Women in Technology to feature Nobel laureate

Despite great strides, women remain under-represented in technical fields, IU professor Sarah “Intellagirl” Smith-Robbins said.

To aid women with careers in technology, IU will be home to the 2010 Women In Technology Conference today.

The event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Frangipani Room at the Indiana Memorial Union. While the conference is free, attendees are asked to register beforehand.

WITC aims to show examples of successful women in technology and allow attendees to network with these women.

“We hope to spark some interest in female students and young professionals in technology,” said Sue Workman, associate vice president of Communications and Support at IU. “All are welcome. It’s not exclusive to females.”

The agenda for the conference features many speakers, including Elinor Ostrom, 2009 winner of the Nobel prize in economics, and Smith-Robbins.

“We’re delighted that Ostrom has agreed to this keynote,” Workman said. “She represents the ultimate success of a career in technology. Such a wonderful example of a human being and a professional.”

Smith-Robbins, a faculty member in the Kelley School of Business and director of emerging technologies at Kelley Executive Partners, said she agreed to speak at WITC in order to encourage those in attendance.

“I hope that by speaking at the conference I can inspire some of the attendees to reach out to girls they know and encourage them to consider ‘geeky’ career paths,” she said.

Smith-Robbins, who specializes in online communication, created her “Intellagirl” nickname when she found that the more common username “ssmith” was already taken on most sites. Her speech at the conference will be about “girl geeks,” women such as herself who are currently pursuing careers in technology and how this technology relates to everyday life.

Other speakers will include representatives from Microsoft, NetApp, Matrix Integration and CDW-G, as well as IU students and faculty.

— Sarah Boyum