Magic Moments in Research and Teaching
Fletcher Jones Professor, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs, School of Engineering
Stanford University
COM2 Level 4
Executive Classroom, COM2-04-02
Abstract:
A few magic moments have occurred during my approximately 30 years of computer science research and 20 years of teaching. On the research side, I'll recount some specific challenges, and I'll explain a set of principles that have become career-long basic tenets of my approach to research. On the education side, I'll revisit the unforgettable experience of creating and teaching one of Stanford's first free online classes, launching the MOOC revolution going strong today.
Biodata:
Jennifer Widom is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs in Stanford's School of Engineering. She served as chair of the Computer Science Department from 2009-2014. Jennifer received her Bachelor's degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 1982 and her Computer Science Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1987. She was a Research Staff Member at the IBM Almaden Research Center before joining the Stanford faculty in 1993. Her research interests span many aspects of nontraditional data management. She is an ACM Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; she received the ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award in 2015, the ACM SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award in 2007, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000. She has served on a variety of program committees, advisory boards, and editorial boards.