Nov. 7, 2016

Dear members of the Hajim School community:

Students just back from the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing had this to say about their experiences:

“The biggest thing I learned is not to doubt yourself” . . .  “I was expecting to talk to companies that would be interested only in my resume, but they actually care more about what you’re passionate about.” . . .  “I went up to a company I hadn’t planned to talk to — and got an internship!” .  . . “Even if you go and don’t get a job, just going and learning more about yourself is also really important.”

Twenty-six students joined computer science staffers Marty Guenther and Michelle Kiso, Goergen Institute for Data Science staffer Michelle Vogl, and computer science faculty member Michael Scott in Houston for the world’s largest gathering of women technologists (attended by 15,000 people) on Oct. 19-21.

The students saw first hand the impact women have in computing fields. They talked to many of the recruiters representing some 250 companies. They attended inspiring talks by such keynote speakers as Megan Smith, the U.S. chief technology officer, and Latanya Sweeney, Harvard professor. They networked with University alumni, including Trustee Barbara Burger, at an alumni dinner. They live tweeted their experiences, and collected swag in all shapes and sizes, which they shared with other UR WiC members at their recap meeting. And they came back with a renewed passion for computing — some with new ideas about the area of computing they want to pursue.

Attendance would not have been possible for most of these students without funding from the BRAID Initiative. And it would not have been nearly as rewarding without  a lot of resume peer review, practicing of technical interview skills, and the organizing efforts of data science master’s student Isabelle Schmit. Well done, and congratulations to all involved!

For more insights on how the Department of Computer Science has welcomed female students, read this Q&A with Sandhya Dwarkadas, the department chair, in the current CRA (Computer Research Association) Women newsletter.  Sandhya also shares her thoughts on parallel processing, the challenges and opportunities of being a department chair, and advice for PhD students and young faculty members.

In an effort to better serve our students, the Gwen M. Greene Internship and Career Center would like to hear how students spent their summer.  Did you participate in an internship? Help a faculty member with research? Study abroad? Take classes? Maybe you held a part-time job? Please take a moment to complete the University of Rochester’s 2016 Summer Experience Survey at http://bit.ly/2016SummerSurvey

Here’s an opportunity to spend next summer doing research in Japan. The Nakatani RIES program, offered through Rice University, provides freshmen and sophomores with three weeks of language and cultural orientation, plus a nine-week research internship at a Japanese university. Applications are due January 12.

Thanks to the members of our Dean’s Advisory Committee, who gathered in Boston last weekend for a very informative and productive meeting.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman