Kavraki Gives Keynote Lecture at NCWIT
Lydia Kavraki gave a keynote lecture at the National Center for Women & Information Technology meeting, “Advancing Computing From Multiple Disciplines,” which was held May 14, 2008, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Kavraki’s speech, “From Robots to Biomolecules: Computing Meets the Physical World,” was one of three keynote speeches given at the meeting. Mae Jemison, MD, a former astronaut and founder of The Jemison Group, Inc, spoke on “The Earth We Share: Science, Connectivity, and Sustainable Development” and Dr. Richard M. Murray, Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems Director, Information Science and Technology gave a keynote lecture entitled, “Feedback Systems in Engineering and Nature.”
The NCWIT is a coalition of 100 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and nonprofits working to increase women’s participation in information technology. The coalition encourages members to undertake institutional change within their organizations, and provides them with tools and support to make changes. The group’s work connects efforts to increase women’s participation in IT along the pipeline—from K–12 and higher education through industry and academic careers. This is accomplished through a national infrastructure of alliances, workshops, research, publications, and evaluation.
