None

<ul><li>“You need to be encouraged from a young age, especially women, who are underrepresented in IT fields. That’s when you start selecting what you like and what you don’t.” // AiC Community Member and 2021 AspireIT Impact Award Recipient Roma Desai taught classes on Python and other programming skills as part of the AAUW Triad Tech Savvy Conference for students in fifth through eighth grade. Learn more <a href="https://greensboro.com/news/local/education/group-strives-to-get-more-girls-interested-in-the-tech-field-at-high-point-event/article_b1cded30-2c48-11ec-b609-9330d3cfe767.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.&nbsp;</li><li>AiC Community Member Sivani Arvapalli was recently named one of INDIA New England News’ 20 under 20. In addition to introducing middle school students to robotics through the FIRST Lego League, she’s also working on a major fundraising project “to help socioeconomically and medically underprivileged children both locally and internationally.” Get the story <a href="https://indianewengland.com/2021/10/india-new-england-news-announces-20-under-20-stars-list-for-2021/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.</li><li>AiC Community Member Madalyn Nguyen is excited about robotics… and golf! Her coach says, “I truly don’t know how she does what she does; I don’t think she sleeps.” Read about her accomplishments <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/sports/story/2021-10-21/poway-highs-madalyn-nguyen-has-found-balance-between-golf-and-robotics" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.</li><li>“All my life, I have been a part of organizations and causes related to promoting young people and women in STEM... I want to continue my work in helping, encouraging, and uplifting youth, women, and those who are marginalized in society to help them reach their potential.” // <a href="https://abe.illinois.edu/news/daniela-markazi-2021-computational-and-data-science-fellowship-recipient" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Find out</a> how a Computational and Data Science Fellowship is helping AiC Community Member Daniela Markazi reach her goals.</li><li>AiC Community Member Chadani Timsina was one of 21 high school students from central New York to be honored with a Best &amp; Brightest Award. Go <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/news/2021/10/the-best-brightest-meet-21-amazing-central-ny-high-school-seniors.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a> to learn more.</li></ul>

AiC Members In the News (October 2021)

<ul><li>“If you have an idea, you can basically build whatever you want.” // In <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2021/08/10/oregon-high-schoolers-dream-big-with-tech/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">this interview</a> aired by Oregon Public Broadcasting, AiC Community Members Caroline Gao and Pauline Petersen talk about the experiences that fostered their interest in computing and the social inequities that they would like to use technology to help solve.</li><li>In this episode of the podcast Learning Unleashed from ISTE Radio, 2020 AiC Educator Award Recipient Grace Collins speaks on a panel focusing on “Safe Spaces in Schools, How to Create Them, [and] Why They Matter More Now.” Go <a href="https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/special-report-safe-spaces-in-schools-how-to-create-them-why-they-matter-more-now/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a> to listen.</li><li>AiC Community Members Glorian Serrano, Ashley Perez, Isabel Gallegos, and Elena Martinez were among those selected for the first round of Class of 2021 Great Minds in STEM (GMiS) Scholars. Get all the details in this <a href="https://greatmindsinstem.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Press-Release-2021-GMiS-STEM-Scholars-v091021.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">press release</a>.</li><li>Congratulations to AiC Community Member Alexandra Rindone! Lexi was one of 82 students to be named Siebel Scholars for 2022. The Siebel Scholars program recognizes exceptional students from the world’s leading graduate schools of business, computer science, and bioengineering. Learn more <a href="https://hub.jhu.edu/2021/09/22/siebel-scholars-2022/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.</li><li>AiC Community Member Sruthi Kurada was named one of BostInno’s 25 under 25 for her work as lead director of MetroHacks. In its first year, “MetroHacks’ EmpowHer competition included 85 mentors and 250 participants worldwide.” Read more <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/inno/stories/awards/2021/09/14/bostinno-s-25-under-25-the-bay-states-youngest-a.html?taid=6140ff438673f2000160bf8d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.&nbsp;</li><li>Congratulations to AiC Community Member Comfort Ohajunwa, who was “one of only 52 high school students in the country selected to attend the 38th annual Research Science Institute, held in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” Get the story <a href="https://www.insidenova.com/news/education/osbourn-park-senior-attends-research-institute/article_27406794-18ff-11ec-9217-8bce8538dc0b.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">here</a>.&nbsp;</li></ul>We love seeing AiC Community members being recognized by their school districts! This time around, we spotted <a href="https://www.pwcs.edu/news/what_s_new/comfort_ohajunwa_is_blazing_mathematical_trails" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Comfort Ohajunwa</a> and <a href="https://www.cfisd.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;DomainID=4&amp;ModuleInstanceID=10867&amp;ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=14372&amp;PageID=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">Ramya Iyer</a>. Congratulations to both of you!

AiC Members In the News (August/September 2021)

<img class="padding" src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/08215220/MadelineChairvolotti_BlogPhoto_WithAward.png" alt="Image" style="float: right; width: 170px">I wasn’t always interested in technology and computer science; in fact, until I was in tenth grade I wanted to go into biology with a pre-vet focus! Hi! My name is Madeline Chairvolotti and I am currently a senior at Cedarville University studying computer science focusing in cyber operations and web design. Once I graduate I will start working with the Naval Information Warfare Center in cyber security. So how did I go from being a girl who wanted to be a veterinarian her whole life to getting ready to graduate and start working at the Navy while on a full ride cybersecurity scholarship?

 When I was in high school my friend wanted to start a FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team. He needed another person so I joined it to try something new. I became the programmer for the team and slowly fell in love with programming. I was the programmer of the team for all four years of high school and decided that I wanted to do something relating to programming/computer science when I went to college.
 
 Throughout my high school years I was very involved with 4-H (poultry, robotics, and shooting sports being my favorites), national history day, and several other organizations. While I was involved in 4-H I led several annual robotics clinics where I taught the basics of LEGO NXT and EV3 programming. I learned that I really enjoyed teaching robotics and other topics and wanted to find new outlets for that.
 
 <img src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/08220835/MadelineChairvolotti_BlogPhoto_Robot.png" alt="Image" style="float: left; width: 200px">One of the main organizations that I was a part of was the National Center for Women &amp; Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing (AiC) Community. I heard about the Award for Aspirations in Computing from my robotics coach who heard about it from FIRST. I decided to apply for it and see what it was about. The first year I applied I received the Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine Runner-Up Award. I was very surprised that I even got recognized. This encouraged me to do even more and see how many people I could reach with technology teaching. I taught several more robotics clinics, including in local schools.
 
 Throughout this time, I also attended four camps through the Governor’s Institute of Vermont, camps in robotics, hacking and cybersecurity, and information technology. I found through getting to try many different things that I love cybersecurity. One of the professors at the camp offered to help me start a CyberPatriot team, through which I could learn about and compete in cybersecurity competitions. I learned so much and decided with the help of that professor that I wanted to pursue cybersecurity as part of my major.
 
 <img class="padding" src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/08215200/MadelineChairvolotti_BlogPhoto_AspireITCamp.png" alt="Image" style="float: right; width: 200px">I applied for the Award for Aspirations in Computing a second time and I was a winner of the Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine award, and I applied for an AspireIT grant to run a summer day camp for girls to learn the basics of programming with Sphero robots. I received the grant and it taught me so much. I learned about budgeting, planning a curriculum, organization, leadership, and I learned that I really enjoy teaching others about programming.
 
 The third time I applied for an Aspirations in Computing award, I was a winner for Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine as well as a national runner-up. This made me realize that what I was doing was impacting people and I could do really cool things.This encouraged me and I applied for a second grant, this time to teach 20-30 young girl scouts about electricity, programming, and circuitry. I learned a lot about organization and problem solving with this grant. In hindsight I’m very glad to have had problems with the program not exactly going how I wanted as I learned how to troubleshoot on the fly and come up with backup plans on the spot. 
 
 I also decided to apply for the Society of Women Engineer’s Next Generation Award for high school girls who were teaching technology and engineering related things in rural communities. I received this award and was flown to Austin, Texas to receive the award and so I could attend their national conference. I got to meet some awesome girls through this award, some of whom were also a part of NCWIT!
 
 <img class="padding" src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/08221448/MadelineChairvolotti_BlogPhoto_CyberCompetition2.png" alt="Image" style="float: left; width: 275px">Since I’ve been at Cedarville University I have been involved in every cyber competition that my college offers. Since my freshman year, I have competed in the National Cyber League, Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, Hivestorm, and I am a leader on the cyber awareness team. This year, my classmate and I started a Women in Cybersecurity chapter at Cedarville. NCWIT has prepared me to speak to others about the importance of women in computer science and cybersecurity and I’ve grown in my advocacy for more women to be in computer science and engineering since joining NCWIT. I’ve been involved with mentoring a high school team in CyberPatriot - that was pretty special to be able to give back to students by doing something that I love. I have also been a part of our SAE SuperMileage team since my freshman year, eventually leading the computer and electric team as well as the social media team. My sophomore year I applied for a Department of Defense cybersecurity scholarship and recieved it! It covers tuition during my junior and senior year as well as it gives me a stipend, an internship with a DoD company between my junior and senior year, and a guaranteed job once I graduate. I will be at the Naval Information Warfare Center - Atlantic and I am very excited about this.
 
 <img src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/08221452/MadelineChairvolotti_BlogPhoto_WithChicken2.png" alt="Image" style="float: right; width: 200px">Throughout my time in college I’ve completed three internships, all very different. The internships were as different as could be, one was a web design internship at a private company of about 20 people. The second was a security operations center internship at a Fortune 500 company of 8,000 people. The third was a cybersecurity internship with the government.
 
