GRACE A. LEWIS
Position statement
The vision of the IEEE Computer Society Strategic Plan is “to be the leading provider of technical information, community services, and personalized services to the world’s computing professionals.” I can contribute to this mission by (1) Identifying and executing activities targeted at leveraging the success and energy of our student chapters so that they continue to engage with the Society after graduation as they build their careers; (2) Identifying mechanisms and incentives for increasing industry participation in all the Society’s activities, and in particular our conferences, to create awareness and synergies between researchers and practitioners, which is much needed for both parties for innovation and impact; (3) Leveraging my experience in working with emerging technologies to create better paths for integrating these into our portfolios and keeping our communities vibrant and up to date on advances in the field of computer science, (4) Continuing activities targeted at improving diversity and inclusion at all levels of the Society, leveraging the collaboration infrastructure that we were forced to develop due to the pandemic, in an effort to reach communities that are still underrepresented in the Society; and (5) As a more personal goal, creating stronger links between the Society and Latin America (Region 9), a community full of vibrant and enthusiastic researchers and practitioners that simply do not have the resources that other countries have. You can visit my candidate nomination page at https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/gritter/lewis-ieee.html.
Biography
Grace Lewis is a Principal Researcher at the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) where she conducts applied research on how software engineering and software architecture principles, practices and tools need to evolve in the face of emerging technologies. She is the principal investigator for the Automating Mismatch Detection and Testing in Machine Learning Systems project that is developing toolsets to support these two activities, in addition to other projects that are advancing the state of the practice in software engineering for machine learning (SE4ML). Grace is also the lead for the Tactical and AI-Enabled Systems (TAS) applied research and development team at the SEI that is creating and transitioning innovative solutions, principles, and best practices for (1) architecting and developing systems to support teams operating at the tactical edge in resource-constrained environments, (2) engineering AI software systems, and (3) using AI/ML at the edge for improved capabilities and mission support. She is currently VP of the IEEE Computer Society Technical & Conference Activities Board (T&C), Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Vice-Chair for the IEEE Computer Society Technical Community on Software Engineering (TCSE), Alternate Representative for IEEE-CS on the ABET CSAB Board of Directors, as well as an ABET Evaluator for Computer Science undergraduate programs. Grace holds a B.Sc. in Software Systems Engineering and a Post-Graduate Specialization in Business Administration from Icesi University in Cali, Colombia; a Master in Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University; and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
RAMALATHA MARIMUTHU
Position statement
From the time I started on my IEEE journey, I have been connecting my research with volunteering and have been blessed with a strong network of supporters helping me to grow. I will be a dedicated Vice President identifying novel ways of engaging more collaborative teams in bridging the digital and technical divide. With the diversity of computer-oriented applications being developed, we face the brightest future of leading collaborative efforts in all domains, be it Healthcare, Finance, Environment, Education, Energy or anything connected to Sustainable Development.
I believe in interdisciplinary research and with my experience in leading ground level projects engaging the chapter leadership internationally with the communities worldwide (https://www.ramalathamarimuthu.in), working with school and college level students, my aim would be to encourage intersociety engagement through healthy discussions and collaborative activities. I strongly support the equitable development of technology between academia and industry.
My engagement with other committees like TAB Climate Change program and IEEE SSIT Universal Access to Technology Committee provides excellent opportunities for collaboration and value proposition for the members of IEEE Computer Society. I pledge to create a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship by developing stronger industry institute interaction, encouraging cross career alliances and interdisciplinary collaboration and working with local startups and government to nurture entrepreneurial competencies. My experience for the past decade on this platform, successfully engaging volunteers and experts from more than twenty countries can help me serve the members worldwide, if elected to the position. (Pl see www.ieeeyesist12.org).
In 2021, while being the Secretary of CS, I served on the Governance Committee identifying ways of member engagement to enhance the member benefits. I wish to use my responsibility on the Board to providing better return on investment for the members thus ensuring quality enhancement for the Society.
Biography
Ramalatha Marimuthu, Director, iExplore Foundation for Sustainable Development, is an on-ground researcher with specialization in Embedded Systems and VLSI. She has led several research projects and published papers and collaborative articles on solutions for issues concerning marginalized groups. She has also delivered invited talks on these research findings in various universities all over the world and Google, Mountainview.
As an educator, she led several projects on curriculum development, introducing industry collaborative labs on animation and gaming. Through international collaboration with US and Japan universities she established assistive technology teams working on projects solving issues faced by people with special needs. Her research in education methodologies led her to publish papers on project-based learning and its impact on career growth. She also leads the IEEE Youth Endeavours on Social Innovations through Sustainable Technology, inviting social innovations from 20 countries all over the world every year and thus rescaling the repeatable innovations to other communities. Pl see www.ieeeyesist12.org
As a member of the committee on Universal Access to Technology of Society on Social Implications of Technology, she is pursuing informal education activities to the underserved communities leading to collaborative research publications. She is also the principal investigator of a project to identify the socioeconomic factors affecting the health of pregnant women leading to cognitive health complications of the baby.
As an advocate of diversity and inclusion, she served in various capacities with organizations specializing in women empowerment and her passion in creating opportunities for sustainable careers and lossless workforce leading to a balanced society has resulted in establishing the Returning Mothers Conference. Pl see https://ieeereturningmothers.in/. These efforts to spread technology to underserved communities has been recognized through several awards from IEEE, the Government of Tamil Nādu, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Lions Club and various other organizations.