2009 Women of Color Award Winners
RESEARCH LEADERSHIP RESEARCH LEADERSHIP
Donna Dillenberger
Yichun (Connie) Wang, PhD
Distinguished Engineer, Chief Architect IT
Research Manager, Science and
Optimization
Technology
IBM Corporation
Director, Corning Research Center Taiwan
BSc – math, New York University
Corning Incorporated
MSc – computer science, Columbia University
BSc – Zheijiang University, China
MSc – phytochemistry/biology, Michigan
State University
Donna Dillenberger has had a prolifi c
PhD – biological sciences, University of
Texas
career at IBM. Since she joined the technology giant in 1988,
she has played a major role in winning more than 25 patent
awards, which together have contributed to the top 5 percent
Connie Wang joined Corning as a research scientist in June
of IBM’s patent revenues.
2001. In a relatively short period, she gained recognition as an
Dillenberger was named an IBM Master Inventor in 2004, and
outstanding technical contributor and a talented project lead-
nominated into IBM’s Academy of Technology. Two years later
er. Since accepting the role of director at the Taiwan-based
she became a Distinguished Engineer, an honor requiring the
Corning Research Center in 2007, Dr. Wang has developed
approval of the IBM Corporate Technical Review Board. IBM
an extensive network of collaborative technical relationships
counts only 200 distinguished engineers among its 220,000
with laboratory centers, regional universities and government-
employees worldwide.
sponsored entities including the Taiwan National Science
Council. Corning’s technical presence in Asia has been widely
Dillenberger’s work continuously demonstrates research lead-
extended through her leadership.
ership through innovative technologies, as she helps advance
the state of the art in information technology infrastructure
Research led by Dr. Wang has sparked development of
design. As the technical leader of System z, IBM’s mainframe
products having a commercial impact in areas enabling new
server systems, Dillenberger co-led design of a new applica-
methods of DNA testing and drug discovery. Prior to her cur-
tion, electronic trade exchanges for mainframes. She also led
rent assignment, she led a variety of research projects in the
research engagement with Hoplon, a Brazilian online gaming
biochemical technologies research group. Dr. Wang started
company, to redesign Hoplon’s online gaming application for
the surfaces programs for species attachment and reaction
use on System z.
for DNA assays, and also developed—and took to market—a
reactive surface for oligo-nucleotide immobilization for micro-
As chief technology offi cer of IBM’s IT optimization and service
array applications. Later, she launched projects for inorganic
management unit, Dillenberger led an enterprisee team of
surfaces for cell growth, specifi cally bone-cell growth. The
researchers and developers to create solutions that virtualized
goal of the program is to cultivate cells with ‘in vivo’-like at-
and managed SAP, Oracle and General database workloads
tributes as close as possible to their natural state, so that drug
across IBM hardware. She also helped defi ne the view and
effi cacy can be accurately observed. That program is advanc-
architecture of IBM’s Data Center of the Future, announced
ing toward commercialization.
in November 2007.
Based on her leadership and broad-based technology capa-
At IBM’s Watson Research Center, Dillenbeger is responsible
bilities, she was selected to lead the evolutionary develop-
for working with IBM hardware, software and services divi-
ment at Corning Research Center Taiwan, located within the
sions to design and build products and services for data-
prestigious Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) at
center optimization.
Hsinchu.
Dillenberger has published extensively and lectured at MIT,
Dr. Wang has established strategic relationships with the ITRI
Renseallear, Stanford and the University of Florida. Currently,
president and his staff of senior directors, expanded Corning’s
she is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of
laboratories at the ITRI, added three new scientists to her staff,
Engineering, based in New York City. There, she was invited to
and created an innovation-opportunity portfolio ranging from
create and teach a graduate-level course based on her own re-
wireless technology for high-speed trains to new technologies
search. Advanced Computer Design focuses students on how
for advanced life sciences. With its large glass manufacturing
to design computers holistically, from hardware to hypervisors,
operations for the LCD TV industry in this country, Corning
operating systems, and compilers, including storage systems,
is the largest multi-national investor in Taiwan. The Corning
clusters and middleware. Dillenberger teaches the tradeoffs
Center is well aligned with Taiwan’s innovation priorities and
that can occur at each of these layers and the implications
corresponding funding for innovation programs.
that design decisions have on cost, performance, availability,
scalability and usability of the system as a whole.
Dr. Wang combines technical excellence with a high degree
of organizational skills. As the leader of the Corning global
Stories about Dillenberger’s work have appeared in The Econo-
diversity network advocacy and retention task force, she led
mist, IEEE and ACM publications, MIT’s Technology Review, In-
efforts to implement the objectives of diversity-employee
formationWeek, China Review and other printed and electronic
retention and drafted and published the Corning Diversity
media across the world.
Brochure.
42 WOMENOFCOLOR | FALL 2009
www.womenofcolor.net
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