The Rocky Mountain Celebration of Women in Computing (RMCWiC) is the new name for the Colorado Celebration of Women in Computing (CCWIC). The name has changed to reflect the broad regional participation that occurred during CCWIC 2008 and 2010. The goal of RMCWiC is to encourage the career interests of local women in computing. CCWIC 2008 and CCWIC 2010 hosted 87 and 101 computer science undergradute and graduate students, respectively, as well as employees and researchers from local industry and labs and faculty from local universities. The RMCWiC 2012 conference had 146 attendees representing 8 universities, 5 states and 15 different companies and organizations. Attendees reported that the conference provided social support, facilitated networking with other computing professionals, and exposed them to a variety of social and technological advances in the field. RMCWC (previously CCWIC) offers an opportunity for students to present their research and to network with leaders from academia, government, and industry. In this way, RMCWiC provides a unique opportunity for technical women from Colorado and neighboring states to come together to share experiences and strategies for success.

This year's RMCWiC will be October 23-25th.
See the Program page for IMPORTANT DATES

Ruthe Farmer, Guest Speaker

Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, National Center for Women & IT


“The reason people get awards, recognitions, and promotions – is because they ask for them (or are nominated by a friend).” Learn the secrets to succeeding in technical careers by being the squeaky wheel, asking for what you deserve, building a personal network, and promoting yourself and your peers. Ruthe Farmer is a national advocate for diversity in computing who will share information on both the opportunities that are available for students in computing and strategies to help you make the most of them. Learn how to access opportunities, broaden your network, and stay top of mind with your supervisors, mentors and managers using research based resources from the National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT).

Dr. Patty Lopez, Guest Speaker

Platform Applications Engineer, Intel


Dr. Patty Lopez is a Platform Applications Engineer at Intel Corporation, working with customers to deliver Xeon server chip solutions that power high end data centers and mission critical applications. Prior to joining Intel in 2008, she spent 19 years as an Imaging Scientist for Hewlett Packard, creating and transferring technology in imaging into scanner, camera, and all-in-one products. She has released over fifty products and holds seven imaging patents. She earned her BS, MS, and PhD in Computer Science from New Mexico State University (NMSU).

Dr. Lopez has served or is currently serving on the advisory boards of the Computing Research Association-Women (CRA-W), the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI), the Anita Borg Institute, the NMSU Foundation, and the NMSU Computer Science Department. She is a Distinguished Alumna for the NMSU College of Arts and Sciences received the HENAAC/Great Minds in STEM Community Service Award in 2010. A founding member of Latinas in Computing, a MentorNet mentor, a member of the NCWIT Workforce Alliance, Patty has been active for the past several years on the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference organizing committee, served as the 2013 GHC General Co-Chair (Industry). Her research interests include CS education, E-textiles, and wearable computing. Her volunteer efforts are focused on building the STEM pipeline for K-16 and beyond, and creating an inclusive organizational culture in the workplace.

RMCWiC 2012  

The Third Rocky Mountain Celebration of Women in Computing was held November 1-2, 2012, at the Horsetooth Marriott in Ft Collins, Colorado. The students who attended RMCWiC were from 8 universities and 5 states (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, and California). 15 different companies and organizations were represented. The schools included Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, Colorado University at Boulder, Peak to Peak Charter school, United States Air Force Academy, University of Nebraska at Kearney, University of Wyoming, Westminster College, and University of California Santa Cruz. The organizations and businesses included National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Montana Girls STEM Collaborative, Ready Talk, Yahoo! Inc., Apogee Engineering, Telvent, National Science Foundation, Microsoft, LGS Innovations, Hewlett-Packard, Google, ArcelorMittal, Intel Corporation, Cray Inc., and The Portland Group.
Click to see more from RMCWiC 2012!