Day one of the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (opens in new tab): I’m here in Phoenix, Arizona, anxiously awaiting the keynote from Shafi Goldwasser (opens in new tab), one of the most honored women in the field of computer science. As I survey the crowd, I can’t help but think about my first Grace Hopper conference. It was 1997, and I was a graduate student. I remember sitting in a large hotel ballroom with hundreds of attendees, blown away by the sheer number of women in computer science. (I was also amused that the hotel had made several men’s restrooms available to women attendees—another first in my experience.)
It’s been wonderful to watch the conference and Microsoft’s involvement in it grow over the years. At Grace Hopper 2007 in Orlando, Florida, the sponsor tables fit into a hotel foyer, and probably fewer than 20 Microsoft employees attended. This year I am one of 460 Microsoft attendees (women and men), a contingent that includes 12 executives, 50 women in senior positions, and 25 scholarship winners. What’s more, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and president of Harvey Mudd College, Maria Klawe will have a fireside chat on Thursday, and Bonnie Ross, Microsoft general manager of Halo, is an invited technical presenter. Watch the live stream of Satya’s opening session (opens in new tab) on Thursday, October 9, 8:20–9:45 A.M. PDT.
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Just as the conference has grown and changed over the years, so have my experience and my role at the event. I was a student attendee at my first Grace Hopper conference. Now, as a board member of the Computer Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W (opens in new tab)) for the past three years, I organize the CRA-W Career Mentoring Workshops (opens in new tab). I also serve in a variety of other ways, such as judging the Student Poster and Student Research Competition, chairing sessions, and speaking at workshops. This year, in addition to running the CRA-W workshops, I’m excited to participate in a panel on “Visibility Everywhere: Building a Web/Social Media Presence for Women in Computing,” organized by Susan Rodger (opens in new tab) of Duke University, one the leaders in computer science education.
I also work shifts in the Microsoft booth, which is a great way to meet other women technologists and to show them some cool Microsoft technology. Visitors to our booth can participate in an engaging “creature-maker” activity. Curious? If you’re here, come visit us at booth #515.
Other notable events that Microsoft is sponsoring include the International Women’s Hackathon (opens in new tab) on Saturday, October 11, when over 100 women will “hack for good” in collaboration with several thousand other women participating virtually around the world. We will also pre-screen the documentary, Big Dream (opens in new tab), which shows how computer science careers are exciting, collaborative, fun, and impactful. We hope the conference goers will get excited and host free screenings of Big Dream to help spread this message!
Surrounded by accomplished professional women and students who seem to have boundless energy and enthusiasm for computer sciences, I have always found the Grace Hopper Celebration to be the perfect time to step away from my day-to-day work and reflect on my own personal and professional goals. I look forward to spending the next several days inspired by the conference, to think hard about my research and career, while having a blast with old and new friends.
—A.J. Brush (opens in new tab), Senior Researcher, Microsoft Research
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