Anita Borg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anita Borg Naffz (born January 17, 1949 in Chicago , Illinois , † April 6, 2003 in Sonoma , California ) was an American computer scientist and suffragette . She became known as a pioneer of cyber feminism .

biography

Anita Borg Naffz grew up in various cities in the United States, did not come to computer science until her late 20s and received her PhD in 1981 from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York. As a researcher, she worked for various large US companies. In 1987 at a conference she noticed how few women there were. That gave her the impetus to start Systers , a mailing list for women in computer science; In doing so, she laid the foundation for what would later become known as cyber feminism .

In 1994, Anita Borg and other interested parties founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (named after Grace Hopper , the first female admiral in the American Navy and inventor of the programming language COBOL ). This conference is the world's largest event for computer specialists today.

In 1997 she left the industry to found the Institute for Women and Technology (IWT). Two years later, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology , which he founded , and later served on the National Research Council's Committee on Women in Science and Engineering . She was honored with the Heinz Award for Technology in 2002 .

Anita Borg was convinced that modern technologies affect all of life: economy, politics, social affairs and people's everyday lives. She fought tirelessly to ensure that this influence had the most positive effects possible on people. She died of a brain tumor at the age of 54 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biographical data from Anita Borg Naffz at Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
personal data
SURNAME Borg, Anita
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Borg Naffz, Anita
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American computer scientist and women's rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois , USA
DATE OF DEATH April 6, 2003
Place of death Sonoma , California , USA