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CONTACTS: Jane Evans-Ryan
Director, Media Strategy
MCA
Phone: (650) 968-8900
Fax: (650) 968-8990
E-mail: jryan@mcapr.com

2006 GRACE HOPPER CONFERENCE ATTRACTING RECORD INTEREST

World’s Largest Gathering for Women in Computing to Kick-off on October 4th

Event: The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) announced today that registration and sponsorship have reached all time highs for the upcoming Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC). ABI said that pre-registration for the 4-day event has far surpassed that of the previous conference in 2004—when 899 women and men attended—and will likely exceed this year’s projected enrollment of 1,200. Likewise, sponsorship and underwriting of the event by high tech companies and leading universities are at record levels. The number of sponsoring corporations has increased by 50 percent, and includes 16 new, first-time sponsors. Together, corporations have invested more than $377,000 and universities, the National Science Foundation, corporations and ABI have provided attendance scholarships to 247 students, also up 50 percent from 2004.

Slated for October 4-7 in San Diego, GHC is the world’s leading technical conference for women in IT, computer science and related fields. GHC programs include plenary sessions, technical papers, panels, poster sessions and workshops by successful researchers and technology professionals. Technical topics cover a wide range of disciplines, including emerging science such as sensor technology over the Internet and advanced robotics development. Myriad personal and professional development programs are also offered to help women hone their leadership skills and navigate their careers. In addition, the conference will spotlight the considerable achievements of technical women through an impressive line-up of keynote addresses, invited speakers and award presentations.

Currently, women represent half of the U.S. labor force and over half of all undergraduates. Yet only 18 percent are scientists and engineers and only 20 percent of females graduate with majors in engineering, computer science, physics and other related fields. It is through programs like the GHC that The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology works to ensure that industry, academia and government remain globally competitive by helping them attract, recruit, retain and advance more women leaders in technology.

Highlights:
Keynotes:

Conference Leadership:

Complimentary passes will be provided to members of the working press. To obtain a press pass to attend all or part of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, please call 650.236.4079. A conference agenda and full program details for GHC can be found at: http://www.gracehopper.org.

Dates/Location:
The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
October 4-7, 2006
The Town & Country Resort Hotel
500 Hotel Circle North
San Diego, CA 92108

Grace Hopper Celebration Sponsors:
Gold sponsors: CA, Cisco Systems, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo! - Silver sponsors: Amazon, Arrow Electronics, Cadence, EMC, Fair Isaac, SAIC, Symantec, Thoughtworks, USENIX – Bronze sponsors: Adobe, Argonne National Labs, AT&T Labs, BMC, Goldman Sachs, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Network Appliances, NCWIT, Oracle, Qualcomm, Virsalent, Walmart.com, Wells Fargo.

Gold academic scholarship underwriters: California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University, UC Irvine, University of California Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Silver academic scholarship underwriters: Information Networking Institute Carnegie Mellon, DePaul University, Georgia Tech, Michigan State University, NCSA, New York University, Purdue University – Bronze academic scholarship underwriters: Indiana University, Tufts University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Santa Cruz, UC Davis, University of Texas at Austin.
Founding Sponsors: CRA & CRA-W
Government Sponsor: The National Science Foundation

About the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing:
The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) is a program of The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) and is co-presented by ABI and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). Inspired by the legacy of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, this technical conference is the world’s largest gathering of women in computing, and is designed to bring the technology, research and career interests of women in IT-related professions to the forefront. Open to women and men from the undergraduate level to seasoned technical leaders and educators, GHC receives financial support from major corporations and universities and from the government through The National Science Foundation. GHC was founded by the late Dr. Anita Borg and Dr. Telle Whitney in 1994.

About The Anita Borg Institute
Founded in 1997, the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology is a nationally recognized organization dedicated to changing the world for women and technology. The Institute accomplishes its goals through collaboration with industry, academic and government organizations. A growing list of leading corporations, including partners HP, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Google and sponsors, IBM, Cisco, and Intel recognize that by investing in its programs to engage and develop technical women, they can achieve a more diverse, globally competitive workforce capable of producing higher levels of technology innovation and better financial performance. Partnering with these visionaries, as well as leading universities, government organizations and influential individual business and political leaders, the Institute is delivering programs that are changing the world for women and technology. The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) : www.anitaborg.org.

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