Corning's Aleksandra Boskovic to Receive Technologist of the Year Award

BALTIMORE - Sept. 15, 2016 - PRLog -- Aleksandra Boskovic, Research Director for Optics, Surface and Integration Technologies at Corning Incorporated, will be named Technologist of the Year at the 21st Annual Women of Color STEM Conference.

Dr. Boskovic has five patents that enable telecommunications systems to keep up with bandwidth growth at the speed of light. Her most recent invention is an optical communication system. She has invented an optical networking device for optical networks with increased transparency, and an optical communication system with a fiber link capable of transmitting optical signals with high optical launch power over long distances.

Dr. Boskovic leads a research group that builds understanding in optics, surface science, and thin films in order to make important inventions. These innovations are for high bandwidth communications, data center applications around the world for productivity and higher capacity, and novel glass surfaces.

She is a member of the Optical Society of America and holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Science degree in physics from Imperial College, UK; and a M.S. in physics from Pontificia Universidade Catolica, Brazil. Her undergraduate degree, also in physics, is from Pontificia Universidade Catolica, Brazil.

In addition to the top award, more than 40 STEM professionals nominated by their employers will be recognized.

Below are the finalists for the 2016 Women of Color STEM Conference Awards.

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TECHNOLOGIST OF THE YEAR

Aleksandra Boskovic, Ph.D.
Research Director
Corning Incorporated

BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

Leah Taylor
Vice President - Investment Specialist
J.P. Morgan Private Bank

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT - GOVERNMENT

Andrea Veil
Executive Director, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT – INDUSTRY

Joi Harris
Vice President - Gas Operations
DTE Energy

COMMUNITY SERVICE – INDUSTRY

Sydney L. Davis
Systems Integration Specialist
Quality & Product Launch

Consumers Energy

COMMUNITY SERVICE – INDUSTRY

Raquel P. Cundiff
Customer Engineering Manager
The Boeing Company

COMMUNITY SERVICE – INDUSTRY

Vannia Willis
Contracted Research and Development (CRAD) Program Manager
Huntington Ingalls Industries

COMMUNITY SERVICE - GOVERNMENT

Tiffany Owens
Systems Safety Engineer
Naval Sea Systems Command

CORPORATE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION

Rosa Bushkuhl, P.E.
Project Engineer, New Business Development
Consumers Energy

CORPORATE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION

Katy Wong
Systems Engineer Senior Staff
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Amber Brown
Project Engineer Staff
Lockheed Martin Corporation

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Anita Lee Wright
Business Development & Proposal Operations Manager
Northrop Grumman Corporation

MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP - GOVERNMENT

Darlene Baxter
Deputy Director, Project Planning and Control
NASA Langley Research Center

MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP – INDUSTRY

Esther Betancourt
Director of Engineering Defense Systems
Harris Corporation

MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP – INDUSTRY

Audra E. Ryan-Jones
Vice President, Federal Civilian Market Segment Leader
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION - GOVERNMENT

Victoria Chung
Head, Simulation Development and Analysis Branch
Research Services Directorate
NASA Langley Research Center

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION – INDUSTRY

Evelyn "Elven" Chern, Ph.D.
Lead Principal-Technical Architect
AT&T

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION – INDUSTRY

Sophia Shiue
Business Process Manager
Information and Communication Technology Product Design, Development, and Product Planning
FCA US LLC

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION – INDUSTRY

Regina Sullivan, Ph.D.
Aeronautical Engineer, Sr.
Lockheed Martin Corporation

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

Paula Noble
Vice President, Human Resources Corporate & Shared Services Group
The Boeing Company

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT - GOVERNMENT

Kelly Oberia Elmore, MD, MBA
CDR, MC, USN
Director, Healthcare Business
US Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT - GOVERNMENT

Dr. Juanita Harris
Director, Weapons Development & Integration Directorate
Department of the Army Senior Executive Service (SES)

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT - INDUSTRY

Melissa E. Morrison-Ellis, PMP
Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated
Netter Sensor System (JLENS) Deputy Program Manager
Raytheon Company

K-12 PROMOTION OF EDUCATION

Alicia Morgan
Program Leader and Advisory Board Chairperson
Heart House Dallas and Bryan Adams High School
Academies of Engineering and Biomedical Sciences

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Courtney Lee Mason
Student
United States Naval Academy

TECHNICAL INNOVATION – GOVERNMENT

Sharon Robinson-Keith
Mission Systems Lead Engineer
F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office

TECHNICAL INNOVATION – INDUSTRY

Evelyn R. Anderson, CISM®, CGEIT®, CRISC™
Senior Technical Staff Member
Global Technology Services
Global Risk and Compliance Management
IBM Corporation

TECHNICAL INNOVATION – INDUSTRY

Phyllis Spence
Engineering Fellow
Raytheon Company

VISIONARY AWARD

Pat Walker Locke
President
Seeds of Humanity Foundation, Inc.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Monica Brown
Director, Enterprise IT Delivery Management
T-Mobile

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Anudeep Cheema
Supervisor, Information Communication and Technology (ICT)
MOPAR Warranty Systems
FCA US LLC

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Courtney H. Coulter
Lead Electronics Engineer
U.S. Army Communications – Electronics Research,
Development and Engineering Center

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Camille R. Daniel
Project Manager, Lead Analyst, Asst. Group Supervisor
Force Projection Sector
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Ming Hu
Director, Technology
AT&T

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Arundhati Desai
Project Manager
FCA US LLC

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Andrea Jemison-Smith
Manager - Torque and Core Technology
General Assembly Manufacturing Engineering
FCA US LLC

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Valarie W. Mackey
IT Director
The Coca-Cola Company

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Shava Meadows
Systems Engineer
Air Force Research Laboratory

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Amy Nguyen
Computer Scientist/Project Lead Duke V2/V3
United States Army

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Jennifer Stringfellow
Lead Data Manager, Test Engineer
Missile Defense Agency

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Alana Tyler Murphy
Senior Manager - Systems Engineering
Raytheon Company

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Elaine Ward (WOC 2015)
Technical Director, Enterprise Strategy & Transformation Technical Center
The MITRE Corporation

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Tabice Ward
Director - Information Protection & Security
DTE Energy

Introduced in 1987, the Women of Color STEM Employee Recognition program is designed to create a network of role models who can serve as inspiration to others, and promote better access of women and ethnic minority groups to STEM careers by showing them what it takes to get hired, and to keep moving upward in their organizations.

The Women of Color STEM Conference is attended by industry professionals, recruiters, speakers, and trainers, along with rising seniors and students seeking encouragement and guidance. Seminar topics focus on technical innovation, career training, professional development, managerial leadership, and diversity and inclusion.

Since its 1996 origin in the nation's capital, the conference has been paving the way for the advancement of women in traditionally underrepresented science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

The conference is sponsored by General Motors and co-hosted by Consumers Energy and Career Communications Group's Women of Color magazine. The Women of Color STEM Conference will host its 21st Anniversary at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center COBO Center in Detroit, Michigan from October 13-15.

For more information, visit http://intouch.ccgmag.com

About Women of Color Magazine
Women of Color Magazine is published by Career Communications Group (CCG), the leader in celebrating diversity and promoting equal opportunity for minorities and women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). CCG provides leadership in talent management and career development, enabling employers to recruit, retain, and recognize highly qualified employees.