North of Saskatoon. But first a few words about the Science Ambassadors Program (http://

Sandy's Story - for Ada Lovelace DayGuest Blogger: Annemieke Craig, Deakin University, Australia

2009-03-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

As indicated in Barbara’s recent article we would like to celebrate ‘Ada Lovelace Day’ by publishing an article about a woman in technology. Sandy is the IT Manager for the Institute for Technology Research and Innovation at Deakin University in Australia.To celebrate Ada Lovelace day we present Sandy’s story:As the youngest of my 3 children approached school age, I began a short IT course to

Ada Lovelace DayGuest Blogger: Barbara Boucher Owens, USA

2009-03-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

Ada Lovelace Day is March 24, 2009A movement to promote female role models in technology is underfoot and you can help. But first some background, most of which I gleaned from Betty Toole's marvelous biography, Ada, The Enchantress of Numbers, Prophet of the Computer Age.Most women in computing have probably heard Augusta Ada Lovelace, (or Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace) referred to as the

Sim visits 'Go Girls Go for IT' in AustraliaGuest Blogger: Annemieke Craig, Australia

2009-02-11T07:33:00.001-08:00

The last years of secondary school are important for thinking about what careers students can consider. Declining number of females studying computing at tertiary level indicates that many girls may just not be aware of the opportunities a career in IT can bring - or the important skills they have to bring to this industry. At Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia a 'Go Girls Go for IT' day

Still a men’s worldAmbassador: Maria Knobelsdorf, Germany

2009-01-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

I would like to start the January Blog by wishing you all a happy, healthy, and successful New Year!My name is Maria Knobelsdorf and I’m the new ambassador for Germany. Let me begin my report about Women in CS in Germany by giving you first a brief account of the overall situation today and in the past.CS was established at German universities in the 1970s. Female students were attracted by the

Congratulations, Dame Wendy Hall!

2008-12-31T19:54:00.000-08:00

ACM President Wendy Hall has been appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. Announcement of this honor was made by Buckingham Palace as part of the 2009 New Year Honours list, and it will be bestowed later in the year. More information is availabile in the press release from the University of Southampton.From all of us at ACM-W, congratulations!

Women at the Brazil National Database Conference

2008-12-22T08:46:00.000-08:00

Another small – but surprisingly effective – awareness-raising initiative was taken during the 23th national database conference promoted by SBC. During the conference (October 2008), we decided to have a picture taken of all women present who are doing research in databases in Brazil. The pictures that follow show the overall group (teachers and students), as well as just the graduate students.

News From BrazilAmbassador: Claudia Bauzer Medeiros – Institute of Computing, University of Campinas

2008-12-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

Computer Science university teachers, in Brazil, are becoming increasingly conscious of the problem of the decreasing presence of women among undergraduate and even graduate students. As a result, a few initiatives are being organized. The first is the creation, in 2007, of an official event sponsored by the Brazilian Computer Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Computação) concerning issues

Introducing the new ACM-W Council

2008-10-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

ACM's Committee on Women in Computing has now been raised to a Council in the ACM organizational structure. Our new name is the ACM-W Council, and our charter states: "The ACM-W Council (AWC) will be chartered for the purpose of creating awareness of, interest in, and the need for elevating the issue of gender diversity within ACM as well as externally." The first meeting of the ACM-W council was

Using Technology to Create an Economic Powerhouse Ambassador: Jehan Ara, Pakistan

2008-10-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

Women account for almost 50% of Pakistan’s potential workforce. However, their active/acknowledged participation in economic activities is quite low compared with other economies. Even though they participate dynamically in family, home, community or farm activities, this unpaid work is perceived as their social duty rather than an economic contribution. One of the main reasons for the low

Elaine Weyuker Accepts 2008 Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award

2008-10-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our co-Chair, Elaine Weyuker on becoming the winner of the 2008 Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award! The Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award is given to a woman who has inspired the women’s technology community through outstanding technological and social contributions. This year’s winner, AT&T Fellow Elaine Weyuker, has had a career of firsts: She was the first woman to

Handing Over(Past Ambassador: Vashti Galpin)

2008-09-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

Since I have come to the end of my term as the ACM-W ambassador for South Africa, I'd like to recap some highlights and introduce my successor, Cecille Marsh.I've been in this role since 2000, and with the assistance of Hlami Huhlwane (who was then a second year Computer Science student at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg), we developed the first of the ACM-W ambassador

News From Under Down-Under(Ambassador: Annika Hinze, Senior Lecturer, University of Waikato)

2008-08-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog report, so as the Ambassador for New Zealand I would like to start by introducing you to my country.New Zealand is predominantly an urban country, with a multi-cultural mix of Pakeha, Maori, Asian and Pacific Islanders. New Zealand is the only country in the world in which all the highest offices in the land have been occupied simultaneously by women: the Queen, the

Sex Still Sells – or does it? Ambassador: Jan Peters (ACM-W Ambassador for the UK)

2008-07-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

I was planning to write my blog contribution to reflect on the falling number of IT graduates in the UK, the poor take up of flexibility and the efforts by the British Computer Society and the UK trade body, Intellect to champion and effect change. But coverage recently of the UK National Electronics Week, in early June caused me to change tack and reflect on the way companies are engaging with

Shafi Goldwasser accepts the 2008 ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award

2008-06-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

Shafi Goldwasser accepted the ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award at the ACM Awards Banquet at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco on June 21, 2008.Pictured (L-R): Stu Feldman, ACM President;Elaine Weyuker, ACM-W co-Chair; Alan Eustace, Google Vice President;Shafi Goldwasser; John White, ACM CEO.

