Symposium to focus on diversity in computing

Symposium to focus on diversity in computing
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BY ELLEN CHANG
Rice News Staff

Recognizing and celebrating diversity in technology fields is the goal of the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Symposium, to be held Oct. 18-20 at the Sofitel Hotel in Houston.

The symposium, which is named after Richard Ta-pia, the Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics, is the first in a series of events designed to celebrate the technical contributions and career interests of diverse people in computing fields.

The theme, “Expanding Horizons,” reflects a focus on access to powerful knowledge from diverse researchers, expanding the community of people in the field of computing and sharing of knowledge among the different disciplines.

“Richard Tapia is many things to many people: an outstanding teacher, an immensely effective mentor, a distinguished researcher and an inspiring model for young men and women with great aspirations and resourcefulness to match,” said Rice President Malcolm Gillis.

“Revered on the Rice campus, he is highly regarded nationally and internationally, not only in his academic specialties, but also in the science and engineering community generally,” Gillis added. “Very few scholars are honored with membership in a national academy; fewer still attain national leadership positions. Richard has done both, as a member of the National Academy of Engineering and as an appointee to the National Science Board. His mentoring skills were recognized by President Clinton in 1996, when he was named as one of the first recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science.”

The presenters of the symposium are leaders in their respective fields, representing academic, industrial and government communities. Current research on leading-edge topics will be presented by the speakers and during poster sessions. Tailored panels will focus on the roles of people of color in today’s technology fields.

The symposium honors the significant contributions of Tapia, who is internationally known for his research in computational and mathematical sciences. He was the first recipient of the A. Nico Habermann Award from the Computing Research Association and a member of the National Science board.

“I want this symposium to serve as a symbol and also as proof that we, as members of underrepresented groups, can and must contribute to science and technology at the highest levels,” Tapia said.

In addition to the speakers, there will be a town hall meeting to plan future events and a career information center where materials about internships, job openings and other information will be available.

The symposium is sponsored by the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC), whose mission is to increase the visibility of people of color in computing research and to provide networking opportunities for minority researchers, faculty and students. CDC is a joint committee of the Association of Computing Machinery, the Computing Research Association and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Computer Society.
For more information about the symposium, go to <www.sdsc.edu/Tapia2001>.