The WST Distinguished Lecture Series honors outstanding contributors to understandings of, and positive impact for, women, science, and technology. It is an annual event open to the Georgia Tech community and the public.
2022/2023
Dr. Anna (Enobong) Branch, Senior Vice President for Equity, Rutgers University
Topic: "Work in Black and White in the Knowledge Economy"
2021/2022
Dr. Gilda Barabino, President, Olin College of Engineering
Topic: "Making Visible the Invisible: Leadership for a Career in Science and Engineering"
2020 / 2021
Dr. Ellen Ernst Kossek, Basil T. Turner Professor of Management, Krannert School of Management, Purdue University
Topic: "Work-Life Boundaries and Women in Academic STEMM: COVID 19's Wake-Up Call for Career Equality"
2018 / 2019
Dr. Maria Zuber, E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics and Vice President for Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Topic: "Advancing Gender Equity Across the Solar System"
2017 / 2018
Dr. Daryl E. Chubin, Independent Consultant and Co-Chair of Understanding Interventions.
Topic: "Beyond Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering"
2016 / 2017
Dr. Alice M. Agogino, Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Chair in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Co-sponsored with College of Engineering.
Topic: "Design for Social Impact: Gender and Ethnic Participation in STEM"
2015 / 2016
Dr. April S. Brown, John Cocke Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering. Co-sponsored with College of Engineering.
Topic: "Competition or Collaboration? Impact on the Participation and Success of Women in Science and Engineering"
2014 / 2015
Dr. Maria Klawe, Fifth President of Harvey Mudd College, Prior Dean of Engineering, and Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. Co-sponsored with College of Computing. Event Poster
Topic: "Getting More Women into Technology Careers and Why It Matters"
2013 / 2014
Dr. Fiona Murray, Alvin J. Siteman Professor of Entrepreneurship; Faculty Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship; and Associate Dean for Innovation, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Co-sponsored with Scheller College of Business.
Topic: "Women and Innovation-Driven Enterpreneurship"
2012 / 2013
Evelynn M. Hammonds, Dean of Harvard College and Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and of African and African-American Studies, Harvard University. Co-sponsored with College of Engineering.
Topic: "Women in Science and Engineering: Where Are We Now"
2011 / 2012
Jane Z. Daniels, Past Program Director, Women in Science and Engineering, Clare Booth Luce Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation. Co-sponsored with College of Engineering.
Topic: "Women in Science and Engineering: Policies, Practices, and Potential"
2010 / 2011
Dr. Geraldine (Geri) Richmond, Richard M. and Patricia H. Noyes Professor of Chemistry, University of Oregon. Co-sponsored with College of Sciences.
Topic: "Potholes and Speed Bumps on the Road to Diversity in Science and Engineering-- and COACh's Efforts to Smooth the Road"
2009 / 2010
Lucinda Sanders, CEO and Co-founder, National Center for Women and Information Technology. Co-sponsored with College of Computing and College of Engineering.
Topic: "Who Invents IT? Women, Technology, and Innovation"
2008 / 2009
Dr. Carolyn Merchant, Chancellor's Professor of Environmental History, Philosophy, and Ethics, University of California - Berkeley.
Topic: "Partnership with Nature"
2007 / 2008
Dr. J. Scott Long, Chancellor's Professor of Sociology and Statistics and Associate Vice Provost for Research, Indiana University.
Topic: "From Scarcity to Visibility: The Changing Presence and Participation of Women in Science."
2006 / 2007
Dr. Annette Kolmos, Professor and Director of Problem-Based Learning, Engineering, Aalborg University, Denmark. Co-sponsored with CETL, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Wallace Coulter School of Biomedical Engineering, and Honors College.
Topic: "Problem-Based and Project-Based Learning - A More Gender Inclusive Learning Environment."
2005 / 2006
Dr. Yu Xie, Otis Dudley Duncan Professor of Sociology and Statistics, The University of Michigan.
Topic: "Women, Family, and Pathways of Science / Engineering Careers."
2004 / 2005
Dr. Angela Ginorio, Department of Women's Studies, The University of Washington.
Topic: "When N=1-2, Justice, Privacy, and Women of Color in Science and Engineering."
2003 / 2004
Dr. Alan Fisher, Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University. Co-sponsored with College of Computing.
Topic: "Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing."
2002 / 2003
Dr. Norman Fortenberry, Director, Center for Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education, National Academy of Engineering.
Topic: "Research on Engineering Education - An Agenda for Transformation."
2001 / 2002
Dr. Gerhard Sonnert, Department of Physics, Harvard University.
Topic: "American Scientists from Central Europe: Implications of Migration for the Social Study of Science and Engineering."
2000 / 2001
Dr. Cinda Sue Davis, Director, Women in Science and Engineering Programs, The University of Michigan. Co-sponsored with Georgia Tech Department of Housing.
Topic: "A WISE Living-Learning Experience: A Model Program for Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics."
1999 / 2000
Dr. Karan Watson, Associate Dean of Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University.
Topic: "Changing the Academic Environment to Improve the Retention and Performance of Women in Engineering."