FAQ

Hypatía of Alexandria was a polymath who was well known as the leading intellectual of her day in the Greek world, despite being a woman. Project Hypatia is also named after Julia Hypatia Orth, a young computer scientist who was killed in a car accident in 2006. She was an avid proponent of both women in CS and homeschooling, and I'd like to think she'd be excited about a grassroots effort to engage people in technical discussions about the excellent work of women in computer science.

Many other groups, such as our friends at the Ada Initiative, focus on increasing the presence of women in technology through identifying and addressing discrimination and intimidation in the industry. Our goal is to reach out to the women who do make it through to tell them that they are not alone. Additionally, we want to create a space that is friendly and welcoming to all people, including men, and show everyone that women have done and continue to do kickass research. Most students in computer science have little exposure to women who are true experts in the field. By reading canonical papers with female first authors, we hope to share the message that real women are out there doing exemplary science.