PRESS CONTACTS:
Connie Chow, Science Club for Girls, 617-513-1540, cchow@scienceclubforgirls.org
Tom Parnell, Microsoft, 413-262-2404 , tparnell@waggeneredstrom.com
SCIENCE CLUB FOR GIRLS HONORS DR. JENNIFER CHAYES
WITH 2013 CATALYST AWARD
Cambridge, MA: November 13, 2013 – Science Club for Girls (SCFG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to
increasing diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), has selected Dr. Jennifer
Chayes of Microsoft Research, as one of two individual recipients of its annual Catalyst Award. The
Awards Celebration and Benefit will be held November 19 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. ET at Microsoft’s NERD
Center in Kendall Square, Cambridge.
The Science Club for Girls Catalyst Awards honor individuals and institutions commitment to making STEM
a truly universal enterprise. The Catalyst honorees are leaders in creating change from system down to
individual levels.
“Dr. Chayes makes being smart, cool, and solving complex problems exciting,” says Dr. Connie Chow,
executive director of the Science Club for Girls. “Her accomplishments as a research scientist and a
thought leader, and her grace as a teacher and a woman, make her a beacon for tentative young women
and rising stars finding their path. Her dedication to mentoring and opening doors for the next generation
further distinguishes Dr. Chayes for this award.”
In response to this recognition, Dr. Chayes said, “I feel very lucky to be recognized for doing what I love—
both doing actual science and engineering, and helping to inspire other women to enter STEM fields. It’s
essential that girls realize science and engineering are creative and collaborative fields that allow us to
help envision and build the future. It’s wonderful to look at the faces of these young women as I tell my
story and to see them begin to imagine their own.”
Dr. Chayes is a Microsoft distinguished scientist and managing director of Microsoft Research New
England and Microsoft Research New York City—both of which she co-founded. She is a passionate
advocate for the study of computer science by girls, and among the many awards she has received is a
2012 Women of Leadership Vision Award from the Anita Borg Institute. In addition, Dr. Chayes is the coauthor of more than 110 scientific papers, the co-inventor of more than 25 patents, and serves on
numerous institute boards, advisory committees and editorial boards.
Dr. Chayes will be honored at the Catalyst Awards, along with and Dr. Shirley Malcom, Head of Education
and Human Resources at American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Cubist
Pharmaceuticals and its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Bonney. Meteorologist Mish Michaels will
serve as the evening’s emcee.
The evening includes a reception, silent auction, and raffle, and showcases SCFG participants and their
projects.
Details
about
the
event
including
ticket
information
can
be
found
at
http://scienceclubforgirls.org/catalyst-2013. The event is open to the public. Proceeds benefits SCFG’s
free, hands-on programs for over 800 girls in eastern Massachusetts.
The event is sponsored by Pfizer, Millennium - The Takeda Oncology Company, Cubist Pharmaceuticals,
EMC, Genzyme, Microsoft, Alnylam, Amgen, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Alexandria Real Estate, IBM, MIT,
Mintz Levin and Forest City Enterprises.
Science Club for Girls is a nonprofit organization with 19 years of experience delivering free programs to
girls in K-12 grades, especially those from underserved communities in Boston, Cambridge, Lawrence,
Newton and Fitchburg. Science Club for Girls’ mission is to increase girls’ excitement, confidence and
literacy in STEM through programs led by mentors in these fields.
Science Club for Girls was selected by Root Cause as a Social Innovator in STEM Education and Outreach in
2012, and received the national 2010 MetLife Afterschool Innovator Award for its work in STEM with
middle-school girls.
Learn more about Science Club for Girls at www.scienceclubforgirls.org or visit the following social
media sites:
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