Congratulations Reyyan Ayfer, winner of the Anita Borg Change Agent Award

2008-06-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

ACM-W Turkish Ambassador Reyyan Ayfer has been named a winner of the Anita Borg Change Agent Award for her many accomplishments. Reyyan will receive her award at the 2008 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Learn more about Reyyan and her work as ambassador in her recent blog entry. Congratulations, Reyyan!

United States Women in Computing News Ambassador: Mary Anne Egan

2008-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

This month is a report on the status of women in computing in the United States. According to the most recent Taulbee survey for the academic year 2006-2007 [1], 19.1% of new Ph.D.s and 22.6% of the Master’s degrees were awarded to women. These numbers represent a slight increase in the ratio of women among new Ph.D.s and about the same ratio of Master’s degrees as the previous year. The

A Virtual Science Learning Centre in India(Ambassador: Dr Suriya Mayandi Thevar )

2008-05-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

This months report comes from India where Dr. Suriya is part of a team from Annamalai University who are building a Virtual Science Learning Centre (VSLC) for female high school students. The aim of this project is to establish a twinning programme between the university and rural schools in a tsunami affected region to empower female students who cannot afford to continue their school education

Congratulations Shafi Goldwasser, 2008-2009 Athena Lecturer

2008-04-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Association for Computing Machinery’s Committee on Women in Computing (ACM-W) has named Shafi Goldwasser of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Weizmann Institute of Science as the 2008-2009 Athena Lecturer for her outstanding research contributions to cryptography, complexity theory, and number theory. Her research includes the development of zero-knowledge proofs, which enable

Greetings from Turkey!(Ambassador: Reyyan Ayfer)

2008-04-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air... After a cold winter with lots of snow in Ankara, we are enjoying the blossoming trees, warmer weather and the fresh smell of nature after a spring rain. It is mid-semester at Bilkent University. All faculty and students are very busy with midterm exams, term projects; all kinds of activities ranging from research to social. Among these activities are ones organized by the

International Women's DaySome Thoughts by Annemieke Craig (ACM-W Ambassador Program Co-Leader)

2008-03-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

International Women’s Day provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the fight for equal rights for women and international peace.In our own area of Information Technology (IT), the pioneering women in computing struggled against preconceptions, restrictive work practices and stereotyped management practices in order to survive professionally. In 2008 the unequal participation by women in IT

Congratulations, Susan Landau!

2008-02-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

ACM-W member Susan Landau has been named the Social Impact Award Winner by the Anita Borg Institute. Susan Landau is a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems. The Women of Vision (WOV) Awards honor women making significant contributions to technology in three categories: Innovation, Leadership, and Social Impact. Nominees are submitted by high-tech companies, universities, private industry

Grace Hopper 2008: We Build A Better World

2008-02-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Now is the time to prepare your contribution for Grace Hopper 2008. We hope ACM-W will have a strong presence there. The Call for Participation can be found at the Grace Hopper Celebration website. The deadline for program submissions is March 16, 2008, and the conference dates are October 1-4, 2008.

Australian Ambassador's Report(Ambassador: Catherine Lang)

2008-02-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Many activities and events to promote ICT careers to young women were conducted in Australia in 2007 and more are planned for 2008. I will report on two in which I have an ongoing involvement, Digital Divas; a computer club for girls concept in Australia, and Go Girl Go for IT, a showcase career event.Digital DivasResearch on the lack of interest by Australian girls in computing shows that they

Women in CS News from Canada 2008 (Ambassador: Julita Vassileva)

2008-01-05T11:05:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! I thought that it is appropriate to start with the first January report about a stereotypically cold place – Canada. Right now it is -25 C (-13F) here in Saskatoon, we are right in the middle of this big country. I have gotten used to the cold in the last 10 years since I came here, though in the country where I was born, Bulgaria, in doesn’t get nearly as cold in wintertime. So

Tracy Camp wins Outstanding Faculty Award

2008-01-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

We celebrate a recent honor of an ACM-W member (and previous ACM-W Co-Chair). Colorado School of Mine's recently presented Tracy Camp with an 'Outstanding Faculty Award' (an award that doesn't occur every year). Tracy was nominated for the honor by her research group, making the award even more special.

Upcoming Conference in New Zealand (Ambassador: Annika Hinze)

2007-12-12T14:05:00.001-08:00

Third Computing Women Congress (11-13 February 2008)University of Waikato, HamiltonNew ZealandOrganized/Hosted by ACM-W's New Zealand AmbassadorThe Computing Women Congress (CWC) is a conference that aims to increase the skills, self-image, participation, and representation of women in computer science and information technology. It provides a meeting-place for both female students and academic/

Congratulations Elaine Weyuker!

2007-06-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to our Chair, Elaine Weyuker of AT&T Research Labs, who received the 2007 ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Award. This award is presented to an individual who has made significant and lasting research contributions to the theory or practice of software engineering. She presented the keynote address at FSE/ESEC Conference in September.

2007-2008 Athena Lecturer

2007-04-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

The 2007-8 Athena Lecturer was Professor Karen Spärck Jones of Cambridge University<, who passed away on April 4, 2007. She taped her lecture, which will be given at the 30th Annual International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval in Amsterdam.