Jennifer Widom (born ) is an American

computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...

known for her work in

database systems In computing, a database is an organized collection of Data (computing), data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, Application software, applications, and ...

and

data management Data management comprises all disciplines related to handling data as a valuable resource, it is the practice of managing an organization's data so it can be analyzed for decision making. Concept The concept of data management emerged alongsi ...

. She is notable for foundational contributions to semi-structured data management and data stream management systems. Since 2017, Widom is the dean of the School of Engineering and professor of computer science at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Her honors include the Fletcher Jones Professor of

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and multiple lifetime achievement awards from the

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional membe ...

Education

Widom earned a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 1982 and a PhD in computer science under David Gries from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1987.

Academic career

Widom began her career as a researcher at the IBM Almaden Research Center and joined

as a professor in 1993. She was the chair of the Stanford computer science department from 2009 to 2014, and served as senior associate dean for faculty and academic affairs in the School of Engineering from 2014 to 2016. In February 2017 she was named Dean of the School of Engineering. Widom is a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

(ACM) since 2005. In 2015, she won the ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award, which honors prominent female computer scientists, for her work in the introduction of fundamental concepts and architectures of active database systems. Widom is also a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. Widom has co-authored four academic textbooks on database systems. These books focus on database design, use, and implementation of applications and management systems. The course materials have been utilized at the junior, senior, and graduate levels in the computer science department. In late 2011, Widom launched one of the first

Massive Open Online Course A massive open online course (MOOC ) or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the World Wide Web, Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and p ...

s (MOOCs), entitled "Introduction to Databases". The course had more than 100,000 enrolled students, and launched at the same time as two other MOOCs by Stanford University School of Engineering faculty. In 2018, she won the Erna Hamburger prize from the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

-Women in Science and Humanities Foundation for her work with MOOCs.

Personal life

Widom is the daughter of Lois Widom and Harold Widom, an American mathematician. Her uncle Benjamin Widom is on the Cornell faculty in chemistry. Widom is married to Alex Aiken, former chair of Stanford's computer science department. The couple has a son and a daughter.

Selected works

*Widom, Jennifer; (with H. Garcia-Molina and J. D. Ullman). ''Database Systems: The Complete Book'', New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2002. *Widom, Jennifer; (with J. D. Ullman). ''A First Course in Database Systems'', New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1997 and 2002. *Widom, Jennifer; (with H. Garcia-Molina and J.D. Ullman). ''Database System Implementation'', New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2000. *Widom, Jennifer; (with S. Ceri). ''Active Database Systems: Triggers and Rules for Advanced Database Processing'', San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann, 1996.

References

External links

Dean of Engineering page at Stanford
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Widom, Jennifer 1960s births Living people 2005 fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery 21st-century American women Stanford University School of Engineering faculty Stanford University Department of Electrical Engineering faculty Database researchers American women computer scientists American computer scientists Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Cornell University alumni Jacobs School of Music alumni Year of birth missing (living people)