I began to understand the challenges that first-generation college students and students of color have in college.

In life sciences, we find a reasonable balance between men and women. In engineering and computer science, we have a major problem. A very small percentage of women will be in computer science.

My mother was an English teacher who decided to become a math teacher, and she used me as a guinea pig at home. My father had been a math teacher and then went to work at a steel mill because, frankly, he could make more money doing that.

There is something exciting about being in an environment in which it's really cool to be smart.

I began to understand the challenges that first-generation college students and students of color have in college.

Most people don't realize that it's not just minorities who don't do well in science and engineering - quite frankly, you're talking about Americans.

Computer games tend to be boys' games, warlike games with more violence. We have not spent enough time thinking through how to encourage more girls to be involved in computing before coming to college so they can see a possible career in information technology.