Each month Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology asks Senior Technical Women to share their stories and what they have learned. This issue’s Senior Technical Woman Profile features Jennifer Tour Chayes, Managing Director, Microsoft Research New England, Microsoft Corporation.

The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology will convene two special constituencies at the 2011 Grace Hopper Celebration on the theme of advancing technical women. Technical executives will discuss solutions for advancing technical women at the Technical Executive Forum and their own initiatives and actions in increasing the representation of women at the highest levels of their organizations. Senior technical women from industry, academia and government will convene at the Senior Women’s Summit to discuss proven strategies in advancing their careers.

"What!? Girls aren't supposed to be good at science!" is what someone old and dumb would likely say regarding the above headline. Yesterday, the top 15 finalists in Google's first ever Science Fair put their projects to the test in front of 1,000 attendees and a panel of judges. Taking first place across three age categories were three extremely bright young American women: Lauren Hodge, Naomi Shah and Shree Bose.

Every month on Anita Borg Institute site, Jo Miller, CEO of Women’s Leadership Coaching Inc., will answer your career and leadership questions. Please send your question to advice@anitaborg.org, and it may be answered in an upcoming column.

The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) announced today that Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook, and Shirley Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will be the keynote speakers for the 11th annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC), which will be held November 9-12, 2011 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.

While people are quick to characterize Silicon Valley as dominated by young men in hoodies, a band of women are emerging to make the industry their own. More and more women are at the helm of high-tech companies that are changing the world with innovations ranging from new ways to turn algae into fuel to robots that help children through physical therapy. As part of our Women in Tech series, ten female CEOs in the tech world were picked to watch women who are all using tech to radically change the way things are done in a range of industries.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the launch of TechGirls, an educational initiative for girls from Muslim countries interested in technology.

The aim of the international conference on Gender Perspectives in Mediatized Societies is to discuss ongoing mediatization of present social and cultural fields with a gender perspective. Papers – both theoretically oriented and/or empirically grounded are invited.

The Santa Maria Branch of American Association of University Women awarded scholarships to four students to attend Tech Trek camp, a residential week-long summer camp for junior high school girls that allows them to further their interests in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is a series of conferences designed to bring the research and 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. Past Grace Hopper Celebrations have resulted in collaborative proposals, networking, mentoring, and increased visibility for the contributions of women in computing.