 Through all of this, NCWIT has taught me a lot. I’ve learned a lot more than just technology skills. I’ve joined a network of wonderful women who lift each other up and encourage each other. It’s been a crazy journey, but NCWIT has been there all along. I’ve made some great friends through NCWIT, some of whom I’m still friends with now!
 
 Find me on social media! 
 Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chairvhs" target="_blank" >@chairvhs</a> 
 Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/madeline.rose.chickens" target="_blank" >@madeline.rose.chickens</a> 
 Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/chickengirl2000" target="_blank" >@chickengirl2000</a> 
 LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeline-chairvolotti/" target="_blank" >https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeline-chairvolotti/</a>

From Chickens to Robots to Cybersecurity: Madeline's Tech Journey

AspireIT

&nbsp;
<img src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/21191124/2021_ImpactAward_Event_Banner.jpg" style="width: 100%" alt="AspireIT Impact Award Virtual Event Banner">&nbsp;
	
	<img src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/21191128/2021_ImpactAward_Event_Thumb.png" alt="Award Circle thumb" style="float: right; width: 150px;" >Join the National Center for Women &amp; Information Technology (NCWIT) in celebrating the 2021 NCWIT AspireIT Impact Award recipients on October 5! NCWIT is thrilled to honor the <a href="https://www.aspirations.org/aspireit/impact-award/2021-recipients" target="_blank" >2021 Impact Award recipients</a> and celebrate their efforts to connect communities of technical women, create opportunities for underrepresented populations, exhibit strong near-peer leadership models, and promote computing career pathways. In addition to the celebration, we will get the chance to hear from one of our long-time Community Members and learn about her personal journey with computing and give attendees time to meet one another in breakout rooms.
	 
	<div align="center"><h2 style="color:#663399">Tuesday, October 5, 2021 for 60 minutes, starting at 3 p.m. PST // 4 p.m. MST // 5 p.m. CST // 6 p.m. EST</h2></div>
	
	<h4>Register</h4>
	
	To attend, <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvd-CspzIrGtOBByreI-GQf-5T-NHISdT7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">register on Zoom</a>.
	
	<h4><img src="https://wpassets.ncwit.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/23190318/2021_ImpactAward_RianWalker_PhotoCircle.png" alt="Rian Walker Photo" style="float: right; width: 200px">Featuring a Keynote Presentation by Rian Walker</h4>
	
	Rian Walker is an Assistant Vice President, Information Security Analyst at Bank of America. She has held a role with the enterprise data loss prevention team for two years. Previously, she worked for the bank as a business analyst in the Chief Data Office. 

Rian began to explore technology at a young age. Despite growing up in a rural area, she found opportunities to pursue her interests on her own. As a senior in high school, Rian was a recipient of the Award for AiC. The award connected her with Dr. Sarah Lee of Mississippi State University, where she ultimately enrolled to study software engineering. While a student at MSU, Rian and Sarah founded Bulldog Bytes, an AspireIT-funded residential summer camp for middle school girls interested in computer science. 

Rian faced many challenges on her road to graduation, including financial hardships. Realizing that she was not the only student facing the choice between financial stability and college education, Rian, along with mentors Ruthe Farmer and Dr. Sarah Lee, co-founded the Last Mile Education Fund in 2019. 

Rian resides in Charlotte, NC. She is currently studying for her Masters in Information Technology degree at Virginia Tech. 

	
	<h4>Other Special Guests</h4>
	
	<ul>
				
		<li><a href="https://ncwit.org/profile/edie-cheng/" target="_blank" >Edie Cheng</a>, NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Director</li>
	
	</ul>
	&nbsp;
	
	Psst. Did you know that applications for the <a href="https://www.aspirations.org/award-programs/apply-for-the-award-for-aic" target="_blank" >2022 Award for Aspirations in Computing</a> are open now through November 5? 
	
	&nbsp;
	
	The NCWIT AspireIT Impact Award is supported by Amazon, Apple, Google, Northrop Grumman, DoD STEM, and RBC Capital Markets.

2021 NCWIT AspireIT Impact Award Virtual Celebration

<ul><li>“[I]t’s the ups and downs that make (coding) so much fun… and it gives me a place to solve problems and use creative ideas to come up with a solution.” // AiC Community Member Arianna Martinelli shares what inspired her to explore technology, as well as some memorable experiences along the way, in <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/education/2021/05/14/sacred-heart-teen-earns-national-award-for-aspirations-in-computing/4938220001/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this profile</a>.</li><li>“You have to hold yourself accountable, and only those who hold themselves accountable will succeed.” // In <a href="https://www.tucsonlocalmedia.com/news/marana/article_2015e718-b19a-11eb-86d7-0b72d4e21426.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this article</a>, AiC Community Member Pamela Galindo reflects on lessons learned from navigating the unusual circumstances of attending high school during a pandemic, and how some of those skills helped her become valedictorian of her graduating class.&nbsp;</li><li>As part of her Girl Scouts Gold Award project, AiC Community Member Maleah Brady designed a coding workshop with support from AspireIT. Students in the class made microbit name tags, light-up bookmarks,3D models of haunted houses, and more. Get the story in <a href="https://vestaviavoice.com/news/code-to-success-vhhs-junior-teaches-computer-science-to-girl/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this article</a>.</li><li>“Hands-on training...is really crucial for me because I learn best when I’m doing things, instead of just reading them out of a textbook.” // AiC Community Member Sarah Schackel shares about her tech journey and how she’s preparing for a career in cybersecurity in <a href="https://connectedtech.org/blog/student-feature-sarah-schackel-of-waukesha-county-technical-college/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=student-feature-sarah-schackel-of-waukesha-county-technical-college" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this video profile</a>.&nbsp;</li></ul>May ShoutoutsWe were excited to spot these AiC Community Members receiving recognition in their local news outlets this month: <a href="https://theislandnow.com/school-news/manhasset-sn/herricks-high-school-announces-2021-valedictorian-salutatorian/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rhea Rasquinha</a>; <a href="https://hooversun.com/schools/rc3-s-pam-mcclendon-named-sweet-16-finalist-for-2021-22-alab/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pam McClendon</a>; <a href="https://www.hometownsource.com/press_and_news/free/osseo-senior-high-student-earns-rising-star-computing-technology-award/article_bcbe5db8-a85b-11eb-ac67-d7003cb9faf2.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amber McGee</a>; <a href="https://www.hhh.k12.ny.us/district/news/news-post/~board/news/post/easts-elizabeth-moon-receives-ncwit-award-for-aspirations-in-computing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elizabeth Moon</a>; <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/hillsborough/2021/05/19/academy-of-the-holy-names-tribune-scholars-profiles-and-essays/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Danielle J. Fonsing</a>; <a href="https://www.whmi.com/news/article/hartland-computer-science-student-recognized-for-breaking-traditions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Camryn Ihrke</a>; <a href="https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/05/meet-dr-tracy-nguyen/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tracy Nguyen</a>; <a href="https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/541696503/sirihaasa-nallamothu-awarded-explorer-scholarship-from-aspire2steam-org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sirihaasa Nallamothu</a>; <a href="https://www.otmj.com/mcclendon-state-teacher-of-the-year/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pam McClendon</a>; <a href="https://themadisonrecord.com/2021/05/18/grace-hurs-talent-earns-computer-science-award-from-womens-technology-center/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Grace Hur</a>; <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/news/schools/story/2021-05-06/poway-high-students-honored-for-engineering-work" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">May He, Madalyn Nguyen, Rosamaria Flores, and Isabel Vargas</a>; <a href="https://www.nkytribune.com/2021/05/national-center-for-women-information-technology-honors-three-local-award-winners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ayushe Nagpal, Mina Ryumae, and Jillian Maher</a>; <a href="https://www.independentnews.com/news/amador-valley-students-awarded-for-aspirations-in-computing/article_fab29f16-ba45-11eb-8214-e3fe0b8c8317.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nitya Ayyagari, Hiya Shah, Suhani Singhal, and Deanna Wood</a>; and <a href="https://www.hubcityspokes.com/schools-state/mississippi-girls-aspire-reach-goals-computing-scholarships#sthash.Lbvo6M9Z.dpbs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">44 students from across Mississippi</a>.

AiC Members In the News (May 2021)

