 Live from Houston, Texas, extracting the signal from the noise, it's theCUBE covering Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Now your hosts, John Furrier and Jeff Frick. Okay, welcome back, everyone. We are here live in Houston, Texas for the Celebration of Women in Computing. This is the Grace Hopper Celebration. This is theCUBE, our flagship program where we go out to the events and extract the civilization. As I'm John Furrier, the founder of Silicon Island, Joe McCose, Jeff Frick, the general manager of theCUBE, and Ashley Conard, who's the ABI student board member of Anita Borg Institute. Also, PhD at Brown University. Went to a small computer science school. Welcome to theCUBE. Thank you. So first thing I got to ask you is, we had your other cohort on, another student member. She's actually not a student, technically, but she graduated. You're still in school, getting your PhD. What's it like right now? I want to get your personal reflection on the current state of this world that you're looking in front of you. You're actually a PhD. You're looking at a world in front of you, industry, academic, but the ecosystem of women, smart, brilliant people, really is amazing. What's your take on that? So that's a very good question. One of the things that I really kind of want to scream at this conference is that, so I'm computational biology. It's a field that integrates biochemistry, computer science, math, physics, a ton of different fields. And no matter what field you're interested in, whether it be the arts or history or literature or in my case, biology, you can couple computer science with what you do, make it more efficient, make it applicable, and even work on visualizations of any kind to portray what you're learning and what you want. So we do have a ton of brilliant people here and a lot of industry and academic presences here. So I think those people should just continue to understand that as we continue to move forward in this technological age, you need to couple computer science with what you do. So when did you bring in the computer science with your biology? How did that happen? That's a very good question. So I came in wanting to do biochemistry and I was at school for a month and a half, really shy freshman, and one of my supervisors, my advisor at DePaul University, little liberal arts school, said you should apply to Grace Hopper. So I did and I got a scholarship from the NSF to come and I started learning about what computational biology was. I was really interested in computing but I didn't know how to navigate, like how to merge the two. It's something that I thought, yeah, there's something here. We can clearly see an intersection and I started learning what computational biology was. So that's kind of how I got started, you know, kind of learning about what's going on here and then I went back to my school and did a lot of outreach, helped others, students know about Grace Hopper, how to apply. I gave a few talks. I also started, I helped start the robotics club at our school. I did a lot of outreach through something called STARS, which is a computing corporation that goes out to middle schools and high schools to teach them to code. So all of that has kind of led me to where I am now. And now as a student board member, I want to give back. I want to let the little schools know, the liberal arts schools, that yeah, okay, maybe, we don't have computer science in the curriculum yet. Maybe that's something that we need to work on and I know that we can do it. I know that I'm a living example of that being true and I want to reach out to those people who are interested but not able to convince their school, convince their professors to take math classes because they're in computer science. I had to petition my school to be able to take linear algebra because that wasn't in the computer science curriculum. So we're getting there and I think that the liberal arts schools can start to make that. What's the bottleneck right now? What's the problem? What's the threshold that needs to be broken through? What's the impediment? The impediment for computer science in small schools. Is it institutional structure? Is it awareness? I think it's all of those things. We have people in academics that really know their field really well but they're not on the cusp unless you're at like a, you know, really big resource institution and I don't blame them. We just need more resources to extend out to them. And now through Grace Hopper, through other multitude of organizations, we have those resources. Hour of Code is a great way to integrate now what colleges are doing with high schools even. We don't have to stop at college. We can go further down, go back into middle school and say, okay, well, how can we restructure the whole system? And that's what- How do you make computer science cool for girls in high school? Because, you know, I'm a little bit biased. I'm a DOD, dad of a daughter, two daughters and both have affinity towards math and science and- It's not cool. But there's a little bit of like, I don't want to be in that guy cling over there. Or it's kind of a nerdy or maybe it's a different bias but they have an affinity towards it. Is there a way to break