PALO ALTO, Calif., June 1 -- The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology announced today that registration is now open for the 12th annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing to be held October 3-6, 2012, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The conference program is available at www.gracehopper.org.

The world's largest gathering of women in computing in industry, academia, and government, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is a four day technical conference designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Over 250 speakers and 150 technical poster presenters will include leading researchers and industry experts discussing their current work, while special sessions focus on the role of women in today's technology fields, including computer science, information technology, research, and engineering. Co-presented by the Anita Borg Institute and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the conference will feature more than 95 sessions (panels, workshops, technical papers, Ph.D. forum, new investigators, technical posters, a track on Security, Social Collaboration and "birds of a feather" sessions) across nine tracks, invited technical speakers, and the ACM Student Research Competition.

This year's conference theme, "Are We There Yet?", recognizes that technology and the culture of technology are continuously evolving but there are also concrete goals we are striving to achieve. Approximately 3600 women and men from over 35 countries in industry, academia, and government are expected to turn out for this year's event.

2012 Grace Hopper Celebration Conference Highlights

Technologies featured include Big Data, Exponential Technology, Gaming, Open Source, Cloud computing, Mobile Technology, Security, Social Collaboration, Healthcare Tech and Social Robotics.

Wednesday: Features the Career Fair launch with approximately 110 high tech companies, government labs, and universities participating; career mentoring workshops presented by the Computer Research Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research for undergraduate, graduate and early career professional researchers; and a Poster Session.

Thursday: The first Tech Entrepreneurs Lab will feature Robin Chase, the Founder and CEO of BuzzCar; Elisa Camahort Page, the co-founder of BlogHer; and Asmau Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Plum Perfect. The lab will provide advice, mentors, inspiration, connections, and help develop the key elements of entrepreneurial thinking.

Friday: The Security Track is designed to provide a glimpse into the complex, and diverse world of computer security. There will also be a plenary session of experts from the US Government on technology and its important in government and in our lives. Friday evening will feature the RockIT Science Celebration at the Maryland Science Center. The Celebration will be highlighted with the 25th Anniversary of Systers.

Saturday: Grace Hopper Open Source Day will feature a code-a-thon for humanity for several nonprofit organizations.

Registration is now open, with super early bird rates in effect through June 22, 2012. For more information, visit www.gracehopper.org.

Platinum Sponsors of the 2012 Grace Hopper Celebration include CA Technologies, Cisco Systems, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks and Lockheed Martin. Silver Corporate Sponsors include BlackRock, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Dropbox, EMC, FactSet, GE, LinkedIn, MasterCard Worldwide, Neustar, Palantir Technologies, Salesforce.com, Twitter, USAA, VMware and Yahoo! Bronze Corporate Sponsors include Adobe, D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P., IXL Learning, and Quora.

About the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology

The Anita Borg Institute provides resources and programs to help industry, academia, and government recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in high-tech fields, resulting in higher levels of technological innovation. Our programs serve high-tech women by creating a community and providing tools to help them develop their careers. The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. Partners include: Google, HP, Microsoft, CA Technologies, Cisco, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Lockheed Martin, Marvell, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Thomson Reuters, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Amazon, Broadcom, Juniper Networks, Motorola Foundation, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, and Yahoo! For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.

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Source: Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology