Tech Her

Ivan Sutherland's 70th Birthday

2008-05-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a party at the Computer History Museum for Ivan Sutherland. Ivan is considered by many to be the father of Computer Graphics, and was my master's thesis advisor at Caltech.

It was an evening of memories for me as I remembered my early graduate student days. I was at Caltech to work with Ivan because a professor at the University of Utah Richard Riesenfeld believed in me, and introduced me to Ivan. As a 22 year old undergraduate student with no clear idea of what a Computer Science degree meant, or what my options were, the interest and advice of a professor changed my life, something I am often reminded of by the students who attend the Hopper conference and learn from others what is possible.

I arrived at Caltech and joined Ivan and a small research group working on a hierarchical design rule checker, a hot topic in the VLSI field at the time. Ivan challenged my thinking and pushed me, and it was one of the most rewarding years of my life, resulting in two conference papers, no small feat for a first year student.

Ivan left Caltech after my first year, and when I protested, he politely reminded me that he had not made a commitment to be my PhD advisor. In the long run, it worked out, I worked with Carver Mead, an extraordinary man who I consider a friend and mentor to this day, who was also at the party tonight.

Both Ivan and Carver had characteristics of many great mentors - they challenged me, and pushed me hard. But they really believed in me, and let me know it.

Tonight it was wonderful to hear some of the true greats in Computer Science such as Alan Kay, John Warnock, and Bob Sproull talk about the brilliance of Ivan, and it is true. But what made him great to me is his role as teacher and mentor. Others felt the same, as heard in the stories of his many students, who spoke of his impact on them.

Ah yes, I did notice they were almost exclusively men talking, and I am committed to changing the presence of women. But mentoring is important to me, and to the many great leaders I know. Tonight, it was important to reflect on the great mentors I have had in my life. I owe them a great deal, and remember that it is important to give back.

Next Generation Technical Leaders

2008-05-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

The next two days is our TechLeaders program on Power and Influence held at Amazon in Seattle, WA, with seventy women from 11 companies. The power that a TechLeaders workshop holds for many attendees can be transformational. For example, I was stopped while visiting a research group by a woman who had attended a TechLeaders a couple of years ago, and she told me how the experience had changed her life. She was returning to work after having a baby, and wasn't sure if she fit into a research life any more. After attending a TechLeaders, she returned, changed her research area, and found new inspiration from the women she met, and is now considered one of the top researchers at her Institution. Certainly for me, when I hear the stories of other women, I am reminded that I am not alone, and that each of us has the power to succeed if we set our mind to it. This particular TechLeaders workshop includes ways to to develop your negotiation skills, especially since it is common wisdom to realize that Women Don't Ask, and there are techniques and strategies to ask.

Central to the TechLeaders workshops is to feature leadership superstars as facilitator. This particular workshop is facilitated by Jo Miller , whose columns in our newsletters are turning out to be one of our most popular features. If you aren't attending, don't worry, there will be more in the future.

Women in Technology Entrepreneurs Low

2008-05-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

I've spent my career as a high tech entrepreneur. Before I joined the Anita Borg Institute I spent twenty years at start ups, and I found the innovative drive fast paced and exhilarating. There are two articles that were published recently that points to the fact that women entrepreneurs are still poorly represented. Penny Herscher, an ABI board member and entrepreneurial two time CEO, was interviewed by the Mercury News about the continuing dearth of Women CEOs. Her blog is a wealth of knowledge about being a great CEO, but it is still very uncommon to see a woman at the helm of Technology Companies.

Another article in eWeek talks more broadly about the small number of technology companies, with women founders, especially VC backed companies. in fact only 4.3% of tech start-ups have participation of women, according to Dow Jones Venture Source. This seems at odds with the fact that Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing sectors in business. However most of these businesses stay small, and so the high impact that is the consequence of growth entrepreneurial enterprises is not being shared proportionally by technical women. If we want the contributions and impact of women to change the world, one of the great untapped potentials are through creating new growth companies by women.

