Natalie Enright Jerger facts for kids

Natalie Dana Enright Jerger is an American computer scientist. She is well-known for her work in how computers are built and how their parts connect. This field is called computer architecture.

Becoming a Computer Scientist

Early Life and Education

Natalie Enright Jerger was born in Plainfield, New Jersey. She went to Kent Place School when she was younger. She loved learning about computers.

She earned her first degree in computer engineering from Purdue University in 2002. Later, she got her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her advanced studies focused on how computers are designed.

Career at the University of Toronto

In 2009, Natalie Enright Jerger joined the University of Toronto. She started as an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. She worked hard and became an associate professor in 2014. By 2017, she was promoted to a full professor. She even became the Percy Edward Hart Professor.

As of 2023, she is the director of the Engineering Science division at the University of Toronto. This means she helps lead a big part of the engineering school. She also helps lead a group called the ACM Council on Diversity and Inclusion. This group works to make computer science more welcoming for everyone.

Awards and Recognition

Natalie Enright Jerger has received many important awards for her work. These awards show how much she has contributed to computer science.

• In 2014, she received the Young Engineer Medal. This award came from Professional Engineers Ontario.
• In 2015, she won the CRA-W Anita Borg Early Career Award. She also received the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship that year.
• In 2018, she was named an ACM Distinguished Member. This is a special honor from a major computer science organization.
• In 2019, she became a Canada Research Chair in Computer Architecture. This is a very important research position in Canada.
• In 2021, she was chosen as an IEEE Fellow. This was for her work on "networks-on-chip." These networks help different parts of a computer talk to each other.
• In 2024, she was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Working for Fairness in Tech

Natalie Enright Jerger is a strong voice for making the computer science field more diverse. She believes that more people from different backgrounds should be involved. She especially wants to see more girls and women in technology.

She has spoken up about the lack of diversity at big conferences. For example, at one conference, she and her colleagues noticed that a panel of "Legends of MICRO" was all men. They decided to speak out publicly to make sure their concerns were heard.

Her colleagues at the University of Toronto describe her as "tireless" and "stubborn." This means she works very hard and doesn't give up. She wants to make sure that computer science becomes a field where everyone feels welcome. She once said, "I am incredibly stubborn. And I'm not going to let go of this until I feel that we've achieved what we want to achieve."

Family Connections

Natalie Enright Jerger has some interesting family members. Her grandfather was Tony Lupien, a professional baseball player. Her great-grandfather was Ulysses J. Lupien. She is also the cousin of John Cena, who is a famous professional wrestler and actor.