The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) has brought together more than 3600 attendees from more than 100 leading companies, academic institutions and government agencies, including Google, HP, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, Bloomberg, American Express, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Symantec, to inspire and connect women in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
ABI’s Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing Conference takes place 3-6 October 2012 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland (US). The annual event, a large technical conference for women in computing, this year addresses the theme, “Are We There Yet?”
Presenters include senior representatives from industry, academia and government; 3600 have registered to attend the sold-out event; and 300+ college undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students plan to attend this year’s conference
The keynote and plenary presenters include: Nora Denzel, technical executive and corporate board member at Saba Software; Anita K. Jones, university professor emerita, University of Virginia; Francine Berman, professor of computer science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Farnam Jahanian, Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE), National Science Foundation (NSF); Andrea Norris, chief information officer, National Institutes of Health; Debora A. Plunkett, information assurance director, National Security Agency; and Dr. Laura Stubbs, director for science and technology initiatives, US Department of Defense.
Other conference events include scholarships, a job fair and a code-a-thon for humanity.
• Scholarships: ABI, corporate sponsors and the NSF have provided scholarships for 17 local female college students to attend the event. In addition, seven local colleges and universities have signed on as sponsors of the event: University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech); Anne Arundel Community College CyberCenter; Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering (JHU-WSE) Department of Computer Science; Loyola University Maryland; The George Washington University; and University of Maryland College Park.
• Job Fair: More than 110 companies will be on hand to promote open technical jobs positions at all levels. This is a multi-day event.
• Code-a-Thon for Humanity: Area non-profits will benefit from this year’s open source-coding event on Saturday 6 October. The group will be coding to benefit local organisations, such as Goodspeaks and Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, along with national groups, such as GNOME Alley, Kids on Computers and others.
Co-founded in 1994, the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing Conference is designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. With today’s considerable interest in STEM education for young women and the gender inequity in technical fields, GHC serves as a leading forum for collaborative proposals, networking and mentoring for junior women and increased visibility for the contributions of women in computing. Conference presenters are leaders in their respective fields, representing industry, academia and government. Top researchers present their work while special sessions focus on the role of women in today’s technology fields.
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