Lenore Blum, well known for her work in increasing the participation of girls and women in mathematics and scientific fields, will discuss the dramatic downturn in undergraduate enrollments in computer science.

Rather than blaming the usual culprits—the dot-com bust and outsourcing—for the decline, she suggests computer scientists take a hard look at themselves. The failure of the CS community to present the full breadth of the field and to nurture younger students has perpetuated a negative and unwelcoming image of the discipline.

As evidence, Blum will discuss two recent successful projects: a program to help school teachers incorporate computational thinking into their classes and a plan for increasing the participation of women in computer science at Carnegie Mellon.

All are welcome to attend this free public lecture.

Feel free to join us at the weekly IT ice cream social at 3:30 in the Maxwell Dworkin second floor lounge area.

Registration required:

No

Free:

Yes