Program Schedule: Friday, October 3 - Session 7
1:30 — 2:30 p.m.
Multi-Robot Intelligence
Location: Crestone Peak I
Invited Technical Speaker: Manuela M. Veloso, Herbert A. Simon Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University
Robots are physical artifacts with a seamless integration of perception, cognition, and action. The presentation will be focused on teams of intelligent autonomous robots performing tasks in highly uncertain domains. Robots need to jointly assess the state of their environment, communicate with each other, make decisions, execute actions towards the achievement of team objectives, and learn from observation and feedback based on the outcome of their actions.
What is a PhD Really Good For?: Thoughts from New(er) Grads
Location: Quandary Peak I - II
Panelists: Stefanie Tomko (Microsoft), Jennifer Beckmann (Microsoft), Renée Bryce (University of Utah), Jhilmil Jain (HP Labs), Laura Tomokiyo (Carnegie Mellon University)
This panel will provide personal insights and discussions on career paths upon completion of a computer science graduate program. We will talk about factors that influenced our career path choices, what we really like about our current positions, and what?s been challenging in our positions and in the transition from school. We will also include a discussion of the option to move from a research-focused degree to a product-focused position.
Business 101: Learning to Speak the Language of Business
Location: Crestone Peak II - IV
Moderator: Tessa Lau (IBM Almaden Research Center) Panelists: Mary Czerwinski (Microsoft Research), Elaine Weyuker (AT&T Research), Ellen Yoffa (IBM Research)
This panel will introduce students and young researchers to the language and concepts necessary to make your research strategically align with the business goals of a commercial research organization. Being able to speak the language of business makes it easier for researchers to communicate with the business people who might be interested in supporting their research, and enables one to have a more successful career in industry.
Women in the Brave New World of Free and Open Source Software
Location: Torreys Peak IV
Panelists: Meenakshi Kaul-Basu (Sun Microsystems), Kristen Carlson Accardi (Intel), Valerie Fenwick (Sun Microsystems), Stormy Peters (GNOME Foundation), Kathryn Vandiver (NetApp), Zoë Slattery (IBM)
Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) is a movement that has changed the way software products are developed. Embracing FLOSS presents companies with strategic challenges in adjusting development processes, capturing revenue, and engendering strong open source communities. With development of open source projects done on the Internet by virtual teams with relative anonymity, traditional gender biases should be eroded. Yet, studies confirm that about 2% of open source community are women.
Having Global Impact as a Technical Woman: Information Technology Applied to the Developing World
Location: Torreys Peak I - II
Panelists: Ruth Anderson (University of Washington), Elizabeth Basha (CSAIL, M.I.T.), Melissa Ho (University of California, Berkeley), Revi Sterling (ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado at Boulder)
Three women will present first hand accounts of how they are building and deploying technologies ranging from mobile devices to sensor networks to address issues in disaster mitigation, healthcare, and improving the status of women in developing countries. All four speakers will provide advice and give examples of ways attendees can get involved in the area of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD), through curriculum examples and projects.
Web 2.0 Session: Online social networks - Impact to our Careers
Location: Quandary Peak III
Presenters: Jessica Mitchell (Cisco), Kimberly Blessing (PaylPal), Victor Chung (HP), Susan Miller (Sun Microsystems), Marzia Polito (Whozat), Elizabeth Yin (Google), Jessica Mitchell (Cisco)
Social networking can be a powerful tool for professionals. This panel will discuss examples on how to use online social networks to advance careers, to extend business connections, and increase visibility. Panelists will highlight some of the limitations of this tool in terms of privacy, and reliability, and propose their recommendations. Finally the panelists will explore how communities such as women in computing can leverage online social networks to strengthen themselves.
Anita Borg Social Impact Award Winner - sponsored by Microsoft
Location: Torreys Peak III
Presenter: To Be Announced at Conference
The fourth Anita Borg Social Impact Award, an international prize, will honor an individual or team who has caused technology to have a positive impact on the lives of women and society or who has caused women to have a significant impact on the design and use of technology. The recipient of the 2008 Anita Borg Social Impact Award will receive a $10,000 award and will be honored at the 2008 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference Awards Ceremony and will be discussing her wor/her teams work in this session.