<img alt="Educator Award Virtual Event Banner" src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/aic_educatorawardevent_banner.png" style="width: 100%; float: center;" />&nbsp;<img alt="Award Circle thumb" src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/aic_educatorawardevent_circlethumb.png" style="width: 200px; float: right; height: 198px;" />Join the National Center for Women &amp; Information Technology (NCWIT) in celebrating the 2020 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) Educator Award recipients on August 29! This is the first time that we will bring together ALL 2020 <a href="https://www.aspirations.org/award-programs/aic-educator-award" target="_blank">NCWIT AiC Educator Award</a> recipients and student endorsers to celebrate the phenomenal work of informal and formal educators who encourage young womxn in tech and computing. In addition to the celebration, we will engage in insightful discussion as we hear from leaders in Computer Science education and delve deeper into racial and gender justice, so we can all reflect and improve upon our inclusive practices.&nbsp;
	<h2>Saturday, August 29, 2020 from 4:00 ⁠&ndash; 5:15 p.m. EST</h2>
	<h4>Register</h4>
To attend, <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j3JxrjYiQ3-9yfEmqHMdNg" target="_blank">register on Zoom</a>.<h4>Speakers</h4>
<ul>
	<li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.ncwit.org/profile/lucy-sanders" target="_blank">Lucy Sanders</a>, CEO and Co-founder, NCWIT</li>
	<li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiabcoleman-ops/" target="_blank">Claudia Coleman</a>, AVP of Network Sercies, AT&amp;T&nbsp;</li>
	<li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.csteachers.org/page/your-csta-team" target="_blank">Jake Baskin</a>, Executive Director, CSTA</li>
	<li dir="ltr">National Educator Award Winner Panel, moderated by <a href="https://vegasinc.lasvegassun.com/business/2019/nov/21/top-tech-awards-lifetime-achievement-snehal-bhakta/" target="_blank">Snehal Bhakta</a>
		<ul>
			<li dir="ltr"><a href="/2020-ncwit-national-aic-educator-award-winner-catherine-tabor" target="_blank">Catherine Tabor</a>, 2020 National Educator Award Winner</li>
			<li dir="ltr"><a href="/2019-ncwit-national-aic-educator-award-winner-buffy-smith" target="_blank">Buffy Smith</a>, 2019 National Educator Award Winner</li>
		</ul>
	</li>
	<li dir="ltr">The Hosts of Modern Figures Podcast
		<ul>
			<li><a href="http://modernfigurespodcast.com/about-us/" target="_blank">Dr. Jeremy Waisome</a></li>
			<li dir="ltr"><a href="http://modernfigurespodcast.com/about-us/" target="_blank">Dr. Kyla McMullen</a></li>
		</ul>
	</li>
	</ul>
<h4>AiC Educator Resources</h4>
<ul><li>Explore <a href="https://www.aspirations.org/affiliate-toolkit/aic-educator-resources" target="_blank">this list of NCWIT resources</a> for ways to engage underrepresented students, to enrich computing education by integrating computing skills into existing curricula, and more: <a href="https://www.aspirations.org/affiliate-toolkit/aic-educator-resources" target="_blank">www.aspirations.org/aic-educator-resources</a>.</li><li>Roadtrip Nation invites you to be part of implementing their newly revamped curriculum: Code Your Road. Learn more with <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1woi1o8Y8b4mfivcL1fLPlC621cY7-MNm/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this flyer</a>﻿, and send <a href="mailto:mgazin%40roadtripnation.org?subject=Roadtrip%20Nation%20Code%20Your%20Road" target="_blank">an email</a> to get started today!</li></ul>Psst. Did you know that applications for the 2021 Award for Aspirations in Computing open on September 1, 2020? We hope you will consider encouraging a <a href="https://forms.gle/eE6ZKUiRTFKLQxfE9" target="_blank">student</a> or <a href="https://forms.gle/eE6ZKUiRTFKLQxfE9" target="_blank">educator</a> to apply now!&nbsp;The AiC Educator Award is sponsored by AT&amp;T.&nbsp;&nbsp;

2020 Aspirations in Computing Educator Award Virtual Event

<ul>
		
		<li>“I work to advocate for my students, to learn about their interests and learning needs, and try to push and motivate them while working with all stakeholders to help students be successful academically, socially, and emotionally.” // Get to know 2019 AiC Educator Award Recipient <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/people/story/2021-07-03/award-winning-stem-teacher-shows-her-students-how-subjects-apply-to-their-lives" target="_blank">Khamphet “Phet” Pease</a> in this interview.</li>
		
		<li>“I can say that without a doubt, Computer Science education in Las Cruces Public Schools would not be anywhere near where we are today without Melody championing this cause.” // This <a href="https://www.kfoxtv.com/news/local/las-cruces-computer-science-teachers-gains-national-recognition-for-education-efforts" target="_blank">profile</a> honors 2021 National Educator Award Recipient Melody Hagaman and celebrates her contributions to inclusive computing in her district.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
	
	</ul>
	
	 
	
	June and July Shoutouts
	
	School may be out for the summer, but AiC Community members haven’t stopped achieving! We spotted these students and educators being recognized by their local news: <a href="https://therecordnewspaper.org/sacred-heart-academy-students-win-national-awards/" target="_blank">Arianna Martinelli</a>; <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/lakeridge-hs-student-wins-national-computing-award/" target="_blank">Pauline Petersen</a>; <a href="https://www.thejournalnj.com/articles/shachi-benara-wins-a-2021-ncwit-award-for-aspirations-in-computing/" target="_blank">Shachi Benara</a>; <a href="https://patch.com/connecticut/vernon/2021-valedictorian-salutatorian-named-rockville-high-school" target="_blank">Emma Blanchet</a>; <a href="https://helenair.com/news/education/chs-prepares-students-for-dramatically-different-paths/article_f58d3d53-8e33-50b3-a167-53c7c389fbbe.html" target="_blank">Sarah Heller</a>; <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/caltech-undergrad-wins-dual-computer-science-awards" target="_blank">Laura Lewis</a>; <a href="https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/gwinnett-teacher-honored-for-encouraging-students-to-explore-computer-science-and-technology/article_04d8788c-c86d-11eb-979f-c32e71c5bb95.html" target="_blank">Philip Peavey</a>; <a href="https://themadisonrecord.com/2021/06/08/governor-recognizes-aparna-bhooshanan-for-national-commendation/" target="_blank">Aparna Bhooshanan</a>; <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/professor-margaret-martonosi-to-receive-prestigious-2021-eckert-mauchly-award-301307027.html" target="_blank">Margaret Martonosi</a>; <a href="https://news.uark.edu/articles/57054/u-of-a-honors-college-announces-2021-bodenhamer-fellows" target="_blank">Ananya Vangoor</a>; <a href="https://www.newportri.com/story/news/education/graduation/2021/06/11/class-2021-rogers-high-school-top-10-students/7621242002/" target="_blank">Maggie Coen</a>; <a href="https://lascrucestoday.com/centennial-high-school-teacher-recipient-of-the-2021-ncwit-national-aspirations-in-computing-educator-award/" target="_blank">Melody Hagaman</a> (and <a href="https://www.ktsm.com/local/las-cruces-news/centennial-high-school-teacher-earns-2021-tech-group-award/" target="_blank">here</a>); <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/communities/crescent_city/article_1d9317ce-bff8-11eb-84b0-4f4df7d7df15.html" target="_blank">Paean Luby</a>; and <a href="https://www.rgj.com/story/opinion/columnists/2021/06/17/thank-you-washoe-county-school-district-mike-kazmierski/7722003002/" target="_blank">Leigh Metcalfe and Abbygail Nerger</a>.

AiC Members In the News (June/July 2021)

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2021_aic_collegiateevent_registrationwebpagebanner2.jpg" alt="Virtual Event Banner">&nbsp;<h3>Selected from more than 150 applicants, the <a href="/2021-ncwit-collegiate-award-recipients-announced" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">18 Winners and Honorable Mentions</a> are excited to share their expertise around six innovative topics related to computing and technology.</h3>&nbsp;<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2021_collegiatephotogrid.jpg" alt="Photos of Recipients">&nbsp;<h2>Thursday, June 3, 2021</h2><h2>6:00 p.m. - 7:10 p.m. EDT</h2></div>

<h3>Event Recording</h3>
Coming soon!


<h3>Event Agenda</h3>
NCWIT Collegiate Award recipients and discussants engaged in conversation with additional event participants. Participants were able to attend two rounds of breakout sessions and select one of three topics each round.
<div align="center"><table style="width:75%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#b3d9f3"><td style="width:30%">6:00-6:02 p.m. ET</td><td style="width:70%">Welcome</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#f6f8fc"><td style="width:30%">6:02-6:07 p.m. ET</td><td style="width:70%">Congratulatory Remarks from Terry Hogan, NCWIT President &amp; CTO</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#b3d9f3"><td style="width:30%">6:07-6:10 p.m. ET</td><td style="width:70%">Transition to Breakout Session A</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#f6f8fc"><td style="width:30%">6:10-6:35 p.m. ET</td><td style="width:70%"><div>Breakout Session A</div><ul><li style="margin-left: 40px;">Bioinformatics</li><li style="margin-left: 40px;">Big Data &amp; Quantum Computing</li><li style="margin-left: 40px;">Computer Systems and Networks</li></ul></td></tr><tr bgcolor="#b3d9f3"><td style="width:30%">6:35-6:40 p.m. ET</td><td style="width:70%">Transition to Breakout Session B</td></tr><tr bgcolor="#f6f8fc"><td style="width:30%">6:40-7:05 p.m. ET</td><td style="width:70%"><div>Breakout Session B</div><ul><li style="margin-left: 40px;">Computer Vision and Robotics</li><li style="margin-left: 40px;">Natural Language Processing</li><li style="margin-left: 40px;">Social Impact &amp; AI</li></ul></td></tr><tr bgcolor="#b3d9f3"><td style="width:30%">7:05-7:10 p.m. ET</td><td style="width:70%">Closing Remarks</td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<h3>Additional Information</h3>
<ul>
	<li>Download the program: (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QDH08PePb7fq7uD6OYa91GcMr3G_oSeY/view?usp=sharing">PDF</a>).</li>
	<li>Please submit any questions to: <a href="mailto:aichelp@ncwit.org?subject=Inquiry%20re%3A%20the%202020%20Aspirations%20in%20Computing%20Virtual%20Award%20Event" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">aichelp@ncwit.org</a>.</li>
</ul>

<h3>2021 Collegiate Award Recipient Videos</h3>
Watch the award winning students speak about their projects and what's next for them below:
<ul>
	<li>Freshmen/Sophomore/Two-Year Institution Award Recipients (<a href="https://vimeo.com/555341463" target="_blank">View Video</a>)</li>
	<li>Junior/Senior Award Recipients (<a href="https://vimeo.com/555341840" target="_blank">View Video</a>)</li>
	<li>Graduate Award Recipients (<a href="https://vimeo.com/555342248" target="_blank">View Video</a>)</li>
</ul>