that ice, if you will? Yeah. So one of the things that I think Grace Hopper can show us is that beautiful women, brilliant women, eccentric women, anyone can do it. You know, we need a face. We need a face and maybe that's a blonde girl like me. Maybe that's an African American. Maybe that's an Asian. Maybe that's another guy. We just need people talking about it. That's the way that we can break the stereotype. And it's not just, it used to be silo but not anymore. There's other opportunities, disciplines to vector in to computer science. And I think we need to preach that. I have multiple mentees that are worried but they want to get involved. They don't know how it's hard to find a way to integrate the two. But again, it exists. There are a multitude of ways that we can get involved and just talking about the fact that those opportunities exist is the best way to go about it. So Ashley, one of the topics today in the keynotes was about computer science as a core piece of curriculum. And you know, everyone goes to high school, right? Everybody takes their four years of math, their four years of history, and biology, chemistry, and physics. You know, should computer science now be added into that slate, that's just one of the things that you take. Think of it as a language. Think of it as biology. There's AP computer science. We heard that today. It's a no brainer. It's a no brainer but right now we have a lot of people that are kind of rooted in what they know. And we just need to remove what they know and teach them something new. And there are now, like I'm saying, a ton of different organizations that can help us do that. And to your point, it's a tool that can be used. Yeah. Just like it can be used in any business that we see here. It can really be used in any kind of academic area of study, right? Absolutely, and this is my fifth great hopper. Now as a board member coming from when I was a tiny freshman. And it makes me want to cry. How beautiful it's become. It's something very different than it was. But we have a presence. We are able to tell everyone now as we continue to grow that there is a huge support network that we're doing the right things and we have awesome companies here and academic institutions that are also empowering us women and just any kind of diversity within computer science. We had some women that have been senior in their career. They're in the prime of their life. Eileen Fagan was one earlier. And they've had a journey and they've experienced some scar tissue as they say. But this is a movement now. This is gravity. The Grace Hopper celebration really is a flash point for this new generation. The torch is being passed. It's okay. There's a roadmap. There's tracks. There's community behind it. And so that's a wonderful thing. And we're certainly excited to cover it and glad you could come on and share your insight. But I got to get back down to the root levels. How do you get people started down earlier in the elementary school? How do you create that biases are okay? But it's okay. Computers are everywhere. So tell us your story. When you first had that coding moment where you said, oh wow, I'm coding. And I don't necessarily need to be a major hang a certificate on the wall. This is a skill set that I'm going to integrate into my passion. What was that moment for you or collection of moments? Actually, I was here at Grace Hopper. I had an interview with a particular company and they asked me to code. And I said, oh, I've not done that before. I haven't learned this language. And she smiled at me. And I was so nervous, but she goes, that's okay. I can help you. And we built an awesome little program. This little guy was dancing. And at that moment, I thought, you know, I don't have to be embarrassed. I don't have to think that I'm not capable. I just haven't been given the opportunity. And you look at a ton of these little schools. In a safe environment. In a safe environment, in a supportive environment. And that's what we've set up here. One of the things that I would like to start next, Grace Hopper, is a little session where I teach the newcomers. Like, hey, I was in your shoes. These are some good points. Welcome to camp. Hey, it's fun. From board members, from people that want to give me insight. And that way they have a packet to go in and be like, okay, I have my resume. I have a smile. I have confidence. Yeah. And that way we have an even bigger support network so that people continue to show that they're presence. What's the coolest thing you've seen here so far this week? The coolest thing. Yeah, the coolest thing. Honestly, even though there's a ton of cool tech stuff here, there are a few first years that I've met. And I've encouraged them to go up to a few companies. And I've been peaking. I've been keeping up with them. You know, walking around. And this one girl noticed that I was watching her and she turns around and goes, it was hilarious. I broke out laughing. She was like, so that's all she needed. It was a little pep talk. And I think we forget that. I think that sometimes that's all that you need. So that was probably the coolest thing. And on your coding example, was that part of an interview or part of a session? Yeah, I