Jennifer Widom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jennifer Widom
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| Born | 1960/1961 (age 64–65) |
| Education | Cornell University (Ph.D., M.S.) Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (B.S.) |
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| Children | 2 |
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| Relatives | Benjamin Widom (uncle) |
| Awards | Erna Hamburger Prize (2018) ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award (2015) American Academy of Arts & Sciences Member (2009) National Academy of Engineering Member (2005) ACM Fellow (2005) Guggenheim Foundation Fellow (2000) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Stanford University IBM Almaden Research Center Cornell University Xerox Palo Alto Research Center |
| Thesis | Trace-Based Network Proof Systems: Expressiveness and Completeness (1987) |
| Doctoral advisor | David Gries |
| Doctoral students | Parag Agrawal |
Jennifer Widom is a famous American computer scientist. She is known for her important work with database systems and how we manage information. She helped create new ways to handle "semi-structured data" and "data stream management systems." These are special ways computers organize and use information. Since 2017, Jennifer Widom has been the dean of the School of Engineering at Stanford University. She is also a professor of computer science there. She has received many awards for her work, including lifetime achievement awards from the Association for Computing Machinery.
Contents
Education and Early Career
Jennifer Widom first studied music! She earned a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 1982. After that, she switched to computer science. She earned her PhD in computer science from Cornell University in 1987. Her advisor there was David Gries.
From Researcher to Dean
Dr. Widom started her career as a researcher at the IBM Almaden Research Center. In 1993, she joined Stanford University as a professor. She became the head of Stanford's computer science department from 2009 to 2014. Later, she served as a senior associate dean in the School of Engineering. In February 2017, she was chosen to be the Dean of the School of Engineering. This is a very important leadership role.
Awards and Achievements
Jennifer Widom has received many honors for her contributions to computer science.
Recognitions in Computer Science
- She became a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in 2005. Being an ACM Fellow is a high honor for computer scientists.
- In 2015, she won the ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award. This award celebrates important female computer scientists. She received it for her work on "active database systems," which are databases that can react to changes automatically.
- She is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. These are groups that recognize top experts in their fields.
Teaching and Online Courses
Dr. Widom has co-authored four textbooks about database systems. These books help students learn how to design, use, and build applications for databases. They are used by college students studying computer science.
In 2011, Dr. Widom helped start one of the first Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Her course was called "Introduction to Databases." More than 100,000 students signed up for it! This course, along with two others from Stanford, helped make online learning popular around the world. In 2018, she won the Erna Hamburger prize for her pioneering work with MOOCs.
Personal Life
Jennifer Widom's father, Harold Widom, was a famous mathematician. Her uncle, Benjamin Widom, is a chemistry professor at Cornell. Jennifer Widom is married to Alex Aiken, who also used to be the head of Stanford's computer science department. They have a son and a daughter.
Selected Books
Jennifer Widom has written several important books that teach about database systems.
- Database Systems: The Complete Book (with H. Garcia-Molina and J. D. Ullman)
- A First Course in Database Systems (with J. D. Ullman)
- Database System Implementation (with H. Garcia-Molina and J.D. Ullman)
- Active Database Systems: Triggers and Rules for Advanced Database Processing (with S. Ceri)
