More than 40 Members Honored for Technological Accomplishments and Change-leading Efforts for Women in Computing

NCWIT Summit award celebrations are available to watch on the livestream: ncwit.org/livestream.
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is honoring change leadership and mentorship in academia, as well as the technological accomplishments of college women at its annual “NCWIT Summit on Women and IT: practices and ideas to revolutionize computing” on Monday, May 16 through Wednesday, May 18 just outside Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. At this three-day event (ncwit.org/summit), more than 700 change leaders from the NCWIT community of educators, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and social scientists will focus on improving inclusion and diversity in computing.
“Celebrating the progress and accomplishments of our heroes elevates them as exemplary role models for women in tech,” said NCWIT CEO and Co-founder Lucy Sanders. “By putting these individuals in the spotlight, we hope others can see themselves as part of an innovative movement where they too can shine.”
A summary of honorees is as follows, and full commendations are available in the printed program (PDF):

The 2016 NCWIT Collegiate Award winners are Joy Buolamwini, Jasmine Collins, Xyla Foxlin, Rachel Holladay, Meenupriya Swaminathan, and Jenny Wang. The Collegiate Award, sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Qualcomm, honors the outstanding technical accomplishments of college women of any year of study. Conferred upon up to six winners annually, the Award recognizes technical projects that demonstrate a high level of creativity and potential societal impact. (aspirations.org/collegiate)
The 2016 NCWIT Pioneer Award winner is Cynthia Solomon. The Pioneer Award recognizes technical women whose lifetime contributions have significantly impacted the landscape of technological innovation, amplifying the importance of capitalizing on the diverse perspectives that girls and women can bring to the table. Pioneer Award recipients also serve as role models whose legacies continue to inspire generations of young women to pursue computing and make history in their own right. (ncwit.org/pioneeraward)
The 2016 NCWIT EngageCSEdu Engagement Excellence Award winners are Elizabeth Boese and Mark LeBlanc. The Engagement Excellence Awards, sponsored by Google, recognize faculty who are making a difference in their introductory computer science classrooms through excellent and engaging curriculum, contributing the best of the best to the EngageCSEdu collection. (ncwit.org/engagecseduawards)
The 2016 NCWIT Extension Services Transformation (NEXT) Awards winners are the University of California, Irvine School of Information and Computer Sciences (Grand Prize winner); the University of Texas at Austin Department of Computer Science (Second Place winner); and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Department of Computer Science (Second Place winner). The NEXT Awards, sponsored by Google.org, celebrate past and present Extension Services for Undergraduate Programs (ES-UP) clients for excellence in recruiting and retaining women in computing education. Winning departments show significant positive outcomes in women’s enrollment and graduation rates, and have excellent potential for building on these gains. (ncwit.org/nextawards)
The 2016 NCWIT Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award winner is Dr. Carla Brodley. The Harrold and Notkin Award, sponsored by the NCWIT Board of Directors, is given in memory of Mary Jean Harrold and David Notkin, in honor of their outstanding research, graduate mentoring, and diversity contributions. (ncwit.org/harroldnotkin)
The February 2016 NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund winners are Dordt College, Florida A&M University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University. The Seed Fund, sponsored by Microsoft Research, awards Academic Alliance members with startup funds to develop and implement initiatives for recruiting or retaining women in computing. (ncwit.org/seedfund)
The 2016 NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring (URM) Award winners are Dr. Bonita Sharif, Dr. Amy Hurst, Dr. Daniel Garcia, and Dr. Tiffany Barnes. The URM Award, sponsored by AT&T, recognizes Academic Alliance representatives for their outstanding mentorship, high-quality research opportunities, recruitment of women and minority students, and efforts to encourage and advance undergraduates in computing-related fields. (ncwit.org/urmaward)

View the 2016 Summit agenda (ncwit.org/summit/agenda) for more event highlights.
Awards ceremonies will be live streamed via the NCWIT website (ncwit.org/livestream), giving change leaders for women in tech in remote locations access to inspirational acknowledgements in real time. Videos and presentations will be available following the conclusion of the Summit (ncwit.org/summit/archives).
The 2016 NCWIT Summit is sponsored by NCWIT Strategic and Investment Partners with production and live streaming support from Media Partners Johnson & Johnson, JupiterReturn, and SWIFT. Additional support is provided by Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor, Link Technologies, as well as USAA.
About NCWIT
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a non-profit change leader network of more than 700 universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations nationwide working to increase women’s meaningful participation in computing. NCWIT equips change leaders with resources and platforms for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K–12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers. Find out more at www.ncwit.org/summit.
NCWIT receives significant financial support from Lifetime Partner Apple; Strategic Partners NSF, Microsoft, Bank of America, Google, Intel, and Merck; as well as from Investment Partners Avaya, Pfizer, AT&T, Bloomberg, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. View all of NCWIT’s supporters at http://www.ncwit.org/about/supporters.
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