Communities – Grace Hopper Celebration -Save the Date!

Grace Hopper Celebration -Save the Date! September 30th through October 3rd, 2009 Tucson, Arizona

By Tracy Camp, Program Chair for GHC 2009, ACM-W Council Member

Save the date for the ninth Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, the leading conference for women in the field of computing. As in previous years, GHC 2009 offers a forum to inspire, educate, and encourage women, whether in industry or academia, in all aspects of computer science and engineering. With the 2009 theme of Creating Technology for Social Good, GHC 2009 will also recognize and celebrate the significant role women play in defining technology used to solve social issues.

In line with the theme, the 2009 Grace Hopper Celebration is committed to being a Green Conference. It will be held at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa in Tucson, Arizona. This conference venue has several Green Initiatives: the purchase of both organic food and humanely treated animals, when available, the preservation of 330 acres of land, and the use of corn cups (which break down in composting within 45 days) instead of plastic cups. Additionally, unlike most other conferences, GHC 2009 will offer free child care for all attendees.

GHC 2008 set a record with 1447 attendees from 103 companies, 199 academic institutions, and 7 government labs and agencies. The Grace Hopper Celebration is global in scope; for example, more than 300 speakers from 22 countries represented in 2008. After GHC 2008 ended, a large percentage of attendees reported that they had benefited significantly from attending. They cited professional development, inspiration, and an increase in confidence.

The GHC 2009 program will have 85 sessions, including a new track this year for academics. The program will include several leading researchers presenting their current work, as well as special sessions that focus on the role of women in today’s technology fields.

Confirmed keynote speakers include Fran Berman and Megan Smith. Dr Berman is an ACM Fellow, a Professor and Endowed Chair at the University of California, San Diego, and the Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center. (In Fall 2009, Dr Berman will become the Vice President for Research at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.) Megan Smith is the Vice President of New Business Development and General Manager of Google.org.

Confirmed invited speakers include a member of ACM-W’s Executive Committee, Susan Landau. Dr Landau is a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems and well-known for her work on security and public policy.

Other invited speakers include Jen Mankoff (Carnegie Mellon University), who works to make computers more accessible to individuals who have difficulty typing, Martha Pollack (University of Michigan), who labors to create assistive technology for people with cognitive impairment, and Chat Garcia Ramilo (Women’s Networking Support Program), who will educate GHC 2009 attendees on how technology is changing the way that women experience and confront violence.

The ACM-W Council will be well represented on the program. Gloria Townsend (ACM-W Executive Board and Council Member) and Valerie Barr (ACM-W Council Member) are participating on a recruitment & retention panel; Valerie Barr is also participating on a panel for CS1 best practices.

Joanne McGrath Cohoon (ACM-W Council Member) is participating on two panels as well, one on mentoring sensitive issues and one on social science research. Katie Siek (ACM-W Council Member) will discuss her privacy analysis of a wedding planning website (The Knot or The Noose?), and Robert Walker (ACM-W Council Member) will participate on a panel that considers the value of awards. Three ACM-W Ambassadors, Catherine Lang (Swinburne University of Technology), MaryAnne Egan (Siena College), and Jan Peters (British Computer Society), will present information about international programs that are working to change perceptions about IT courses and careers. GHC 2009 will also have a presentation on the first ACM-W Student Chapter in Latin America (MenTe at ITESM).

GHC 2009 will offer new targeted program components .

Distinctive tracks for junior members of our community, offered by CRA-W, an organization related to ACM-W (Wednesday).
A full-day technical track on robotics (Thursday)
A series of Ignite Talks illustrating what members of our community are doing for recruitment and retention (Friday)
A workshop for those involved in K-12 computing education, from ACM’s Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) (Saturday)

The CONNECT project will make an appearance at the Grace Hopper Celebration for the second year in a row. With CONNECT, GHC 2009 attendees can set professional networking goals before the conference begins (e.g., to meet PhD students), and then receive assistance to achieve those goals throughout the conference. After the conference ends, all CONNECT participants receive contact information of other CONNECT attendees that they connected with during the conference. The CONNECT system helps attendees meet an important documented benefit of GHC, i.e., creating a strong professional network.