just- That's amazing if you're in an interview and they're asking you an interview question. You don't know the answer. So they say, let's take a minute and help you learn it. Yeah, you know what it was? They were looking at how I was thinking. And I think we forget that. It wasn't necessarily the code because you can teach that, but it's a method, it's heart. And it's, can you think in this way? And I succeeded in that. So I did get the internship at the end. Well, that's one of the exciting things that I like right now. I have a computer science group in the 80s and Eileen who we interviewed earlier, same thing. And it's changed so much. Computer science isn't the blocking and tackling. Learn these languages, go do some architecture, go build a compiler. Although that's some great stuff there now, but it's got a broader range. What is the landscape for someone who's in college who may be in some curriculum vector that says whether it's journalism, like Natalia or somewhere else going, hey, you know what? It's okay to poke at that computer science thing. What is your advice to those kids out there? The advice that I would give to someone starting out in college in a field that's not necessarily computer science is that there's a way of thinking that you learn, a mathematical type of thinking. Math is a great basis for a lot of the things you do. You have to do this step before you can do this step and this step. And it's a methodical way of thinking that allows you to kind of structure your thoughts and then your code and then your ideas and then the portrayal of those ideas. And you can be a manager, you can be a coder, but those same skills are vital in this day and age as things get faster. To be able to portray information quickly and effectively and ordered is something that you get doing one computer science. What's the upside for that risk taking for that person? What is the upside? Because everyone is, say they're a little nervous they're a little uncomfortable, which is good. And being outside your comfort zone could be a good thing. But what's the upside? What would you share is the upside of taking cross over the other side? And learn computer science? Yeah, just, let's get some anecdotal, share and insight, what's possible? What are some of the things that you've seen, experienced and seen others do? As a woman in computer science it's still a bit shocking that, when I go and talk to people about what I do they're just like, oh wow, that's awesome. But some of my male colleagues that have been with me in these instances, they're the eye raises that they get aren't as frequent. So either I'm blonde and they think that, oh wow, I'm smart, or they think, oh, that's a very interesting field. What are you doing combining those? But to be able to move forward in this technological age it's a tool that is going to be used in every field. That is integral to every portrayal of an idea. So there's built-in upside. There's a built-in upside because everything's moving this way. It's kind of like you need to learn how to write. We just need to learn how to write on the computer. So code, it's just a portrayal of information. So now you're on the board. You said you've been coming here for five years since you were a newbie. Now that you're on the board, explain what that feels like a little bit because there's 40 board members, a couple of students in, and you said this has really grown. What's kind of the vision? What are we going to see over the next several? Grace Hopper's besides your little coding sidebar. So as you guys might know, we now have Grace Hopper in India. So we're really trying to build that. They're also ABI locals. So the Anita Board Institute.local. These are local mini groups that are within massive cities. So like San Francisco has one, Boston has one, New York has one. And we'd like to see those growing because that way we can let people know that yes, this is massive, but the intimacy that you can get through the Anita Board Institute and through any kind of computer science interest that you might have as a woman or a person in a diverse group can be found on the local. So those are growing. We also have different organizations for mentorship through different companies. So as we proceed forward, those are things that we would like to continue to show and flourish. So yeah. And then I think maybe it was, Natalia said there's like 30% of the people here are students. Or do you know what percentage of students, and then how many people here are sponsored? It's such an interesting model that companies take the time and the money to sponsor young college kids to come to this event. And I mean, you know what's weird? I am now a PhD and I have an NSF graduate research fellowship. So it went full circle. I was sponsored by NSF to come here through a Grace Hopper scholarship that I applied for. And then now I put on little speeches to talk about how to go about applying. And now I have one to be able to pursue my graduate work. And so that has been something really incredible to talk to students about because those are available. They are through the Anita Borg Institute. They're about every May, they're due. So that would be something that I would encourage every student