Ellen Spertus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Professor
Ellen Spertus
Ph.D.
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Spertus in 2012
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| Born |
United States
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| Education |
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| Known for |
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| Spouse(s) | Keith Golden |
| Awards | ... Geek Alive, 2001 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | ParaSite: mining the structural information on the World-Wide Web (1998) |
| Doctoral advisor | Lynn Andrea Stein |
Ellen R. Spertus is an American computer scientist. This means she is an expert in how computers work and how to create new technology. She is a professor of computer science at Mills College in Oakland, California. She has also worked as a top research scientist at Google.
Contents
Education and Early Life
Ellen Spertus grew up in Glencoe, Illinois, and went to New Trier High School.
After high school, she attended the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, she earned three degrees in computer science and engineering. She received her Ph.D., the highest degree you can get, in 1998. Her final research project, called a thesis, was about finding useful information on the World Wide Web.
Career in Technology
Spertus has had an exciting career, working for some of the biggest names in technology. She has written articles about both technology and social topics, often showing how the two are connected.
Working at Google and Microsoft
Spertus spent several summers working at Microsoft while she was a student. Later, she became a senior research scientist at Google. One of her most famous projects at Google was App Inventor for Android.
App Inventor is a tool that makes it easy for anyone, even beginners, to create their own apps for Android phones. It uses a simple drag-and-drop system with colorful blocks of code. In 2011, Spertus co-wrote a book about App Inventor to help more people learn how to use it.
In 2014, she took a break from teaching at Mills College to work with Google again. This time, she helped develop Blockly, a project that helps people learn computer programming using visual blocks.
Awards and Recognition
Spertus has been recognized for her important work in the computer industry. In 1993, The New York Times newspaper featured her as one of the "women who might change the face of the computer industry." The newspaper wrote about her again in a follow-up article ten years later.
In 2001, she received a fun award called "... Geek Alive" for her intelligence and contributions to the tech world.
Personal Life
Spertus was one of the few people who leased a General Motors EV1, one of the first mass-produced electric cars. She is married to Keith Golden, who is also a computer scientist.
