Computer Science Education Week Profiles: Dabbala Rajagopal “Raj” Reddy & Andrea Delgado-Olson


This week (December 7 – 13, 2020) is Computer Science Education Week.

Introduced by a collection of ACM Education Policy Committee in partnership with Congress, the first CSEdWeek was recognized by Congressional Resolution. This annual call to action calls upon partners throughout the United States like iUrban Teen to advocate for Computer Science Education as well as to “underscore the critical role of computing in all careers.”

As the 2020 theme for CSEdWeek is CS for Social Justice, we continue to honor our Heroes past and present in the field of Computer Science. We are excited to celebrate Leaders of Color who have helped pave the way not only for the BIPOC community but have also made widespread contributions to the field of Computer Science, globally.

Considered one of the early pioneers of Artificial Intelligence, Dabbala Rajagopal “Raj” Reddy is a world-renowned computer scientist. Born in India, Reddy is the first person of Asian origin to receive the Turing Award, which is considered the Nobel Prize of Computer Science. Reddy’s research and ideas in the areas of robot voice control and the “blackboard model” for coordinating multiple knowledge sources have been adopted throughout the world of artificial intelligence.

Reddy’s success in the world of artificial intelligence has also allowed him to give back to the community. He helped to create the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies in India, which caters to low-income and rural Indian youth. Reddy was also the founding director of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and has served on the faculty of Stanford and Carnegie Mellon for over 50 years.

Reddy’s success helped make it possible for people of many cultures to succeed in the world of computer science.

Today we also highlight computer scientist Andrea Delgado-Olson, who is a member of the Miwok Tribe and the Founder and Chair of Native American Women in Computing.

Her success in computer science has allowed her to take steps to preserve her Tribe’s culture, as she has collaborated with Google and Udacity to create a course using her native language, Miwok. Delgado-Olson is currently working on expanding this effort to preserve the language and culture of multiple indigenous tribes, not only in North and South America but across the globe.

In today’s technological world, computer science is woven into all sorts of interesting and well-paying career tracks. Here at iUrban Teen, we encourage Youth of color to pursue careers like these as we connect them with industry leaders via our many programs. Programs such as iCode, iSpy (CyberSecurity), and MindStream endeavor to give students the holistic experience they need to make an informed decision about what type of career they want to pursue based on what sparks their curiosity and creativity. Computer Science is woven into all three of these programs and in honor of CSEdWeek, we are offering (3) special classes to introduce students to Computer Science! Be sure to sign up, as spots are filling fast! https://iurbancsweek2020.eventbrite.com/

For more information on iUrban Teen Programming and to learn about volunteer opportunities, please contact us! We’d love to hear from you and are always happy to welcome new partners on our mission to serve students in STEM and The Arts! Your contribution, whether in your time or through donation is sure to help us continue to guide and cultivate Students as they become the Technology Leaders of tomorrow!

Content Curated By iUrban Teen Staff Writers

Donation 

 

 

Share