2021 NCWIT Collegiate Award Showcase

When she was in the sixth grade, AiC Community Member Baylee Herman was already designing technical solutions for agricultural challenges, including a wireless system for monitoring her pig’s feed and water. Since then, as <a href="https://www.fairfieldsuntimes.com/school/school_news/simms-high-school-10th-grader-baylee-herman-earns-recognition-for-it-projects/article_dbcaac1c-a459-11eb-b74b-bf44024c21d9.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">her local newspaper</a> reports, “[s]he has provided sensors and code for both the local water users association and local irrigation company.” She also “upgraded a local farmer’s center pivot control system by adding monitors and alerts to it and has prototypes for compost and grain bin temperature sensors in the works.”We also spotted these AiC Community members making headlines in their local news this month: <a href="https://news.syr.edu/blog/2021/04/15/breitbeck-storino-named-class-of-2022-senior-class-marshals/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ava Breitbeck</a>; <a href="https://www.hamilton.k12.wi.us/news-releases/2021/04/hamilton-senior-wins-state-computing-award/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Madeline Tharp</a>; <a href="https://www.seeleylake.com/story/2021/04/22/news/sshs-junior-recognized-for-computing-aspirations/7273.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aspen Derry</a>; <a href="https://natchitochesparishjournal.com/2021/04/22/sanjeetha-peters-receives-ncwit-aspirations-in-computing-aic-educator-award/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sanjeetha Peters</a>; <a href="https://news.fiu.edu/2021/fiu-graduates-celebrate-real-triumphs-at-first-in-person-commencement-since-pandemic-began" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patricia Garcia</a>; <a href="https://patch.com/colorado/littleton/littleton-6-school-district-hhss-mike-rudolph-wins-2021-ncwit-aspirations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Educator Mike Rudolph and four students from Littleton, Colorado</a>; <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/04/26/2217154/0/en/INTERalliance-Celebrates-Community-Members-for-Receiving-2021-NCWIT-Awards.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ayushe Nagpal and Mina Ryumae; Jillian Maher</a>; <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/farita-tasnim-chosen-as-a-winner-of-2021-ncwit-award/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Farita Tasnim</a>; <a href="https://jgpr.net/2021/04/28/oyster-river-high-school-student-receives-national-award-in-computing/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kelly Zhang</a>; <a href="https://www.sidneyherald.com/news/montana-recognizes-17-high-school-women-for-computing-achievements/article_30071132-9981-11eb-aab5-27baae284dc4.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">17 students from Montana</a>; <a href="https://miamilaker.com/News-Article/spartans-win-computer-achievement-awards" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">three students from Miami Lakes, Florida</a>; <a href="https://www.fortsmithschools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;DomainID=3967&amp;ModuleInstanceID=39&amp;ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=103674&amp;PageID=6960" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">four students from Fort Smith, Arkansas</a>; and <a href="https://www.usm.edu/news/2021/release/computing-awards-winners.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">16 students from Mississippi</a>.

AiC Members In the News (April 2021)

&nbsp;
	
	<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ncwit_nationalaiceducatoraward_webgraphic.png" style="width: 250px; float: right;" alt="National AiC Educator Award">The  National NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) Educator Award elevates one or more educators whose work exemplifies the best of the AiC Educator Award. The Award identifies outstanding formal and informal educators who play a pivotal role in encouraging 9th-12th grade students who self-identify as women, genderqueer, or non-binary to explore their interest in computing and technology. The award also recognizes these educators for their efforts to promote gender equity in computing.
	
	In its fourth year running, NCWIT is pleased to announce the 2021 National NCWIT AiC Educator Award recipients: Angela DeHart, Melody Hagaman, and Philip Peavy. Read their full commendations below.
	
	The National AiC Educator Award is sponsored by AT&amp;T.
	
	<h2>Angela DeHart</h2>
	
	<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2021_natedaward_angeladehart.png" alt="Angela DeHart Circle thumb" style="width: 250px; float: right;">Angela DeHart leads the STEM Impressionists (SIP) program in Ashburn, Virginia. In this program, which she founded while working as a middle school teacher, participants create events and activities that allow them to form partnerships and reach out to younger students from underrepresented groups at the elementary and middle school levels. SIP projects have included hackathons, micro:bit workshops, and a cross-national collaboration with Code Tigers, a STEM organization located in New Delhi, India. DeHart says, “Most of my work as a facilitator comes from listening to kids talk, learning, and supporting them at the intersection of where they can/need to grow and [where] I have the experience [and] skills to help them. Any gaps are filled by partnering with others.”
	
	One of the tenets that DeHart has woven into the foundations of the SIP program is, “When you teach, you learn material at a deeper level.” Another is that “diversity creates better, more inclusive decisions.” From putting student accomplishments on display to bringing students with her to co-present at national STEM events, DeHart strives to give her students opportunities to share their knowledge. She is also committed to ensuring that students of color have greater access to diverse technical role models. “When I go to STEM events,” she says, “I am the ‘only one’ or one of very few people of color in the room. We need to change that reality. It matters to the millions of Black and Brown students that are in school and love to nerd out on STEM. They need to see more examples of how they, too, can be a STEM expert, can enter the field of computer science, and not be alone.”
	
	<h2>Melody Hagaman</h2>
	
	<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2021_natedaward_melodyhagaman.png" alt="Melody Hagaman Photo" style="width: 250px; float: right;" >
	
	Melody Hagaman teaches computer science for grades nine through twelve at Centennial High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico. When she started the computer science program at her school, it consisted of a single, advanced class with content dictated by the state. However, many of her students struggled with jumping into a dual-credit course as their first taste of computer science, due to learning disabilities, language barriers, or other obstacles. This motivated her to negotiate for the opportunity to create an introductory course that would be accessible to more students with diverse backgrounds, support needs, and experience levels. In the nine years since then, the program has developed into a full five-course computer science pathway.
	
	Hagaman developed creative recruitment and outreach events, such as interactive presentations in freshman classes, to educate students from underrepresented groups about opportunities in coding. After attending the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, Hagaman was inspired to develop an eTextiles course to recruit a broader range of students, even traveling to Austria to receive training. “Every aspect of eTextiles,” she observes, “teaches computer science through the lens of fashion design as an alternative to the traditional game or app-based curricula generally utilized by introductory-level programming courses. eTextiles has dramatically shifted demographics in my program, with more girls, students who are BIPOC, and students with special needs going on to continue studying computer science in my school and in college.” For the past ten years, Hagaman has facilitated equity-based, cross-curricular professional development for computing educators at the national level through Project GUTS and Tapestry.
	
	<h2>Philip Peavy</h2>
	
	<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2021_natedaward_philippeavy.png" alt="Philip Peavy Circle thumb" style="width: 250px; float: right;" >Philip Peavy is a computer science teacher at Paul Duke STEM High School in Norcross, Georgia, where he specializes in teaching cybersecurity and game design. A strong advocate of making STEM and computer science opportunities available to all students, he expanded his school’s CyberPatriot club from having one female member to having two all-female competitive teams. Realizing that high school cybersecurity programs are often restricted to top-achieving students (when they are available at all), Peavy developed a cybersecurity curriculum that is designed to be accessible for all students. He uses a culturally responsive, project-based learning approach in his classes, in which students work on real problems that they want to fix in their community, and then present their findings. This helps students enjoy the process and want to keep learning, because, as Peavy says, “it applies to their lives.”
	
	Peavy is also helping to expand access to computing programs for all learners by offering professional development for other teachers. He started a computer science certification preparation program in his district, which has helped more than 20 educators become computer science certified. He also creates resources for teaching game design content and supports other teachers in helping their students become certified game developers. He has presented at several national conferences on how to create a cybersecurity pathway in any school or district. “The biggest thing I have learned,” he says, “is to build relationships with the students and show students they can be successful.”
	
	&nbsp;

Announcing the 2021 NCWIT National AiC Educator Award Recipients

&nbsp;
	
	<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/2021_aic_allawardevent_zoombanner2.png" alt="Award for AiC Virtual Event Banner">
	
	The National Center for Women &amp; Information Technology (NCWIT) is excited to present the 2021 Award for Aspirations in Computing (AiC) virtual event, celebrating ALL recipients. With some help from influential professionals in tech, and former award recipients, we are thrilled to connect and engage with all of the new recipients, as we welcome them into the AiC Community.
	
	&nbsp;
	
	<div align="center"><iframe class="ql-video ql-align-center" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/goEYrrK1lp0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></div>
	
	
<div align="center"><h2>Saturday, June 5, 2021 
	4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. EDT</h2></div>
	
	<h4>How To Join</h4>
	
	If you are a 2021 Award for AiC recipient, check your email⁠ – you received an invitation to register there. If you cannot find the email, reach out to <a href="mailto:aichelp@ncwit.org?subject=Inquiry%20re%3A%202020%20AiC%20Virtual%20Award%20Event" target="_blank">aichelp@ncwit.org</a>. Other guests (parents, educators, supporters, etc.) can watch via YouTube, starting at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
	
	<h4><img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/aic_hsawardevent_pooja_circlephoto250.png" alt="Pooja Chandrashekar Circle thumb" style="width: 250px; float: right;" >Featuring Keynote Speaker Pooja Chandrashekar, Founder and CEO, ProjectCSGIRLS</h4>
	
	<a href="https://poojachandrashekar.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pooja</a> is currently a second-year MD/MBA student at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School. She graduated from Harvard College with an AB in Biomedical Engineering and subsequently completed a Fulbright Scholarship in India. Pooja is passionate about building an equitable healthcare system by improving healthcare delivery for underserved patients. She also cares deeply about educational equity and advocates for STEM education for girls and low-income students. Pooja is a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow and was named to the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Healthcare list.
	
