BYU Computer Science student Neha Rungta has been named as a 2007 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholar.
Anita Borg was a computer scientist dedicated to encouraging women to pursue meaningful careers in computer science and technology. After her death from cancer in 2003, Google created the scholarship in her honor. Each year, a small group of outstanding scholars are awarded the $10,000 scholarship in Borg’s name and are recognized for their contributions and potential. Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Research at Google remarked, “Google is honored to be able to keep Anita’s spirit alive by recognizing the achievements of these talented young women and helping them pursue careers in the technology sector.”
The 20 scholars and 30 finalists for the scholarship (who each received a $1,000 award) were invited to the Google “campus” in Mountain View, California, to meet each other, tour the Google complex, and participate in workshops on issues for women in computer science hosted by Google engineers and executives and representatives from the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.
The scholars were chosen on the basis of their academic performance, letters of recommendation, essays, and interviews. Each finalist went through three rounds of interviews and was then interviewed by phone. Of this select group of women, Neha is one of only 20 from across the nation to receive the honor for 2007.
Neha, currently a doctoral candidate in BYU’s Computer Science Department graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in December 2004 and received her Masters degree in Computer Science from BYU in December 2006. She is currently working in the Formal Verification Lab in the Computer Science Department under her advisor, Dr. Eric Mercer. Her research focuses on freeing software systems from critical errors before they are implemented in the real world. She recently published a paper in FMCAD, a top-tier venue for formal methods bringing together top researchers in academia and industry from all over the world.