October 24, 2016.
I am very pleased announce that Lynn Conway will be receiving an Honorary Doctor in Engineering from the University of Victoria on Wed., Nov. 9th.Lynn Conway is a computer scientist and engineer who helped to pioneer modern information technology and is a leading advocate for transgender rights.
Conway did foundational research in computer architecture at IBM in the 1960s. The company fired her in 1968 as she underwent gender transition and she had to rebuild her career in “stealth” in a new name and identity.
A decade later she was teaching at MIT, co-authoring with Carver Mead the seminal engineering textbook, Introduction to VLSI Systems, innovating an Internet e-commerce system for rapid silicon-chip prototyping that led to today’s industrial models for microelectronics design and production, and receiving many high honors for that work.
Conway came out upon retirement in 1999 as emerita professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. A tireless voice for trans people, she was included in Time magazine’s 2014 list of 25 transgender people who have influenced American culture.
Conway’s nomination was spearheaded by the Chair in Transgender Studies, joined by the Dean of Engineering, and enthusiastically supported by the University of Victoria. Conway will be the first out trans person to receive an honorary doctorate in Canada, and one of very few anywhere in the world to be so honoured.
Lynn Conway will also present two public talks:
“Our Travels Through Techno-Social Space-Time: Envisioning Incoming Waves of Technological Innovation” Nov 9th 2016. 7:30 PM PST. University of Victoria Engineering and Computer Science Building, Room 123.
“An Invisible Woman: The Inside Story Behind the Microelectronic Computing Revolution in Silicon Valley.” Nov 10th 2016. 7:00 PM PST. Greater Victoria Public Library, Central Branch, 735 Broughton St. Victoria, BC.