	Other Special Guests
	
	<ul>
		
		<li>Technology Concepts Group International, LLC&nbsp;President and CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncwit.org/profile/avis-yates-rivers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Avis Yates Rivers</a></li>
		
		<li>a panel of past Award for AiC recipients, including  Ivanska Báez Cartagena,  Allison Collier, Morgan King, and Sandra Soueid</li>
	
	</ul>
	
	<h4>Additional Information</h4>
	
	Follow @NCWITAIC on <a href="https://twitter.com/ncwitaic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aspirationsaward/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ncwitaic/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a> for event updates and highlights. Please submit any questions to: <a href="mailto:aichelp@ncwit.org?subject=Inquiry%20re%3A%20the%202020%20Aspirations%20in%20Computing%20Virtual%20Award%20Event" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">aichelp@ncwit.org</a>.
	
	&nbsp;

2021 NCWIT Aspirations All Awardee Celebration

<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ncwit_aic_collegiateaward_logo_fullcolor_web_0.png" alt="NCWIT Collegiate Award Logo" style="width: 250px; height: 110px; float: right;" />
NCWIT is pleased to announce winners and honorable mentions of the 2021 <a href="/award-programs/aic-collegiate-award" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NCWIT Collegiate Award</a>, honoring the outstanding computing accomplishments of undergraduate and graduate students who self-identify as women, genderqueer, or non-binary. Conferred annually, the award recognizes technical contributions to projects that demonstrate a high level of innovation and potential impact.
View a complete list of the 2021 recipients below.
The entire NCWIT AiC program platform is supported generously by Apple. AiC also receives support for specific national program elements; the NCWIT Collegiate Award is sponsored by Qualcomm and Amazon with additional support from Palo Alto Networks.
<h2>Winners</h2>
<ul>
	<li>Laura Lewis, California Institute of Technology, Implementing Remote-State Preparation on a Noisy Intermediate-Size Quantum Device This project addresses the problem of blind and verifiable delegated quantum computation, in which a user performs a computation on a quantum computer and can be assured that the answer is correct (verifiable) without revealing the computation being performed (blind). The researcher programmed and created quantum circuits for the evaluation of certain functions, known as Noisy Trapdoor Claw-Free (NTCF) functions, which are crucial to the process that allows a user to check an answer that they obtain from the quantum computer. (<a href="https://youtu.be/feC7Z3Iy6g0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Isha Puri, Harvard University, A Scalable and Freely Accessible Machine Learning Based Web Application for the Early Detection of Dyslexia By implementing a novel combination of different machine learning algorithms, this research was able to produce the first-ever eye-tracking methodology that uses the standard computer webcam to screen for dyslexia. The application was able to predict if a child has a higher risk of dyslexia with an accuracy of 90.18 percent. Because it is completely free and doesn't require any specialized equipment, this application has the potential to make highly accurate dyslexia screening accessible to millions of families around the world. (This project video is currently unavailable to view online.)</li>
	<li>Rachel Guo, Harvard University, Enhancing Poaching Predictions for Under-Resourced Wildlife Conservation Parks Using Remote Sensing Imagery The Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security (PAWS) is a machine learning approach to helping rangers in wildlife refuge areas around the world identify the areas with highest risk of illegal poaching. PAWS uses publicly available remote sensing satellite imagery to extract geospatial features that impact poaching probability. The pipeline inputs these extracted features, historical patrol data, and prediction labels to train on, and it outputs predictions of probability of poaching risk for each cell, resulting in a risk map that rangers can use to patrol areas with highest poaching risk. (<a href="https://youtu.be/L2gx-LFgsm8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Marissa Sumathipala, Harvard University, Network Medicine Platform for Predicting Noncoding RNA Drug Targets This project leverages network science and machine learning for in silico prediction of the effectiveness of specific non-coding RNAs for use as therapeutics, bypassing more expensive experimental methods. The researcher created a computational platform called Theraplexus by constructing a heterogeneous network model from massive genomic and transcriptomic datasets that model the molecular mechanisms that go awry in disease. Novel algorithms powered by network science analytics and artificial intelligence are used to predict and prioritize drug targets for any given disease. (<a href="https://youtu.be/v8emLw8d6ys" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Farita Tasnim, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Real-Time Decoding of Facial Strains via Conformable Piezoelectric Interfaces The aim of this project is to realize conformable sensors and systems that can translate patterns of facial soft tissue biokinematics into interpretable electrical signals to enable new forms of nonverbal communication. The researchers created cFaCES, or the conformable (i.e. stretchable and flexible) Facial Code Extrapolation Sensor, which makes precise measurements of soft tissue biokinematics to recognize distinct facial motions, and thus facilitate nonverbal communication for patients who lack the ability to speak or interact with traditional electronic communication interfaces. (<a href="https://youtu.be/pvH7Q-cz2Xc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Angelique Taylor, University of California - San Diego, Robot Social Navigation in the Emergency Department Robots can be used in hospital emergency departments (EDs) to help with tasks such as stocking and delivering supplies, but to perform these tasks, they must understand the context of complex hospital environments and the people working around them, and they must make intelligent social decisions to avoid causing disruptions to patient care. This project developed a new system called the Safety-Critical Deep Q-Network (SafeDQN), which uses a reinforcement learning agent to enable a robot to navigate in the ED while identifying and avoiding areas in which high-acuity patients are being treated. (<a href="https://youtu.be/7axxhOfqgJk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
</ul>
<h2>Honorable Mentions</h2>
<ul>
	<li>Alexandra Chin, Wellesley College, Olfactory Communications System This project developed a prototype of an end-to-end device that can identify an odorant and replicate that odor across any distance, allowing users to effectively communicate a wide range of smells. The system consists of three sub-blocks: electronic nose (or “e-nose”), communication system, and synthesis. The e-nose detects unique features of a smell using volatile organic compound sensors and creates a signature for that smell. An identification algorithm compares the smell signature to a dynamic plot of past signatures to determine the odorant, then the application sends the information via bluetooth to a synthesis machine. (<a href="https://youtu.be/SNelQ-AME_s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Kirthi Kumar, University of California - Berkeley, Developing Novel Computational Models for Prescription and Illicit Drug Addiction Dynamics in the COVID-19-Amplified Opioid Epidemic Computational modeling for opioid addiction via an infectious disease model is a novel method of approaching the opioid crisis. The typical framework for mathematical models, known as Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) models, involve the classic compartmental model with ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that describe phases or dynamics of infectious diseases. These models have been widely used for viruses such as malaria and Zika, and most recently, COVID-19. This project explores two mathematical models: the first describing the dynamics of prescription-based addiction, and the second describing the dynamics of addiction influenced by social behavior. (<a href="https://youtu.be/ihyRsZfPtXo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Alexandra Szewc, Johns Hopkins University, Cytoscope: CD4 Count Estimator To address the need for more affordable detection, diagnostic, and treatment monitoring options for HIV, this project developed a tool called CytoScope: a low-cost, Raspberry Pi-powered microscope capable of imaging blood smears and calculating CD4 Count estimates for low-income HIV/AIDS patients. The CytoScope is armed with a CellProfiler pipeline that takes a microscope image of a stained blood smear as input, and provides the red and white blood cell counts within the smear as output, allowing for the estimation of a CD4 count. (<a href="https://youtu.be/j0dnE8JVABE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Victoria Xin, Stanford University, Predicting Antihypertensive Medication Efficacy through Machine Learning Survival Analyses in a Revascularized Patient Population Patients who have undergone coronary revascularization procedures often experience hypertension, but the most effective antihypertensive medication for this population of patients is currently unknown. This project aimed to address this gap in medical knowledge by leveraging Random Survival Forests (RSF), a machine learning method, and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, a statistical technique. Specifically, stroke risk was examined in revascularized patients from the Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial based on the medications they received: amlodipine, chlorthalidone, or lisinopril. (<a href="https://youtu.​be/H7hYPbi6REU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Brianna Garland, Stevens Institute of Technology, Design of Grail Automated Healthcare Records The Grail Automated Healthcare Records project is designed to give patients autonomy over their personal health data, protect confidentiality, and reduce redundancy in the collection of medical information. The researcher used XDL (a data description language) to create an inclusive and frictionless interface in which medical data is received, including new capabilities to ensure user dignity. Once the information is entered into the form, it can then be shared with any doctor. Individuals can also update their information at any time. (<a href="https://youtu.be/V1ChCHn7a5o" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Erin Howard, Western Washington University, Leveraging Statistical Analysis to Develop Labels for Astronomical Time Series Data Developing effective machine learning training labels for classifying new time series data can be a daunting task, particularly for a classification that has many representations. This project shows how statistical analysis (Lomb-Scargle, Autocorrelation, Box Least Squares, and z-score) can be used to pre-classify a portion of the data and lessen the burden of manual classification. Once these statistical patterns are found in a smaller sample data set that has already been manually classified, a statistical model can be developed and applied to a more expansive portion of the data set in order to provide classification labels. (<a href="https://youtu.be/JXdeBRFfIuE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Evani Radiya-Dixit, Stanford University, Learning Efficient Natural Language Processing Models In computational research, strong deep learning performance has been achieved with increasingly large models. The goal of this project is to reduce the high memory and compute needs of NLP models by developing a training procedure that sparsifies models by reducing the number of parameters used. The researcher developed two key techniques to share parameters between the pre-trained and fine-tuned models: learning fewer parameters during fine-tuning, and learning sparsity during fine-tuning. Together, these techniques save significant memory and computational cost in large language models without notable performance degradation. (<a href="https://youtu.be/8ujIK3BgqXw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Maya Venkatraman, Columbia University, Adding YouTube HLS Output to OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) This project, adding the protocol known as HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) as a method of streaming video to YouTube from OBS (Open Broadcaster Software), began as a means to solve an important problem in the field of video compression: the tradeoff between video quality and buffering. The project involved adding a new option in OBS for streaming HLS to YouTube. The researcher implemented this output in C/C++ and wrote HLS-specific methods, ensuring that the appropriate HTTP requests got sent and that video and audio packets got muxed (i.e. combined) together as needed for transmission. (<a href="https://youtu.be/q7LPTCnjeE8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Hannaneh Barahouei Pasandi, Virginia Commonwealth University, A Learning-Based Framework for Self-Driving Design of Networking Protocols Machine learning (ML)-based solutions for communication protocol design can reduce manual efforts to tune individual protocol parameters. However, these solutions are hard to interpret due to the black-box nature of the ML techniques. While other proposed ML-based methods mainly focus on tuning individual protocol parameters, the main contribution of this project is to decouple a protocol into a set of parametric modules, with each module representing a main protocol functionality and used as Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) input in order to better understand the generated protocols’ design and analyze them in a systematic fashion. (<a href="https://youtu.be/8K5OgUXyYC4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Isabel Cachola, Johns Hopkins University, TLDR: Extreme Summarization of Scientific Documents This project aimed to use machine learning to automatically generate TLDR (“Too Long; Didn’t Read”) statements, or single-sentence, extreme summaries of scientific documents that are commonly used on social media and review sites. Because there was no existing publicly available dataset available for training, the researchers curated a dataset of 5.4K TLDRs. They also introduced a new training technique that improved the generated statements in both automatic metrics and in human evaluation by exploiting the similarity between titles and TLDRs. (<a href="https://youtu.be/SVOuIqI62Ng" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Israa Qasem Jaradat, University of Texas - Arlington, Automatic Cherry-picking Detection and Correction in Textual Data Cherry-picking refers to the practice of building up an argument by omitting evidence against the case and exaggerating evidence that supports the case. To address this problem, the researcher developed Cherry, the first-ever end-to-end automatic tool that tackles cherry-picking detection and correction in textual data. Cherry detects cherry-picking in a given news article by analyzing the context of the event covered by the article using stories from alternative sources. Stories are then segmented, and the importance of a segment with respect to the event is the basis for determining whether it is cherry-picked or not. (<a href="https://youtu.be/PN7uNEgy0eg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
	<li>Lexi Rindone, Johns Hopkins University, High-Resolution Quantitative 3D Imaging of Blood Vessels and Bone Cells in the Skull Emerging technologies focused on regenerating bone through a combination of biomaterials, biologics, and stem cells could provide groundbreaking treatments for patients suffering from craniofacial injuries. However, translating these technologies to clinical practice has been challenging due to a lack of fundamental understanding about how key cellular players interact to grow new bone. This project focuses on identifying the necessary environment to induce vascularized craniofacial bone regeneration by using a novel imaging platform that couples advanced molecular biology techniques with 3D quantitative image analysis to characterize cellular relationships within the skull. (<a href="https://youtu.be/NL8sBl-84mA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View this project online.</a>)</li>
</ul>
<h2>2021 Collegiate Award Recipient Videos</h2>
Watch the award winning students speak about their projects and what's next for them below:
<ul>
	<li>Freshmen/Sophomore/Two-Year Institution Award Recipients (<a href="https://vimeo.com/555341463" target="_blank">View Video</a>)</li>
	<li>Junior/Senior Award Recipients (<a href="https://vimeo.com/555341840" target="_blank">View Video</a>)</li>
	<li>Graduate Award Recipients (<a href="https://vimeo.com/555342248" target="_blank">View Video</a>)</li>
</ul>

