Seven SCS Students Win Anita Borg Scholarships

Google Inc. has named Amy Hurst, a PhD student in human-computer interaction, and Jennifer Denise Tam, a PhD student in computer science, as 2008 Anita Borg Memorial Scholars. They are among 23 outstanding U.S. female leaders in technology who each will receive $10,000 scholarships through the program.

Five other students in the School of Computer Science and one student from Electrical and Computer Engineering were recognized among 32 U.S. Anita Borg Finalists and will receive $1,000 scholarships. The SCS students are Eakta Jain, a PhD student in robotics; Greeta Sharad Shroff, an undergraduate in computer science;’ Kriti Rameshlal Puniyani, a PhD student in language technologies; Lisa Deanne Brown, a master’s student in entertainment technology; and Ruth Lorraine Wylie, a PhD student in human-computer interaction. Aditi Suhas Pendharkar, an ECE student pursuing a master’s in information technology, also was a finalist.

The scholarships honor the work of Anita Borg, a computer scientist dedicated to increasing the participation of women and minorities who are under-represented in technology fields. U.S. scholars and finalists recently visited the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif., as part of an all-expenses-paid Google Scholars Retreat, where they attended technical workshops with Googel engineers and executives. The retreat also enables the scholars to meet each other and create a network of future leaders in computer science.

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Contact:
Byron Spice
412.268.9068
bspice@cs.cmu.edu