visit author page

Laura Dillon is an Emeritus Professor and past Chair of Computer Science at Michigan State University (MSU); before MSU, she was a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research centers on formal methods in software engineering. An ACM Distinguished Scientist, Laura has served on numerous editorial boards, program committees, funding panels, and advisory committees—most recently, as Vice Chair of ACM SIGSOFT and General Chair of the 38th International Conference on Software Engineering. Laura was a founding adviser of MSU Women in Computing; a founding organizer of the Michigan Affiliate NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award; and a founding organizer of the Michigan Celebrations of Women in Computing and General Chair of the first one. Laura co-led TechKobwa, a technology camp for secondary-school teachers and female students in Rwanda, for three summers. She was awarded the ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Service Award in 2017.

visit author page

visit author page

Maureen Doyle is a Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the Computer Science department at Northern Kentucky University. Dr. Doyle founded TRIWIC, an ACM regional conference for Women in Computing and chaired it in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018. She has also served as a 4-year college liaison to KYCC-WIC for the past 4 offerings, the first community college women in computing conference. She has served as a program co-chair for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Dr. Doyle has been involved additional local program in greater Cincinnati, has served the Academic Alliance co-chair for NCWIT and most recently was awarded a NCWIT Extension Services NEXT award to support structural change at her home university.

visit author page

visit author page

Dr. Linda M. Ott received her Ph.D. in computer science from Purdue University in 1978. She joined Michigan Tech's faculty shortly after completing her doctorate and chaired the department of computer science from 1996 to 2010 and again beginning in 2019. Her research interests are in software engineering, including software processes, software measurement, and software engineering education. She also has interests in ethical and social aspects of computing and has been active in efforts to increase the number of women in computing for many years. She has been a co-PI on nearly $1.5 million in grants from industry and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Ott is a 2010 recipient of the ACM SIGSOFT Retrospective Paper Award for the paper "The Program Dependence Graph in a Software Development Environment," co-authored with Dr. Karl Ottenstein. The paper was published in SDE 1, Proceedings of the First ACM SIGSOFT/SIGPLAN Symposium on Practical Software Development Environments, April 23-25, 1984. In addition to teaching at Michigan Tech, Dr. Ott taught advanced software engineering at Siberian State Aerospace University in Krasnoyarsk, Russia as a Fulbright scholar. She also taught Ethical and Social Aspects of Computing at Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai in Zhuhai, China. Dr. Ott received the Michigan Technological University Inaugural Diversity Award in 2014.

visit author page

visit author page

Wendy Powley is an Associate Professor in the School of Computing at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario Canada. She is passionate about undergraduate teaching and advocating for more women to pursue computing as a career. She is founder of the ACM Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing Conference and serves as the ACM-W Celebrations Committee Chair. In 2019, she worked with NCWIT to make Canada the first International NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Awards Affiliate.

visit author page

visit author page

Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought. ~Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

After being introduced to computers and programming at a young age, my innate talent became a passion for understanding how people engaged with computing and how I could help improve that experience. As a researcher, I have gotten much joy from seeing people experience technology and innovation. Through my experience in graduate school and at Intel, I've learned I have the power to bring that joy to others through user experience design and rapid prototyping. By always pushing to ask the hard "why" questions and thinking about consumers' needs and goals, I strive to ensure products and experiences we create, positively impact people's' lives.

My educational background includes a BS in Computer and Information Sciences from Spelman College, a MS in Computer Science and Software Engineering from Auburn University and a Doctorate in Human-Centered Computing from Clemson University. When I'm not working, I enjoy spending time with my family and volunteering. I love participating in STEM outreach activities as a way to expose students' to STEM opportunities and mentor them as they embrace new computing challenges.

visit author page