NCWIT Keynotes

2008-05-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

I am at the National Center for Women and IT (NCWIT ) bi-annual meeting in Urbana-Champiaign at the University of Illinois. It was quite a challenge to get here, I was up at 3am yesterday morning, followed by an airplane and car drive. But is is worth it because of the community that attends, and the fantastic speakers.

There were two phenomenal women keynotes today - Mae Jamison, the first African American astronaut. She was inspirational to me, but what I really liked was her comment that "ideas are like potential energy, it is important to take the risk and put ideas into action". I know that action is what is important to me, in my job I hear lots of great ideas from people who aren't willing to invest their own time, or are frightened by the risk.

Lydia Kavaraki, who I first met as the keynote of the 2006 Hopper Celebration, talked brilliantly of her work at the boundary between Computer Science and Bio-Molecules. Her work in Physical Computing reminds me how problems found at the boundaries between two (or more) disciplines often push the boundaries of both disciplines.

Learning Non-profit Leadership from Others

2008-05-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

After a spectacular Women of Vision event Thursday night (more later), I spent Friday with 15 other non-profit Executive Directors and CEO's at the CEN Leadership Institute. My background as a technologist did not prepare me for the diverse demands of leading a non-profit. It is so helpful to get together and talk with other non-profit leaders grappling with many of the same issues I am. Each and every time I attend, I learn something.

Yesterday, we were reminded how important life renewal is in order to keep being effective at our jobs. Linda Clever from Renew came to speak and reminded us about our work a few months ago, where we identified three areas that we will change for the better, and two things to celebrate. I am proud to say that two of the area I identified have changed for the better. I am celebrating the success of the increased impact of ABI. Seeing the results of Women of Vision the other night, it is easy to celebrate our success. Renewing is something that all non-profit leaders need to make a priority, and I was grateful for the reminder.

Women of Vision winner Justine Cassell

2008-05-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

When I think of the impact of Justine Cassell, the winner of the Anita Borg Institute's Women of Vision Leadership award ,I think about how positively students respond to her and her vision of technology. I first met Justine through Anita Borg when Justine was still on the faculty of MIT. Justine believes in a world where technology and people come together in important positive ways, and because of her belief she has brought a new field into existence. But I always think about the impact that Justine has on the students. A few years ago, at the Anita Borg Celebration, a local high school student wrote about her newly reaffirmed commitment to technology after watching Justine on the stage. She could see herself in the charismatic and very accessible young faculty. I admire Justine's commitment to her students, and a a world where many disciplines come together in positive ways.

Tomorrow is our Women of Vision award ceremony. Three women will be recognized, and I'll be there. I hope to see you.

Women of Vision winner Susan Landau

2008-05-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Susan Landau is the winner of this year's Women of Vision Social Impact award. Susan is a remarkable role model for our community because she brings so many facets of herself to her work. She is a well respected Computer Science whose wisdom on security helps inform public policy, especially through her publication. The reason that I know Susan is because we serve together on CRA-W, a committee of senior academics and industry researchers who ABI frequently partners with. As an industry researcher, Susan worked with CRA-W to expand the participation of industry researchers, a group that often works closely with academics, but with different needs. Susan is the moderator for ResearcHers, a mailing list that uses the Systers infrastructure and its model for researchers.

Every time I see Susan she is brimming with idea about how to make a difference, such as a list of technical books written by women, or the ResearcHers community. Congratulations Susan.

Welcome and Women of Vision winner Helen Greiner

2008-05-04T11:30:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my inaugural blog. Many of you know me as the CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women of Technology, whose work to increase the impact of women on technology and to increase the positive impact of technology on the world's women is my passion. However, I am also a technologist and have a deep and driving love of technology and innovation, and believe that true change sits at the boundary between these two aspects of my life.

It is of course appropriate that I am launching this blog as we approach the third annual Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision awards where we have the chance to recognize three extraordinary women.

Helen Greiner, the co-founder of I-Robot, is the winner of this year's Women of Vision Innovation award.

I first met Helen when she keynoted at the 2006 Grace Hopper Conference . Although her work at I-Robots clearly deserves recognition for innovation, what I find exciting is that her work is both innovative and it positively impacts society both in the home and through the military robots that move through dangerous areas where people previously worked.