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Selects Recipients of the 2021 NCWIT Collegiate Award

<ul><li>“My teachers and things like NCWIT helped boost my confidence. I’m one of two girls in the club, but we keep our heads high. We know we are needed and valued.” // In <a href="https://www.iste.org/explore/empowered-learner/more-girls-choosing-computer-science-despite-roadblocks" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this article</a>, AiC Community Members Diya Nair and Alexandra Marlette talk about the structural challenges they faced in pursuing computing interests – and the support that helped them keep going.&nbsp;</li><li>“[R]ight now more than ever we need to maximize innovation and creativity and in order to do that we need everyone. We need kids, we need girls, we need everyone from every single corner of life.” // In <a href="https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/03/17/gitanjali-rao-girls-science-special-guest-speaker/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this interview</a>, AiC Community Member Gitanjali Rao talks about the critical importance of diversity in STEM.&nbsp;</li><li>“As I began building bigger and bigger projects, I was so amazed at how something as simple as basically broken English on your computer screen can create something that’s really complex. It can calculate complex mathematical equations, it can display graphics, it can do all sorts of things.” // AiC Community Member <a href="http://www.theblakebeat.com/senior-wins-prestigious-technology-award-hopes-to-show-women-can-succeed-in-stem/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Maxine Hsu</a> wants to let girls know that coding can open a world of possibilities.&nbsp;</li></ul>March ShoutoutsAlthough this school year has been unusual, one thing that hasn’t changed is AiC Community members’ commitment to pursuing their dreams. We spotted these students and educators getting recognized for their accomplishments: <a href="https://sheridanmedia.com/news/40838/first-federal-presents-donation-to-scsd2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kate Moran</a>; <a href="https://news.gulfbreezenews.com/articles/gbhs-student-wins-computer-award/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adrienne Flowers</a>; <a href="https://www.swnewsmedia.com/savage_pacer/news/education/burnsville-student-named-minnesota-aspirations-in-computing-award-winner/article_ae6bd094-22af-51ee-b418-4af6b88a502e.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Maria Pena Chavez</a>; <a href="https://cse.ucsd.edu/about/news/cse-research-sets-two-students-ncwit-collegiate-award" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Angelique Taylor and Nicole Meister</a>; <a href="https://www.shorewood.k12.wi.us/apps/news/article/1400912" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shubh Goyal</a>; <a href="https://sheridanmedia.com/news/41508/sc-computer-science-instructor-receives-award/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">E. Anne Gunn</a>; <a href="https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/webster-high-senior-earns-recognition/article_def4fe42-7d08-11eb-922c-eba66205dd66.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anna Tetreault</a>; <a href="https://www.swoknews.com/news/apache-student-wins-national-computing-award/article_61bfa7d5-5539-567c-958a-60ce15d50d5c.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Camryn Grabeal</a>; <a href="https://www.pvschools.net/newscenter/paradise-valley-high-crest-teacher-receives-2021-ncwit-arizona-affiliate-educator-award" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michelle Cannon</a>; <a href="https://farmingtonvoice.com/farmington-high-student-teacher-win-computing-awards/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tejaswini Ravula and Jason Canfield</a>; <a href="https://fcnp.com/2021/03/24/justice-high-student-chosen-as-it-award-winner-in-va/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yabesra Ewnetu</a>; <a href="https://www.tnonline.com/20210326/student-wins-technology-award/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Uma Purani</a>; <a href="https://www.crowrivermedia.com/hutchinsonleader/news/local/schmitz-recognized-for-computing-talent/article_83e3efed-f8a6-5168-bca0-c21d734f3c30.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cecilia Schmitz</a>; <a href="https://www.wku.edu/news/articles/index.php?view=article&amp;articleid=9482" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">three students from Bowling Green, Kentucky</a>; <a href="https://patch.com/alabama/mountain-brook/9-mbhs-students-win-awards-aspirations-computing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nine students from Mountain Brook, Alabama</a>; and <a href="https://www.baldwinschool.org/news-story?pk=1162511" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">four students from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania</a>.

AiC Members In the News (March 2021)

One Hundred Fifty U.S. Educators Are Recognized for Their Efforts To Promote Equity in Computing

