U of S Computer Science Prof Named to $1.16 M Cameco NSERC Prairie Chair for Women in Science and Engineering

Posted September 19, 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 9 a.m. Monday, September 19, 2005 2005-09-09-AR

U of S Computer Science Prof Named to $1.16 M Cameco NSERC Prairie Chair for
Women in Science and Engineering

University of Saskatchewan computer science professor Julita Vassileva has
been named to the Cameco NSERC Prairie Chair for Women in Science and
Engineering, U of S President Peter MacKinnon announced today.

Vassileva will work to identify barriers that deter females from pursuing
careers in science and engineering and support and mentor young women in the
sciences.

"This Chair, made possible by the critical support of our funding partners,
will allow Professor Vassileva to continue to lead by her own example of
career success, and launch new initiatives to help young women follow her
lead," MacKinnon said. "By attracting more women into science and
engineering, we will access the unique perspective and inventiveness of half
our population that has so far been underrepresented in these careers."

Participation of women in mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
in Canadian universities is not only lower than that of men but is also
lower than corresponding levels in the European Union. In some disciplines,
notably computer science and electrical and computer engineering, women's
involvement has declined even further in recent years.

The prestigious Chair is one of only five awarded across the country. The
five-year, $1.16 million appointment is supported with $350,000 from
Saskatoon-based Cameco Corporation as part of its gift to the University of
Saskatchewan Thinking the World of Our Future campaign. This is matched with
$350,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada (NSERC), with the balance made up by the University.

"At Cameco, we see first-hand the increasing need for engineers and science
specialists," said Jerry Grandey, Cameco's president and chief executive
officer. "The Cameco NSERC Prairie Chair for Women in Science and
Engineering will provide a unique opportunity to move forward and encourage
women in Saskatchewan to consider careers in science and engineering."

"It is important to promote the greater participation of women in research
fields where they have traditionally been underrepresented," said Finance
Minister Ralph Goodale. "The NSERC Chairs for Women in Science and
Engineering program is one of a number of initiatives that the government
has in place to encourage more women to pursue research careers in science
and engineering."

Vassileva is a successful computer scientist, having balanced career and
family to become an international leader in her field. She actively supports
women through lectures on the need for more female participation,
particularly in computer science and engineering. She also supervises and
mentors many young women at the undergraduate and graduate level.

In her research, she has developed ways of building rewards into the
software supporting online communities to ensure different types of users
are motivated to participate. Vassileva will determine what female-specific
incentives and rewards can be integrated into an online community to make it
fun and exciting, while piquing girls' interest in science and engineering.
For example, more active users would get more prominence online or
participants might win a book, free participation in a summer camp, or a
personal music player.

This online community will enable women and girls to share information,
discuss issues, read life stories of prominent role models, and get advice
on challenges such as juggling family and career or how to move up the
career ladder in a largely male-dominated set of professions. The online
aspect is critical, as women have few peers of their gender close at hand
with which to network.

Working with colleagues in sociology, Native studies, and women's and gender
studies, Vassileva will investigate the attitudes of girls, their parents
and their teachers at the high school level in Saskatoon, as well as in
rural Saskatchewan and Manitoba. She especially wants to connect with
Aboriginal women to get them excited about career opportunities in science
and engineering.

Vassileva will prepare recommendations for curriculum design in computer
sciences at the major Prairie universities to help them become more
women-friendly. She will also give public talks to parents, teachers, and
students, as well as presentations to grad students, faculty, and university
administrators to address issues such as subtle discrimination that
discourages women from pursuing careers in science and engineering.

Cameco is the world's largest uranium producer. The company's products are
used to generate electricity in nuclear energy plants around the world,
providing one of the cleanest sources of energy available today. For more
information, visit www.cameco.com.

NSERC is a federal agency that invests in people, discovery and innovation
for the benefit of all Canadians. For more information on its programs,
visit www.nserc.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Julita Vassileva
Department of Computer Science
College of Arts and Science
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2073
jiv@cs.usask.ca
http://www.cs.usask.ca/people/faculty_profiles/julita.shtml

Michael Robin
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2427
michael.robin@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research

Susan Burton
Campaign Communications Officer
University of Saskatchewan
Thinking the World of our Future
(306) 966-1851
susan.burton@usask.ca
http://www.usask.ca/campaign