On June 24th 2003, IBM's Austin Research Lab and Pervasive Lab hosted a
visit for 50 of the brightest, young women in Texas as part of the 1st annual "UT
Austin First Bytes Summer Camp 2003." The First Bytes summer camp, conceived
by Kathryn McKinley, associate professor of Computer Sciences at UT,
is a one-week intensive camp designed to encourage more girls to pursue computer
science majors. The participants were high school junior and senior girls
from throughout Texas, selected for their outstanding performances in math and
science.
The students visit to IBM gave them a view of future research directions and
leading-edge technology
the Austin Research Lab where Dr. Ann Marie Maynard, Program
Director of the Austin Center for Advanced Studies, gave a presentation on
IBM's Future Research directions and shared her experiences as a woman in the
world of technology. After Dr. Maynard's presentation, the girls were sent on a
tour through the fascinating Pervasive Technologies Lab to see the forefront of
integrating technology first-hand.
Bill Bodin, the founding genius behind the Pervasive Lab concept, and his
intern Leo Chen, a UT undergraduate, hosted the tour of the lab. The tour showcased
the future of technology in tomorrow's home, inventions developed by
innovative minds at IBM to greatly improve consumer's lives. Bill and Leo took
the students through three different show rooms including a living room,
kitchen and garage, all with voice-activation and many other extraordinary
futuristic features. The lab also featured high-tech wonders ranging from an
oven that can cook food to perfection in 10% of the time, to a car that can download music saved on a computer inside your home.
On the last day of First Bytes camp, UT invited Dr. Maynard and other technical women from Microsoft, MetroWerks, Dell, and National
Instruments, to participate in a panel to share their experiences as women in technology. After the panel, each of these women hosted a
table that created an intimate environment where students were able to ask personal
and career-oriented questions.
The scope of IBM's involvement in the UT-Austin First Bytes
Summer Camp is testament to the phenomenal university relations
that IBM has cultivated over the years. Professor Kathryn
McKinley said one of the most motivating factors in visiting
IBM's site and inviting an IBM employee to participate in the
panel was its "good relations" and leading-edge technologies
displayed at the Pervasive Lab, which was "more exciting" than
its competitors. With IBM's participation, this successful event
allowed the girls a glimpse of what their future in computer science
could be like.
-By Irene Dhong, 2003 Austin CAS Summer Intern