<ul><li>“At 17 years old, [AiC Community Member Kavya] Kopparapu invented <a href="https://www.webmd.com/healthheroes/2017-inventor-kavya-kopparapu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Eyeagnosis</a>, a device that connects to your smartphone that can take a photo of your retina. It uses an artificial intelligence algorithm that processes the image and provides a diagnosis for diabetic retinopathy.” // Learn more about Kavya’s innovations in <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/20-old-scientist-inspires-her-195910803.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this profile</a>.</li></ul>February ShoutoutsAiC Community members are up to great things, and we’re not the only ones who are excited about it. Local news outlets honored many students and educators this month, including: <a href="https://www.nhbr.com/tech-tidbits-from-around-nh-96/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sara Fung</a>; <a href="https://patch.com/connecticut/stamford/stamford-student-earns-national-recognition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Adena Russel</a>; <a href="https://westnewsmagazine.com/2021/02/08/132720/eshelman-recognized-in-computer-science" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amanda Eshelman</a>; <a href="https://times-journal.com/news/article_85f80760-6d60-11eb-bbfb-0f5487b0abfb.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Laurel Shugart</a>; <a href="https://sanduskyregister.com/news/304153/ohly-named-national-merit-scholarship-finalist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kamryn Ohly</a>; <a href="https://www.newsbreak.com/georgia/milton/news/2168682930352/milton-student-wins-national-computing-award" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Asmi Kumar</a>; <a href="http://chfhsnews.com/2021/02/18/ncwit-award-for-aspirations-in-computer-science-won-by-flowers-student/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nasrin Ali</a>; <a href="https://fcnp.com/2021/02/24/justice-high-student-receives-honor-in-stem/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aya Ahmed</a>; <a href="https://www.olatheschools.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;DomainID=2802&amp;ModuleInstanceID=25681&amp;ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=37070&amp;PageID=9056" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carlie Scheer and Alana Schmalzried-Lugo</a>; <a href="https://www.pvschools.net/schoolshttps://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Paradise%20Valley%20High/PDFS/THREE_CREST_Students_Earn_National_NCWIT_Award.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Megan Howell, Oceana Covington and Laysa Sreenivasan</a>; <a href="https://www.bishops.com/about/mission" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Claire Zhao and Shirley Xu</a>; <a href="https://www.fcps.edu/news/three-students-recognized-ncwit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">three students from Fairfax County, Virginia</a>; <a href="https://www.millmag.org/r2i2-students-in-pursuit-of-careers-in-the-field-win-technology-awards/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">four students from Columbia, South Carolina</a>; <a href="https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/schools/huntsville-high-school/six-honored-national-center-women-information-technology-ncwit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">six students from Huntsville, Alabama</a>; <a href="https://lsr7.org/news/lsr7-students-receive-regional-recognition-for-technology/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">eight students from Lee’s Summit, Missouri</a>; <a href="https://www.warrenhills.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;ModuleInstanceID=8959&amp;ViewID=DEDCCD34-7C24-4AF2-812A-33C0075398BC&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=31618&amp;PageID=1&amp;Tag=&amp;Comments=true" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">seven students from Warren Hills, New Jersey</a>; <a href="https://www.ugdsb.ca/blog/two-cwdhs-students-have-won-the-ncwit-aspirations-in-computing-award/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">two students from Guelph, Ontario</a>; <a href="https://www.herald-dispatch.com/features_entertainment/joyce-spencer-community-news-for-friday-feb-26/article_b0441a9e-3c90-586e-acc0-13e01524838b.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">twelve students from Huntington, West Virginia</a>; <a href="https://www.phacs.org/apps/news/article/1394896" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">four students from Cambridge, Massachusetts</a>; and <a href="https://www.northwoodschool.org/news/four-students-receive-award-aic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">four students from Lake Placid, New York</a>. Congratulations to all!

AiC Members In the News (February 2021)

<ul><li>AiC Community Member Angelik Laboy Torres wanted to help members of her family who were struggling with diabetes, so she “created a non-intrusive, wearable technology that helps diabetics painlessly monitor their glucose levels.” Learn more about her tech journey in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeseq/2021/01/06/drawing-her-own-doors-to-opportunities-in-tech/?sh=56609a816346" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this Forbes profile</a>.&nbsp;</li><li>“It’s exciting to see young students eager to learn about how to secure their online presence at school, home, and in their community.” // AiC Community Member Samina Mondal started a cybersecurity curriculum for K-12 students that now reaches students across the country. Find out more <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/news/386450/nrl-cyberweek-students-catching-fire-nationwide" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;</li><li>“Being a girl in STEM and different biases that I’ve had to deal with… I think that has definitely influenced what I do and why I want to do it so that I can set up a better pathway for future generations after me.” // AiC Community Member and GeekWire Junior Geek of the Month Merrill Keating loves finding ways to use technology to give back to her community. Learn about her many initiatives <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2021/junior-geek-month-uw-student-16-merrill-keating-leads-girls-along-stem-path/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li>What factors determine how well a plant will grow… in space? That’s what AiC Community Member Melika Osareh is trying to find out! She and her research colleagues are testing seedlings to determine which varieties are most resistant to changes in gravity. Learn more about her experiments <a href="https://utlc.uncg.edu/blog-post/growing-plants-in-space/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul>January ShoutoutsThe results are in! The recipients of the 2021 NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing were announced this January, and local news outlets are ready to celebrate winners from their districts. We spotted these names in the news: <a href="https://www.thesheridanpress.com/moran-semifinalist-for-national-merit-scholarship-program-boasts-high-academic-achievements/article_4042c31e-6265-11eb-8d63-3fbe90556034.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kathryn Moran</a>; <a href="https://www.saintmartincleveland.org/about/news/2021/01/29/janae-cunningham-21-wins-ohios-rising-stars-ncwit-award-for-aspirations-in-computing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Janae Cunningham</a>; <a href="https://mcpasd.k12.wi.us/mhs/news/three-mhs-students-recognized-ncwit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shardha Godishala, Keerthi Peddinti, and Alli Smith</a>.

AiC Members In the News (January 2021)

FOUR HUNDRED U.S. HIGH SCHOOL WOMEN ARE RECOGNIZED FOR TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

<ul><li>AiC Community Member and Reinvented Magazine Founder Caeley Looney collaborated with Beauty and the Bolt to create a 2021 calendar called “<a href="https://womenyoushouldknow.net/2021-calendar-12-stem-royals-power-tools-inspire-girls/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Princesses with Power Tools</a>.” Featuring women technologists from a variety of fields, the project is about letting girls know that they don’t have to choose between interests in STEM and other hobbies; there is room in the tech world for all of who they are.&nbsp;</li><li>AiC Community Member and Harvard Medical Student Pooja Chandrashekar uses technologies such as VR, natural language processing, and machine learning to develop innovative approaches to a variety of medical challenges. This fall, she was listed as one of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2021/healthcare/?fbclid=IwAR0P90Vja27MlWKog40zx_X7nuf83wA3aA1PhLE85RDSA1LD3DsdwhWiBdU&amp;profile=pooja-chandrashekar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forbes Magazine</a>’s 30 under 30 in Health Care.&nbsp;</li><li>“It really opened my eyes to this whole other career and opportunities, and that’s why I... want to pass the torch.” // AiC Community Member Kimi Du is using Zoom to teach coding classes for younger students during the pandemic. Along the way, she’s been mentored by another AiC Community Member, Swetha Prabakaran, who founded the nonprofit organization Everybody Code Now. Get the story <a href="https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/after-discovering-a-love-for-computers-cedar-falls-junior-is-leading-her-own-girls-coding/article_ee6ab165-f314-530a-a2bc-f890d135c330.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul>November and December ShoutoutsThis winter, local news outlets are celebrating the achievements of AiC Community members! We spotted these names in the news: <a href="https://abc13.com/high-school-scholarship-citgo-success-stories/7432299/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Martha Moreno</a>; <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/pomerado-news/news/schools/story/2020-11-13/poway-high-engineering-students-honored" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Madalyn Nguyen</a>; and <a href="https://luddy.indiana.edu/news/story.html?story=Luddy-students-named-finalists-for-2021-NCWIT-Collegiate-Award" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Emma Cai, Maram Muhsen, and Sarah Robertson</a>. &nbsp;

AiC Members In the News (November-December 2020)

