Lakshmi Iyer, Director of the Applied Data Analytics Graduate Program at Appalachian State University, will speak Thursday, November 2 as part of a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) panel discussion.
The event, "She Blinded Me With Science Pt.2," will feature Iyer; Martie Groome, a laboratory and industrial waste supervisor for the City of Greensboro; Rena Hart, a chemist with the South Carolina Department of Transportation; and Tennille Presley, a biophysicist at Winston Salem State University. The panelists will share their advice and experiences as women in STEM careers with participants.
The event will be held at the Glenn McNairy Branch of the Greensboro Public Library at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Iyer is Professor of Information Systems in the Walker College of Business. She has been involved in community engaged outreach and scholarship that furthers the role of women in IT (wiit.uncg.edu). She is the founder and Director of the "IT is for Girls" at UNCG, an outreach program for middle and high-school girls that aims to increase their awareness about education and career paths in computing. She has received funding from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), National Center for Women in IT, Lincoln Financial and from other foundations to offer STEM events for young women. Related initiative also includes the Triad Tech Savvy event (http://greensboro-nc.aauw.net/techevents/triad-techsavvy/) sponsored by AAUW which expanded to the STEM3 program (in 2017) to include the medical/healthcare and music fields. The "IT is for Girls" and "Triad Tech Savvy" programs have served over 900 girls in middle and high-school in the Triad area and beyond since the women in IT inception in 2009. She is a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and received the Dr. Shirley Hall Award from AAUW Greensboro Branch in April 2011 for exemplary contribution to enrich STEM education for women. She serves as the STEM coordination for AAUW Greensboro and also served as a co-chair of the Association of Information Systems' (AIS) task force on Women in IS to enhance the outreach efforts of AIS to women in Information Systems (IS) based on systematic assessment of the current status of women in IS, globally, including students (both current and potential) and professionals in academia, corporate, and non-profit organizations with the intent to creating a nurturing, supporting environment conducive to enhancing the growth and success of women in IS field. She was awarded the National Center for Women in IT's 2015 Educator Award.
