Valerie Taylor (EECS '91), winner of the College of Engineering's first ever Outstanding Young Leader Award
by David Pescovitz
Outstanding
Young Leader Valerie Taylor teaches math and science in
a downtown Chicago housing project and lectures to high
school girls at numerous conferences.
|
The just-announced winner of the College of Engineering's first ever "Outstanding Young Leader Award" has made a career of building bridges. However, the bridges Valerie Taylor (EECS '91) creates are not feats of civil engineering but rather societal bridges across the "digital divide," the unfortunate disparity between technological haves and have-nots.
In computer engineering research, Taylor, now a professor of Electrical
and Computer Engineering at Northwestern University, is respected
for her research into techniques to analyze and improve the performance
of parallel and distributed computing applications. While her work
has impact on diverse scientific disciplines — from cosmology
and molecular dynamics to high-energy physics — Taylor's current
passion is to apply the power of high-performance computing toward
the betterment of education in the African-American community.
A founding member of the Institute of African-American E-Culture, supported in part by the National Science Foundation, Taylor is developing methods to measure and improve the performance of distributed learning environments. These next-generation systems, Taylor believes, will be instrumental in the involvement of African-American communities in creating and using information technology.
"We're working to analyze databases of different teaching styles and incorporate cultural aspects into the concepts that are taught," says Taylor who also chairs the Coalition to Diversify Computing. Their mission: to aid in building a diverse community of computer researchers and professionals.
As a child in Chicago, Taylor was encouraged to pursue the sciences
by her engineer father. Now, the mother of two hopes to provide
the same inspiration to young people through public service and
professional activities. Her grassroots efforts include teaching
math and science in a downtown Chicago housing project and lecturing
to high school girls at numerous conferences. Twice, Taylor has
had a major involvement with the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women
in Computing Conference — a conference designed to bring the
research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront.
Whether Taylor is tackling the Digital Divide through esoteric scientific research or traditional mentorship, her motivation defines the mindset of a leader: doing well by doing good.
"I just want to give something back to my community," she says.
Valerie E. Taylor's
Home Page
Institute for African-American
E-Culture
The Coalition to
Diversify Computing
Lab Notes is published online by the Public Affairs Office of the UC Berkeley College of Engineering. The Lab Notes mission is to illuminate groundbreaking
research underway today at the College of Engineering that will dramatically change our lives tomorrow.
Editor, Director of Public Affairs: Teresa Moore
Writer, Researcher: David Pescovitz
Designer: Robyn Altman
Subscribe or send comments to the Engineering Public Affairs Office: lab-notes@coe.berkeley.edu.
© 2002 UC Regents.
Updated 8/28/02.
|
