Maria Klawe
Maria Klawe | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian-American |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, college president |
| Known for | President of Harvey Mudd College, advocacy for women in STEM, SMAWK algorithm co-developer |
Maria Margaret Klawe ( ; born 1951) is a Canadian-American expert in computer science who held the position of the fifth president at Harvey Mudd College from 2006 until 2023. Originally from Toronto, she obtained U.S. citizenship in 2009. Prior to this, Klawe was the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University and is well-known for her efforts to promote women in STEM fields.
Biography
Klawe’s early years began in Toronto, Ontario, followed by a residence in Scotland between the ages of 4 and 12, before her family moved back to Canada, settling in Edmonton, Alberta. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta, receiving a B.Sc. degree in 1973, and earned a Ph.D. in mathematics there by 1977. After joining Oakland University as an assistant professor, she embarked on pursuing a second doctorate in computer science at the University of Toronto. Although she did not finish this second Ph.D., she secured a faculty role at the university.
Her career includes an eight-year tenure at IBM’s Almaden Research Center located in California, where she advanced from research scientist to lead the Discrete Mathematics Group and subsequently managed the Mathematics and Related Computer Science Department. Klawe then spent 15 years at the University of British Columbia, holding leadership roles such as head of the Computer Science Department (1988–1995), vice president for student and academic services (1995–1998), and dean of science (1998–2002).
Following her time at UBC, Klawe moved to Princeton University before accepting the presidency at Harvey Mudd College as its first female leader. When she assumed this role, women represented roughly 30% of both students and faculty; under her guidance, female student enrollment increased to nearly 50%, and women comprised over 40% of faculty members. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen on January 29, 2009, and later that year joined the board of directors at Microsoft Corporation.
Awards and honors
Klawe was named a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in 1996, became a founding fellow of the Canadian Information Processing Society in 2006, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009, honored as a fellow of the American Mathematical Society in 2012, and joined the ranks of fellows at the Association for Women in Mathematics in 2019.
In 1997, she was appointed as an NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE) at the University of British Columbia, one of only five such chairs across Canada.
Her honorary doctorates come from numerous universities including Ryerson Polytechnic University (2001), the University of Waterloo (2003), Queen's University (2004), Dalhousie University (2005), Acadia University (2006), the University of Alberta (2007), the University of Ottawa (2008), the University of British Columbia (2010), the University of Toronto (2015), Concordia University (2016), and McGill University (2018).
In recognition of her leadership, Klawe received the 2014 Woman of Vision ABIE Award for Leadership from the Anita Borg Institute. Forbes included her among "America's Top 50 Women In Tech" in 2018.
She served as president of the Association for Computing Machinery between 2002 and 2004 and was honored with the A. Nico Habermann award in 2004.
Research
Maria Klawe's significant contributions to research encompass algorithms related to geometric optimization, distributed leader election, and the art gallery problem. In partnership with Peter Shor, Shlomo Moran, Alok Aggarwal, and Robert Wilber, she co-developed the SMAWK algorithm—a matrix searching technique with important uses in computational geometry. Additionally, her investigations include the influence of gender on performance in electronic gaming.
Motivated by her friend Anita Borg’s struggle with brain cancer, Klawe initiated the Aphasia Project, a collaborative effort between UBC and Princeton aimed at creating cognitive support tools for individuals affected by aphasia.
Advocacy for technical women
Maria Klawe has been a leading voice in promoting greater female participation in STEM fields. During her tenure as dean at UBC, where she held the NSERC-IBM chair for Women in Science and Engineering, she successfully increased the proportion of women majoring in computer science from 16% to 27% and raised the number of female faculty members from 2 to 7. In 1991, she co-established CRA-W (the Computing Research Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research) and served as its inaugural co-chair. From 1996 to 2011, she also chaired the Board of Trustees for the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.
Klawe is an outspoken advocate for women negotiating their salaries and has publicly challenged Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s advice that women should rely on the system rather than request pay increases.
She promotes introductory computer science courses at the college level that emphasize engagement and enjoyment instead of solely focusing on retention strategies. Klawe contends that introducing programming too early in middle school risks losing students’ interest due to social pressures encountered during high school. At Harvey Mudd College, she prioritizes entry-level classes centered on problem-solving rather than competitive environments dominated by males, which she believes foster a "testosterone culture" that can discourage female participation.
Currently, Klawe is partnering with UCSD to design a biology-oriented introductory computer science course tailored for biology majors and is involved in developing an online MOOC targeting 10th graders to increase accessibility and enthusiasm for computing careers.
Art
Klawe has also showcased her watercolor paintings in exhibitions.
See also
External links
- Biography of Maria Klawe at Human Archives
- Overview of Maria Klawe at Microsoft
- Maria Klawe Video featured by Makers: Women Who Make America
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