ACADEMIA

The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) announced today that Dr. Fran Berman, SDSC Director, has been selected by the organizers of Richard Tapia 2005 - Celebration of Diversity in Computing to deliver a plenary address on Thursday, October 20 at 3:30 p.m. The bi-annual event is aimed at providing a supportive networking environment for ethnically diverse and under-represented groups in computing and other related disciplines. This year, the event will be held Oct. 19 - 22, 2005, at the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque, NM. Dr. Berman's Plenary will focus on the critical role data plays today and for the next generations of scientists, engineers, technologists, and practitioners. Joining speakers from IBM, the National Science Foundation, and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the presentations for this year's Tapia Celebration will provide a broad set of visions by national leaders. "Today's scientists and engineers are faced with a deluge of data," said Dr. Berman. "Managing, mining, manipulating, and preserving data is critical to today's science and engineering research, discovery, education and practice. Data will play an even more important role for the next generation of science and scientists." "Dr. Berman's leadership and commitment provide an important role model for today's young people," said Pamela Williams, Tapia 2005 Conference Chair. "Her vision for a national Cyberinfrastructure has had tremendous impact on science and engineering, and her commitment over decades to broadening the participation of outstanding women and under-represented minorities has made a real difference." The Richard Tapia Conference celebrates the technical contributions and career interests of diverse people in diverse computing fields. The third biennial conference, this year's Tapia Conference's event theme is "A Diversity of Scholars - A Tapestry of Discovery" and will highlight innovative research and applications in computing sciences. The conference includes a diverse spectrum of speakers, panels, papers and participants at many academic levels, from students to senior community leaders. The Conference is named after Dr. Richard Tapia, a mathematician and Professor at Rice University, internationally known for his outstanding research and leadership in education and outreach programs.