²⁰¹⁰Anne Condon

Professor of Computer Science and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at the University of British Columbia

The CRA Board of Directors has selected Anne Condon, Professor of Computer Science and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at the University of British Columbia, the awardee of the 2010 A. Nico Habermann Award for her long standing and impactful service toward the goal of increasing the participation of women in computer science research.

Anne joined CRA-W Board in 1994 and became Co-Chair with Mary Lou Soffa from 2000 to 2003. She coordinated the DMP, the largest and most complex activity of CRA-W, from 1995 to 1998. It matches undergraduate women with mentors and funds summer research experiences for the students at their mentors’ institutions. During her leadership she commissioned an external evaluation to determine DMP’s effectiveness, which found that 50% of DMP women go on to graduate school as compared to about 3% of all women who earn undergraduate degrees in computer science. Evidence of effectiveness like this assured the DMP would receive funding for years to come. Anne’s foresight in commissioning an external review means that many more young women have undergraduate research experiences that motivate them to try for a graduate degree.

With Faith Ellen at the University of Toronto, Anne initiated the Canadian Distributed Mentor Project (CDMP) in 2001 and solicited funds to make it happen. Of the 34 women who participated in the program between the years 2005 and 2009, at least 17 are in graduate school and another 8 plan to attend graduate school. The development and success of the CDMP is one of her major achievements.

In 2004 Anne was awarded the NSERC/General Motors Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering. With the chair came the responsibility to help increase the participation and success of girls and women in the physical sciences and engineering at all levels of the pipeline in BC and the Yukon. There are similar chairs for the Prairie Provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic Provinces. Her work had to expand to a broader arena both in terms of including more science and engineering and in including K-12 education. To support this effort Anne created the Jade Bridges Network to build a supportive community of people who work on projects and to support financially some of the projects. Over the five years she held the chair 13 projects have focused on computing events for K-12 and one project supported undergraduates in computer science to attend a conference. In addition to computing activities her work has helped girls and women more broadly in the sciences and engineering. Her term as Chair ended in 2009, but her legacy is the creation of the Jade Bridges Network which still functions for the betterment of girls and women in BC and the Yukon.