<img alt="NCWIT Collegiate Award Logo" src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ncwit_aic_collegiateaward_logo_fullcolor_web_0.png" style="width: 250px; height: 110px; float: right;" />NCWIT is pleased to announce finalists for the 2021 <a href="/award-programs/aic-collegiate-award" target="_blank">NCWIT Collegiate Award</a>, celebrating 82 undergraduate and graduate students who self-identify as women, genderqueer, or non-binary from 57 academic institutions nationwide.Conferred annually, the NCWIT Collegiate Award recognizes technical contributions to projects that demonstrate a high level of innovation and potential impact. The 82 finalists were selected based on their achievements and technical abilities exhibited through their projects submitted in their Preliminary Round applications.View a complete list of the 2021 finalists below.Final Round application reviews are open February 1 through February 26. Find out how to volunteer at <a href="/get-involved/volunteer-reviewers" target="_blank">www.aspirations.org/VolunteerReviewer</a>.The entire NCWIT AiC program platform is supported generously by Apple. AiC also receives support for specific national program elements; the NCWIT Collegiate Award is sponsored by Qualcomm and Amazon with additional support from Palo Alto Networks.<h3 style="color:#195995">Finalists</h3><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>&bull; Isabel Abonitalla, Hunter College City University of New York (CUNY), Applying Frontal Cortex Metabolites Quantified by 7-Tesla 1H-MRS to Predict Multiple Sclerosis Subtype Through Recursive Partitioning and Conditional Inference Trees</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Fatima Ali, University of California - Irvine, Logistics Platform for the Farmlink Project</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Fatma Arslan, University of Texas - Arlington, Semantically-Informed Data-Driven Factual Claim Verification</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Hannaneh Barahouei Pasandi, Virginia Commonwealth University, A Learning-Based Framework for Self-Driving Design of Networking Protocols</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Sarah Bloom, Stanford University, Suryodaya Web App to Remote Control Configurations and Visualize Data from Low-Cost, Energy-Efficient Greenhouse in Rural India</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Amanda Bolden, University of Dayton, Smart Cane</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Alicia Boyd, DePaul University, Intersectional Quantitative Analysis of the #MeToo Movement</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Jacqueline Brown, Marshall University, A Theil Index-Based Countermeasure Against Advanced Vampire Attack in the Internet of Things</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Isabel Cachola, Johns Hopkins University, TLDR: Extreme Summarization of Scientific Documents</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Leqian (Emma) Cai,&nbsp;Indiana University - Bloomington, Deicing Robot on High Voltage Wire</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Isha Chakraborty, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), A Novel Application of Polygenic Risk Scores To Transcription Phenotypes</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Hope Chambers, University of Oklahoma, Cerebral Palsy Symbiotic Robot</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Hanjie Chen, University of Virginia, Learning Variational Word Masks to Improve the Interpretability of Neural Text Classifiers</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Hannah Chen California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Evaluating Operational Implementation of the Deep Space Network&#39;s Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN)</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Alexandra Chin, Wellesley College, Olfactory Communications System</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Anoushka Chintada, University of California - Los Angeles, Confirming the Existence of K2 Candidate Exoplanets Using the Transit Method</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Shivali Choudhary, California State University - East Bay, IRFIS</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Tara Chugh, University of Chicago, COVID-19 Policy and Mobility Data Science Project</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Kira Corbett, Oregon State University, Synthesis: A Robotics Simulation Tool to Combine CAD and Code</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Audrey Cui, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), From Pixel to Paragraph: A Deep Artwork Analysis Paragraph Generator</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Meenakshi Das, Auburn University, Accessible Block-Based Programming for K-12 Students with Visual and Hearing Disabilities</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Ukamaka Ezimora, University of California - Merced, Sepia Sisters&#39;s Voting Game / Python Voting System</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Erica Fagnan, University of California - Santa Barbara, Graph Theoretic Treatment of Nanocarbon Structures</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Katelyn France, University of Minnesota - Duluth, &quot;Anaphylactic Shocker!&quot; Creating Novel Medtech Devices and Supporting the Next Generation of Womxn in STEAM</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Kyla Gabriel, University of Alabama - Birmingham, COVID-19 Environmental Screening</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Vinitha Gadiraju, University of Colorado - Boulder, BrailleBlocks: Braille Toys for Collaborative Literacy Learning</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Patricia Garcia, Florida International University, College Thrifts</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Brianna Garland, Stevens Institute of Technology, Design of Grail Automated Healthcare Records</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Megan Goulet, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Health Empowerment by Analytics, Learning, and Semantics (HEALS) Project</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Jennifer Guerrero, City Colleges of Chicago - Wilbur Wright College, PlanIt</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; 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Falciparum</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Cassandra Marcussen, Columbia University, Parallelized Parsing for Fast Machine Learning Systems</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Adriana Martinez, Carnegie Mellon University, Autolab</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Nicole Meister, Princeton University, Bringing Technology to Conservation Groups by Creating Accessible Mangrove Monitoring and Classification Tools</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Maram Muhsen, Indiana University - Bloomington, Folic Acid Supplementation Rescues Valproic Acid-Induced Developmental Neurotoxicity and Behavioral Alterations in Zebrafish Embryos</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Divya Nagaraj, Stanford University, Weak Labeling Pipeline for Clinical Information Extraction from Unstructured MRI Notes</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Chariane Nkengfack, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Toute</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Obianuju Okafor, University of North Texas, Helping Students with Cerebral Palsy Program via Voice-Enabled Block-based Programming</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Melika Osareh, University of North Carolina - Greensboro, 2D-Clinostat Testing for Gravity Randomizing Effect on Arabidopsis Thaliana Plants</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Abigayle Peterson, Western Washington University, Magnify Wellness</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Yao Hodalo Poudima, University of Maryland - College Park, CerSmart</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Anika Pruthi, College of New Jersey, SMILE: A Novel Diagnostic and Monitoring Tool For Facial Paralysis</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Isha Puri, Harvard University, A Scalable and Freely Accessible Machine Learning Based Web Application for the Early Detection of Dyslexia</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Evani Radiya-Dixit, Stanford University, Learning Efficient Natural Language Processing Models</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Kimari Rennis, New York University, I Forgot How to Cry</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Alexandra Rindone, Johns Hopkins University, High-Resolution Quantitative 3D Imaging of Blood Vessels and Bone Cells in the Skull</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Sarah Robertson, Indiana University - Bloomington, Construction of Cancer-Associated circRNA-miRNA Networks</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Devika Shanbhag, Carnegie Mellon University, Power Plane Design Using Reinforcement Learning</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Nikita Sietsema, Calvin College, Train Go Sorry</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Anika Singh, University of Texas - Austin, Object Classification Using Segments of Point Cloud Data for Tactile Sensing</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Mabel Smith, University of Virginia, Zon Loopt Running Routes</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Jenna Sorsen, Bethel University - Saint Paul, Lights for Lives</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Ashley Suh, Tufts University, CAVA++: An Automatic Visualization Recommendation System via Knowledge Graphs for Data-Enriched Exploration</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Marissa Sumathipala, Harvard University, Network Medicine Platform for Predicting Noncoding RNA Drug Targets</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Alexandra Szewc, Johns Hopkins University, Cytoscope: CD4 Count Estimator</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Farita Tasnim, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Real-Time Decoding of Facial Strains via Conformable Piezoelectric Interfaces</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Angelique Taylor, University of California - San Diego, Robot Social Navigation in the Emergency Department</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Maya Venkatraman, Columbia University, Adding YouTube HLS Output to OBS (Open Broadcaster Software)</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Sherrie Wang, Stanford University, Mapping Crop Types in India with Smartphone Crowdsourcing and Deep Learning</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Yaxuan Wang, Rice University, Speedup of Bayesian Inference of Species Phylogenies</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Zhixue Wang, Duke University, Big Data for Reproductive Health (bd4rh)</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Chrysm Watson Ross, University of New Mexico, COVID-19 Misinformation Analysis</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Linda Weng, University of Michigan, Vitam</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Arissa Wongpanich, University of California - Berkeley, Asynchronous Methods for Scaling Up Distributed Deep Learning on High Performance Computing Clusters</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Sirinda Wongpanich, University of California - Berkeley, Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning for Precision Healthcare</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Victoria Xin Stanford University, Predicting Antihypertensive Medication Efficacy through Machine Learning Survival Analyses in a Revascularized Patient Population</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Alice Yeh, University of California - Berkeley, GEM: Leveraging Wearable Technology for Personal Safety</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Maya Zeng, El Camino College, Portable Wireless Signal Booster Concept Paper</td></tr><tr><td>&bull; Victoria Zhang, Harvard University, Patterns and Symmetries in Spiking Neural Networks</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Selects Finalists for the 2021 NCWIT Collegiate Award

<img src="https://ncwit-aspirations-service-stage-public.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/languageaic_blog_graphic_webpage.jpg" alt="Language Matters Banner"> The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) program was founded on the premise that recognizing talented technical girls would be powerful. That was in 2007, and the program has grown from 8 students in the first award ceremony to more than 4,000 in 2020. During the past 13 years, we added Aspirations Affiliates to build a network of dedicated local committees who helped us scale this program, and who shared in the joy of encouraging young women to succeed in their tech and computing studies. AiC Award recipients were gathered together into what we now call the AiC Community, and in 2015 we added additional pathways for those in post-secondary studies to join this community.&nbsp;Today, nearly 20,000 strong, the AiC Community is a diverse place, and it provides a unique network for helping members find others who share their technology interests. Still, we continue to hear that AiC Community members are the “only one in their class.” Because&nbsp;gender inequities in the tech field persist, and those are where NCWIT focuses, often the “only one” refers to gender, but it can also refer to racial/ethnic identity, to disability status, or to a lack of prior experience in computing. Some students are the first in their family to take an interest in tech or come from schools with inadequate technology curriculum. The AiC Community helps mitigate the feelings of aloneness for many and routinely provides needed door-openings to opportunities. The AiC Community is always, we hope, a safe space for members to ask questions, seek and give advice, and feel welcomed no matter what their lived experience is.A few years ago, NCWIT AiC program staff started to expand our gender language to signal our intentions of being more inclusive. Last year, we defined the eligibility for our programs to include both non-binary and genderqueer people, as well as anyone who self-identifies as a woman. We’ve added pronouns to our profile data, and for the past few years, we have addressed our community with the word “womxn.” To be honest, not all of our staff was well-versed in, nor completely comfortable with, non-binary constructs of gender, but we have examined our own lack of knowledge and worked to improve our awareness of how we understand gender. Our use of expanded gender-identifying language was introduced with the knowledge that for some, it would not go far enough, and for others in our community it might be perplexing.&nbsp;We recognize that the lived experiences of women, non-binary, and genderqueer individuals are NOT equivalent. This program exists to close the gender gap, specifically as it impacts individuals who have been historically marginalized in the computing and tech experience.<h4>Creating An Inclusive Space</h4>Recently, a series of AiC Instagram ads “Calling All Womxn” was criticized for being transphobic, and it was suggested that grouping non-binary and genderqueer individuals with women implied an equivalency between the experiences of those who identify as non-binary or genderqueer and the experiences of those who identify as women. NCWIT AiC staff reviewed the comments, discussed internally, and felt that we were falling short of our goal of using language to be more inclusive. NCWIT AiC decided with immediate effect to discontinue using the term womxn, instead using “women,” “individuals who self-identify as women,” or “women, genderqueer, and non-binary.” We recognize that the latter phrasing refers to three different identities of individuals, but they all have one thing in common: all are historically marginalized genders, and our program seeks to give space and encouragement to those who have been historically marginalized. The truth is, there is not one word or phrase that encompasses all identities, and there shouldn't be; all of us, and all of you, need to take up space.The NCWIT AiC staff will continue to reflect on and update our language use; we also remain fully committed to addressing the common challenges that people of marginalized genders face in the tech industry. Our work and initiatives will still push to combat isolation, inequitable distribution of opportunities, and gender bias. These challenges may be experienced by all individuals in workforce settings, but unfortunately it is still true that women, genderqueer, and non-binary individuals in the tech industry are impacted significantly more.Language is nuanced, and oftentimes it takes more words to say what we mean, so NCWIT AiC communications may get longer! It remains our goal to be inclusive in our words and actions. We hope that you will let us know when we fall short and also when we do something that feels right. If you have any questions or comments, we encourage you to contact NCWIT AiC at <a href="mailto:aichelp@ncwit.org?subject=Language%20Matters" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">aichelp@ncwit.org</a>.~ NCWIT Aspirations in Computing

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