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SUPERWOMEN AND SUPERCOMPUTING: GHC TO HIGHLIGHT ACHIEVEMENT

Imagine you're at the Olympics. Watching, you witness talent, discipline, effort, and commitment to achieve a goal. You become filled with inspiration to press on and challenge yourself more. Now imagine an interviewer asking: "So, what did you do to get here?" and getting a detailed response of what their achievement took.

At the Grace Hopper Conference, over 600 of the world's most talented women technologists come together to talk about their amazing technical innovations as well as have real dialogues with college students on how to advance their careers, become leaders, and inspire others. Superstars like Marissa Mayer of Google will talk about leadership and creating cultural change. Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, will speak about the controversy and issues with electronic voting. Dr. Gita Gopal of Hewlett-Packard India will talk about innovations from emerging economies, reflecting the changes in global business. Naseem Bhatti, a Pakistani woman, will talk about the powerful impact of technology for women in developing countries.

Women from 15 countries agree and are coming to Chicago to be part of that conversation.

"When a group of smart and dedicated women come together, powerful things happen. After my first Grace Hoppers Conference, I was fueled by the ideas and conversations and compelled to start a program in gender equity in the Microsoft Research University Relations organization," said Sarah Revi Sterling, Program Manager for University Relations at Microsoft. "I go to Hoppers because that's where I get the opportunity to brainstorm and create programs that positively affect the image of computing and the numbers of women choosing technical paths."

"The Grace Hopper Conference will raise the bar and motivate me to reach even further than I imagined. There is nothing like hundreds of strong women to show me examples of what I am capable of." says Erin Buxton, Publicity Chair for the Grace Hopper Conference and Corporation Information Security for Halliburton.

The power and the difference of the Grace Hopper Conference is listening to women who make their ideas a reality every day.

The women of the Grace Hopper Conference will present new advancements, exciting research, socially aware solutions, and leadership techniques. The energy and excitement of this conference will continue to inspire all generations of women who attend.

A virtual who's who of corporate and academic partners will meet to see what part we all play in changing our world.

In twenty years, when we look back at history from a long-term perspective, it is likely that we will see that it was these women who changed the world we know. They will use technology as a tool (and not an end) to create unprecedented change in the human condition.

The Grace Hopper Celebration conference is truly something completely different as participants, corporations and organizations attest year after year.

This year's theme of "Making History" emphasizes the importance of cooperation and collaboration with women of different generations highlighting the impact that women have made and will continue to make on technology. The GHC is inspired by the legacy of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, one of computer histories legendary figures, and is designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront.

The GHC conference is presented by The Anita Borg Institute of Women and Technology http://www.anitaborg.org and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) http://www.acm.org.

Additional quotes and interviews available on request. Contact at media@gracehopper.org or 650.236.4079.