to work for. I don't know the correct, all the numbers. But those, we're trying to figure out that balance between academics and industry right now. Because we want to appeal to students more and more. Ashley, what are you working on now at your PhD? Share with some of the classes you're taking, some of your interest areas. And Anita Borg Institute of Science, that's great stuff. But the stuff that you're getting jazz about in school and how you can envision that playing out. So I just came back from a Fulbright last year. And I was in Belgium. And there I was working on a particular protein involved in cellular production and cell growth. And I was able to use actually machine learning and coalitional game theory to understand the relationships and amino acids that's found in this protein and figure out, if you tweak a certain part of this domain, how does it affect what it binds to? So in this project, you can see just in my short description, we have biology, we have machine learning, we have game theory, which is a principle for economics. So again, back to this whole thing of merging a bunch of different fields, computer science is the only way possible to be able to do that research. It's the glue. It's the glue, it's the glue. That's exactly what it is. We should have that on a poster. We'll put your name right under that. Hashtag, it's just glue. It's just, exactly. It's going to be a mean. Right, right. So, and now I'm going to be working on progression of cancer. That's phenomenal. What is the big insight that's been magnified for you over the past four years with, since you got your freshman here, Grace Hopper, now here, what's the big learning that has been magnified for you personally? Something that I find really melts my heart, but it's also something that I'm screaming and I'm trying to get people to understand is, once you realize the power that Grace Hopper can give you, that once you've realized the networks that you can build, give back. If every person here did an hour of code, think about how many disparate, different parts of the globe we would touch. Teaching one other student. There are 12,000 of us here and it's growing. And I really think that every student owes it to Grace Hopper herself, to Anita Borg herself, to the board, to themselves, to the other students to be able to integrate younger women because as your question said earlier, where do we need to start? Well, it's in our K through 12 and then we need to work on retention. Grace Hopper's doing that, but we need to start, we need to start fresh and we can do that. We are the change. You have amazing passion and refreshing to have you on theCUBE, thanks for sharing. Open Source has been a big part of that too and Open Source software really is now at a generational point where it's a tier one citizen. This notion of sharing, giving back is an open source ethos and in a social web, virality, you know, amino acids and social networks all kind of go together, it's been a big network effects. How can we just kind of brainstorming real time here thinking out loud? How can we get the network effect going better? I mean, obviously you got pubs like the locals in San Francisco. Are there ways that this new millennial generation, the natives, my daughter and freshman in high school and freshman in college, they got all the tools, they got the Snapchat, they got Instagram, they got all the collaborative software now is another fabric of network effect. Do you see any insight, can you share any insight on how we can use those tools to build on this gravity around Grace Hopper? Yeah, yeah. So one of the things that we're trying to do through ABIs is look at, okay, are there magazines that girls look at? Are there, you know, do they look at L magazine? Do they look at people? Do they look at Gap, you know? Because again, it's this like, who do you know? Who's cool for you? So people like using, you said like Snapchat and things. Well, we can follow. Don't they have like little snaps through all of these stories? Yeah, so we just need to continue to show our faces and show all the cool things we're doing. I mean, look around, the technological advances that are being shown here, women are doing, guys are doing it too, but we're also part of it. So we just have to kind of show our people. Always be learning and be transparent and share. That's the sense of the team. Absolutely, so that's the best way to continue networking and of course, invite people to speak at schools and engage in a mentorship program. Ashley, thanks so much for coming on theCUBE and sharing your passion, insight and energy with us. Congratulations on all your success. Grace Hopper's doing amazing things. That's really the gravity of the situation is here. And of course, this is theCUBE and you want to be part of theCUBE team. We are looking for digital analysts, women, technical engineers, field producers. And you know, we don't have any women here on the set. We've been shamed earlier. So that is a recruiting message. It'll stumble brag here. So if you want to join theCUBE team, feel free to hit us up on Twitter. We are live here in Houston, Texas. This is theCUBE SiliconANGLE's flagship program. We'll be right back after this short break.