Carnegie Mellon University

Lenore Blum

Lenore Blum

Lenore Blum

In recognition of the founder of Project Olympus

...maybe some info about the impact of PO in Pittsburgh?

  • Research area: merging seemingly unrelated areas
    • Early work in model theory & differential fields
    • Later work in developing a theory of computation and complexity over continuous domains
    • Current work: creating a mathematical model for a “conscious AI/conscious Turing Machine” (in conjunction with Manuel and Avrim)
  • Perhaps even more meaningful than her research has been her broader impact on the field: her work in the entrepreneurship and start-up sphere as well as her internationally-recognized work in increasing the participation of girls & women in STEM fields.
    • Founding co-director of the math/science network and its Expanding Your Horizons conferences, which has served over one million middle and high school girls since its creation in the early 1970’s
    • Founded the Computer Science Department at Mills College in 1974
    • Founded the Women@SCS program not long after her arrival at CMU.
      • Now, SCS annually boasts of 50% enrollment of women (this will be the third year in a row, so nearly a full cohort of CS majors with gender equity). We are the only major research institution to be able to make that claim, and we couldn’t do it without the encouraging atmosphere created by programs like Women@SCS and the supportive network that has spanned from it.
  • Lenore also has made a name for herself in service of the professional community, serving as:
    • Third president for the Association of Women in Mathematics
    • Vice President of the American Mathematical Society
    • Chair of Section A of the American Association of the Advancement of Science
  • She has taught at UC Berkeley, and while there was also a senior researcher at the International Computer Science Institute and served as Deputy Director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.
  • In 1980, Lenore was elected a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science
  • Holds an honorary doctorate from Mills College, awarded on the 25th anniversary of her founding of their CS department
  • Inaugural fellow of the American Mathematical Society and the Association for Women in Mathematics
  • Received the US Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring
  • Also recipient of the Carnegie Science Catalyst Award, Carlow University’s Women of Spirit Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Simmons University