Anita Borg

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Anita Borg was an American computer scientist and women in computing advocate who founded multiple organisations for women in computing. She died of brain cancer in 2003.

Organisations

Borg founded multiple formal organisations for women in computing that have continued for decades

• the Systers community (founded 1987);
• the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference (co-founded in 1994 with Telle Whitney); and
• the Institute for Women and Technology (now the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, founded 1997).

Computer science career

Borg received a PhD from the Courant Institute at New York University in 1981. After getting she worked for several computer companies and then spent 12 years in Digital Equipment's Western Research Laboratory and as consultant engineer in the Network Systems Laboratory in Palo Alto, California. Her primary responsibility was for the MECCA Communications and Information Systems project. She developed and patented a method for generating complete address traces used for analyzing and designing high-speed memory systems.

Namesakes

Since Borg's death, multiple initiatives for women in computing have been named for her:

• Anita Borg Institute
• Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship

Further reading

Wikipedia Article