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NERSC Intern Wins Award for Computing Achievement

Stephanie Cabanela honored with National Center for Women and Information Technology's Aspirations in Computing prize

March 27, 2013

Linda Vu, lvu@lbl.gov, +1 510 495 2402

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Stephanie Cabanela

Stephanie Cabanela, a student intern in the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center’s (NERSC) Operation Technologies Group was honored with the Bay Area Affiliate National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing award on Saturday, March 16, 2013 in a ceremony in San Jose, CA. The award honors young women at the high school level for their computing-related achievements and interests.

A senior classman at Lowell High School in San Francisco, Cabanela was one of hundreds in the Bay Area to compete for this award. Recipients are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education. The competitions help to generate support and visibility for women's participation in computing communities nationwide.

“Working at NERSC, there were a lot of opportunities for me to work in different aspects of computing—including databases, networking and computer programming,” says Cabanela. “It made me realize that I would like to further explore computer programming in college and future internships.”

At NERSC, Cabanela worked with Iwona Sakrejda of Computational Systems Group and Elizabeth Bautista who heads the Operations Technologies Group to develop a weathermap for monitoring how PDSF, a cluster dedicated to High Energy Physics research, is being utilized. 

"We are all very proud of Stephanie, she is an example of success the Lab can have with high school students,” says Bautista. “Conversely, working with us can potentially change the direction of their career path or course of study. It's a win-win situation."  

NCWIT is a non-profit community of more than 300 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits working to increase women's participation in technology and computing. NCWIT helps organizations recruit, retain, and advance women from K-12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers by providing community, evidence, and action.


About Computing Sciences at Berkeley Lab

High performance computing plays a critical role in scientific discovery. Researchers increasingly rely on advances in computer science, mathematics, computational science, data science, and large-scale computing and networking to increase our understanding of ourselves, our planet, and our universe. Berkeley Lab’s Computing Sciences Area researches, develops, and deploys new foundations, tools, and technologies to meet these needs and to advance research across a broad range of scientific disciplines.