On the 107th anniversary of her birth on Monday, Google honored Grace Hopper, “the first lady of software,” with a Google Doodle. Hopper died in 1992, but her legacy lives on in the computer languages used today. According to www.distinguishedwomen.com, as a child, Hopper enjoyed playing with machines. In 1934 she was awarded a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale. She joined the US Navy in 1943 and worked on computer languages there until her retirement in 1986. With her team in the Navy, she created a program named FLOW-MATIC which became a model for COBOL, the foundation for most modern computer languages. Hopper liked hiring women for her teams, remarking, “Women turn out to be very good programmers for one very good reason. They tend to finish up things, and men don't very often finish.” Her memory continues to inspire women through the annual Anita Borg Institute's Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women In Computing Conference (http://gracehopper.org) held in the United States with a regional version in India. The conferences bring the career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Presenters are leaders in their respective fields, representing industrial, academic and government communities. Leading researchers present their current work, while special sessions focus on the role of women in today's technology fields, including computer science, information technology, research and engineering. This week the Anita Borg Institute (http://anitaborg.org) is one of the many promoters of Computer Science Education Week, which encourages everyone to learn to write computer code. Getting started isn't difficult. At http://csedweek.org/learn there are resources which can help children as young as four years old learn to write a computer program. Game, Python and JavaScript programming are all featured. There is even an activity promoting “unplugged” computer science, which doesn't need any device or an Internet connection. Studying computer science is a great way to develop students' computational and critical thinking skills. Computer science shows students how to create, not simply use, new technologies. This fundamental knowledge is needed to prepare students for the reality of the 21st century, regardless of their ultimate field of study or occupation. Now, information technology is permeating many aspects of daily life, and big data, software and the Internet are being integrated into businesses and products throughout society. Over 70 percent of computing occupations are outside of the information technology industry: 9 percent are in information services, 12 percent are in financial services, 36 percent are in professional and business services, 7 percent are in government and public education services and 12 percent are in manufacturing. Studying computer science is the door opener for a successful career and a happy life. For more information on computing careers go to: http://computingcareers.acm.org
