New CRA Education Committee Co-Chair

At the CRA Education Committee (CRA-E) meeting in June, Lori Pollock (University of Delaware) stepped up to replace Ran Libeskind-Hadas (Harvey Mudd College) as CRA-E co-chair. She will join current co-chair Susanne Hambrusch (Purdue University), and Ran will remain a member of the CRA-E committee. During Ran’s six years as co-chair from 2011-2017, CRA-E has taken on several new initiatives including:

• launching the Conquer website, a resource for faculty and undergraduates interested in research, graduate school and research careers in computing
• introducing the CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award to recognize faculty mentors who have provided exceptional mentorship
• starting the CRA-E Graduate Fellows program to involve graduate students in CRA-E activities
• holding several workshops on Best Practices in Mentoring Undergraduate Research
• creating a video series showcasing young researchers with PhDs who are now working in industry
• publishing two reports; A Pipeline Study based on Graduate Admissions Records and Exploring the Baccalaureate Origin of Domestic Ph.D. Students in Computing Fields

Reflecting on his time as co-chair, Ran said, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed co-chairing CRA-E for the past six years.  The committee’s mission of sustaining a healthy pipeline of students pursuing careers in computing research is critically important.  It’s been a pleasure working with co-chair Susanne Hambrusch, the dedicated members of this committee, and the outstanding CRA staff.  I’m excited that Lori Pollock is co-chairing the committee with Susanne and I look forward to working with them and the rest of my CRA-E colleagues.”

CRA-E also recently launched its own Facebook page. In addition to following CRA-E on Facebook, you can also to subscribe to the CRA-E newsletter for the latest news and information.