This year, the Sparks Forum features Maria Klawe, PhD, who is currently President of Harvey Mudd College. She will deliver a talk entitled: "Women in Computing and Engineering: Is there a problem?"

Abstract:
In most areas of engineering and computer science, women comprise less than twenty percent of the population. Unlike other career areas, participation by women has been flat or declining over the past decade. This talk discusses the reasons for the low participation by women, its impact on disciplines where women are under-represented, and what can be done focusing particularly on what are our collective and individual responsibilities to address the factors that result in such low participation.

About the speaker:
Maria Klawe is President of Harvey Mudd College. A renowned computer scientist and scholar, she is the first woman to lead HMC since its founding in 1955. Before taking on her current position, Dr. Klawe served as Dean of Engineering and Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. Dr. Klawe has made significant research contributions in several areas of mathematics and computer science including functional analysis, discrete mathematics, theoretical computer science, human-computer interaction, gender issues in information technology, and interactive multimedia for mathematics education. Her current research focuses on the development and use of multi-modal applications to assist people with aphasia and other cognitive impairments. She received her PhD (1977) and B.Sc. (1973) in Mathematics from the University of Alberta.

About the Forum:
The Forum is supported by the Sparks Memorial Fund and organized by the Center for Ethics and Technology at Georgia Tech. Additional support provided by: Center for the Study of Women in Science and Technology (WST), The Georgia Tech Foundation, The College of Engineering, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, The School of Public Policy.