INDUSTRY

Registration is now open for the 2007 Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference to be held October 14-17, 2007, in Orlando, Florida. Conference registration information can be found at: www.regonline.com/Tapia07. “Early Bird” discounts of $75 off the regular registration fees are available through Friday, September 7. While Tapia 2007 is centered around an extensive technical program, the conference also provides a supportive networking environment for under-represented groups across the broad range of computing and information technology, from science to business to the arts to infrastructure. Tapia 2007 is organized by the Coalition to Diversify Computing and co-sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society, in cooperation with the Computing Research Association. “In addition to an exceptional program of panel discussions, technical papers and birds-of-a-feather sessions, Tapia 2007 will feature invited talks by some of the most intriguing figures in computing, research and education,” said Tapia 2007 Conference Chair Monica Martinez-Canales of Sandia National Laboratories. “Whether you are an established researcher, mid-career professional or student still exploring your options in computing, we think you’ll find the conference both useful and informative.” Among the invited speakers who will be participating in Tapia 2007 are Norman L. Johnson, John Leslie King, Maria Klawe and Shirley Malcom. Norman L. Johnson is the chief scientist at Referentia Systems, a small, minority-owned business that develops technologies to addresse complex problems in defense and homeland security. He is currently on leave from Los Alamos National Laboratory where he headed a number of projects ranging from biothreats to genomics, from sensor systems to system modeling to operations. His areas of interest are biodefense, epidemiology — particularly pandemic influenza, science of diversity, and modeling the dynamics of social collectives and social identity. At Tapia 2007, he will give a talk entitled “Diversity: A Weapon of Mass Construction.” In his presentation, Johnson will consider “How is it possible in 2007 that science and society have not come to a common understanding of the role of diversity in areas that deeply influence our lives—from ecologies to politics to the stock market? Socially we encourage diversity from at least an ethical viewpoint, if not from business argument. But then, our organizational actions emphasize the competitive origin of performance — ‘hire the best,’ ‘reward the achievers,’ ‘follow the strong’ — all of which are fundamentally destructive to diversity. To resolve these conflicting views, we will take a journey of discovery that illustrates how the different roles of diversity in achieving higher performance are just different stages of development in complex systems or different roles of leadership in a complex society. Optimism for the future is found in the synergy of diversity — the ultimate weapon of mass construction.” John Leslie King is the University of Michigan's vice provost for academic information and a professor in the School of Information. In June 2007, he was appointed to a three-year term on the Council for the Computing Community Consortium, established by the Computing Research Association (CRA) under a $6 million, three-year agreement with the National Science Foundation to identify major research opportunities and establish "grand challenges" for the computing field. He is also a member of the NSF advisory committees for computing and information science and engineering, as well as the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. In describing his talk entitled "kuhl-er-blahynd,” King notes that “Fewer than 50 percent of English words are spelled phonetically. Yet, some people are adamant that phonics is the only way to learn to read English. Ideology often trumps fact, and this shows up clearly with regard to racial and ethnic diversity. In the past two decades, U.S. discourse on race relations has made a curious shift, from acute color-awareness to a recent claim that everything will be solved if American society simply becomes ‘colorblind.’ Even if that was possible, would it be desirable? This talk uses the ideology of colorblindness to explore various ways people can be blind to facts.” Maria Klawe is president of Harvey Mudd College in California and former dean of engineering and professor of computer science at Princeton University. She has made significant research contributions in several areas of mathematics and computer science, including theoretical computer science, human-computer interaction, gender issues in information technology, and interactive-multimedia for mathematics education. Her current research focuses on the development and use of multi-modal applications to assist people with aphasia and other cognitive impairments. In her Tapia 2007 invited talk on “Mentoring across Race and Discipline,” Klawe will discuss how “As a female working at the boundary between mathematics and computer science, one of my life goals has been to increase the participation of women in science and engineering careers, especially in computer science and mathematics. Moving to the U.S. from Canada four and half years ago has given me the opportunity to become much more involved in mentoring minority students, some of whom have been working in areas I know little about. This talk explores some of the challenges and successes I have found in trying to translate approaches from mentoring women in my own field to mentoring students of color in many fields.” Shirley Malcom is head of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs, which includes programs in education, activities for underrepresented groups, and public understanding of science and technology. A fellow of the AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Malcom has chaired a number of national committees addressing education reform and access to scientific and technical education, careers and literacy. In 2003, she received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy. At Tapia 2007, Malcom’s talk will contend “It’s Not Just About the Machine!” She states that “Information is power. So the ability to create and manage information is empowering. When diversity is not reflected in a community that fuels a knowledge and information driven world, the skills to solve problems are not available to large segments of the population. It is now possible to draw congressional maps in ways that enfranchise or disenfranchise large populations of people. We have moved from paper to electronic voting. We can remotely monitor and document acts of genocide. We can create wealth and support meaningful work. We can invade or protect privacy. Given all the potential power in the hands of computing professionals, we must work to ensure that this capacity is reflected in a more diverse profession and that the power and responsibilities are incorporated into the way computer science is practiced.”