ACADEMIA

U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary Kristina M. Johnson has been selected to receive the 2010 Women of Vision Leadership Award from the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI).  ABI honors women making significant contributions to technology in the categories of leadership, innovation and social impact. The Women of Vision Awards ceremony will take place Wednesday, May 12th at the Mission City Ballroom in Santa Clara, CA.

 “Under Secretary Johnson has proven to be a leader in technology and engineering throughout her illustrious career,” said Secretary Chu. “The Anita Borg Institute has maintained a highly regarded reputation for preparing technology leaders for the future and this award strengthens that legacy.”

ABI was founded in 1997 by renowned scientist, Dr. Anita Borg to increase the impact of women on all aspects of technology, and to increase the positive impact of technology on the world’s women. Since its founding, ABI has provided tools and programs designed to help industry, academia and government recruit, retain and develop women technology leaders.

Under Secretary Kristina M. Johnson previously served as the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that, Under Secretary Johnson served as the Dean of Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering from 1999-2007 where she helped to set up interdisciplinary efforts in photonics, bioengineering and biologically inspired materials, and energy and the environment. Before that she was on the faculty of the University of Colorado, Boulder from 1985-1999 where she led an NSF Engineering Research Center and involved engineers, mathematicians, physicists, chemists and psychologists in working to make computers faster and better connected. Johnson is an electrical engineer with more than 129 US and foreign patents or patents pending. Her awards include the John Fritz Medal, widely considered the highest award in the engineering profession, the Dennis Gabor Prize for creativity and innovation in modern optics (1993); State of Colorado and North Carolina Technology Transfer Awards (1997, 2001); induction into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame (2003); and the Society of Women Engineers Lifetime Achievement Award (2004).