TAI Honors Women of Innovation, Leaders in Iowa's High Tech Sector
The Technology Association of Iowa (TAI) yesterday honored leaders in technology, science, and engineering at its first annual Iowa Women of Innovation Awards presentation. Nine professionals, academicians, and students were awarded with “Women of Innovation” awards.
“These women are advancing technology in Iowa,” said TAI president Leann Jacobson. “Their innovations enhance our communities, businesses, and our lives in countless ways. Their work inspires other women and girls to explore career opportunities in technology.”
Encouraging more women to choose careers in technology is a workforce sustainability issue, Jacobson said. “The percentage of women in IT is the lowest since the 1970s,” she said. “Only 13 percent of Fortune 500 technology companies have women corporate officers; fewer than five percent of them have female Chief Technical Officers. Women hold more than half of all professional occupations in this country, yet women hold fewer than 22 percent of all software engineering positions.”
Iowa’s economic vitality depends on both women and men who are well educated in technology, Jacobson said. “Yet today, girls comprise fewer than 15 percent of all advanced placement computer science exam-takers. Between 1983 and 2006, the share of computer science bachelor’s degrees awarded to women dropped from 36 to 21 percent.”
The Women of Innovation event was supported by the Principal Financial Group, Quest - Iowa, and the Iowa Department of Economic Development.
2008 Women of Innovation Award Winners
Research Innovation and Leadership: Jacqueline Shanks, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. Shanks, considered a world leader in the field of plant metabolic engineering, is with ISU’s Engineering Research Center on Biorenewables, a program supported by the National Science Foundation.
Academic Innovation and Leadership in Secondary Education: Andrea Spencer, Director of the State Science and Technology Fair. The fair, a program of Iowa State University Extension, annually awards over $70,000 in scholarships and awards to Iowa science students in grades 6-12.
Academic Innovation and Leadership in Post-Secondary Education: Sarah England, Ph.D., director for the Iowa Biosciences Advantage program at the University of Iowa. The program, supported by the National Institutes of Health, identifies talented undergraduate minority students and provides them with training and mentoring to facilitate their entry into doctoral programs in biomedical, behavioral, and biophysical sciences.
Non-Profit/Government Agency: Lorrie Tritch, Administrator, State of Iowa Information Technology Enterprise (ITE). Under her direction, ITE’s has become an entirely self-funded agency. As the State of Iowa’s information technology services department, ITE provides website management and desktop management, Blackberry service, mainframe operations, and email directory services for all state agencies.
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership: Cindy Rockwell, Chief Executive Officer of CustomerVision in Carlisle. CustomerVision provides web 2.0 social networking and knowledge management software. Rockwell is considered a national leader in this field, and is a featured speaker at industry and technology conferences. CustomerVision’s work has been featured in Inc. magazine and other business publications.
Small Business Innovation and Leadership: Susan Walters-Flood, President of NuWorld Amaranth, Inc. in Dyersville. NuWorld Amaranth makes food products from amaranth, a gluten-free grain, and provides research and development, packaging, and order development to other companies. Since 2001, when Walters-Flood joined NuWorld Amaranth, the company has grown consistently year over year. The company’s 2008 projected revenue is $2 million.
Large Company/Government Agency Innovation and Leadership: Gayle Roberts, P.E., President of Muscatine-based Stanley Consultants. The company provides engineering, environmental, and construction services world-wide. When Roberts was named its president last year, she became the nation’s only female president of a large international consulting engineering firm. She is a board member of the Iowa Council of Engineering Companies.
Collegian Innovation and Leadership: Julie Rursch, a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. Rursch helped create and is assistant director of the IT-Adventures project, a partnership among Iowa State University’s Information Assurance Center, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the Technology Association of Iowa, the Iowa chapter of InfraGard, and several Iowa businesses. IT-Adventures engages Iowa high school students in exploring cyber defense, game design, and robotics.
Youth Innovation and Leadership: Erin Brasser, a 9th-grader at South O’Brien High School in Paulina. As recipient of this award, Brasser also received a $2,500 scholarship for an Iowa college or university. Since the 6th-grade, Brasser has been doing research in the field of cranberry bacterial resistance. She was a Discovery Channel Young Scientist Nominee three years in a row; last year, she was National Semi-Finalist for her work in developing organic cranberry antibiotic toothpastes and hand creams.
TAI received more than 70 nominations for these awards, the first of their kind in Iowa. Finalists and winners were selected by Lilia Abron, President of PEER Consultants, PC; David Lyons, Chief Business Development Officer of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Janet E. Phipps Burkhead, Attorney with McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC and a brigadier general with the Iowa Army National Guard; and Max Phillips, President of Qwest – Iowa.
To learn more about the award winners and finalists, log on to www.technologyiowa.org.
TAI is a member-based, not-for-profit organization accelerating the success of Iowa’s technology industry. TAI creates and sustains a positive environment for technology-based economic growth and job creation through innovation, advocacy, and leadership. TAI members include organizations of every size, involved in virtually every aspect of technology creation, production, application and education in Iowa.
