Dr. Silvia Figueira received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, and her Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego. Currently, she is the Regis and Dianne McKenna Professor and Chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Santa Clara University. Her current research focuses on technology for social impact and sustainable development. Her efforts have led to the creation of the Global Digital Transformation Clinic, through which she advises students working on mobile applications for low-resource communities and emerging markets. She has published over 80 papers and has established several collaborations with social enterprises and non-profit organizations in the United States and abroad.
Awards
Articles featuring her work
- Design for the Down & Out, Video, Winner of The Telly Award (Category: Non-Broadcast, General - Social Issues), 2019.
- Rose Academies And Santa Clara University Collaborate On App For Girls In Africa, The Silicon Valley Voice, January 2019.
- Empowering the Opressed with knowledge, ISSUU, Ananke, 2018.
- Want to reach the world's poorest? Design for dumb phones, Devex, March 2018.
- Design for the Down and Out, ASEE Prism, Dec 2017.
- Santa Clara University Hosts Hack for Humanity to Help Underserved Populations, The Valley Catholic, June 2016.
- Hack for Humanity Helps Underserved Populations, Voices of Hope, May 2016.
- Santa Clara University Hacks for Humanity at Third Annual Hackathon, MFRTECH, Feb 2016.
- Santa Clara U Students Code for Humanity, Campus Technology, Feb 2016.
- Santa Clara University Hacks for Humanity at Third Annual Hackathon, Business Wire, Feb 2016.
- Bay Area Proud, July 2015.
- Silicon Valley program provides smart phones to homeless, KTVU news, April 2015.
- Fighting Homelessness, One Smartphone at a Time, NY Times, April 2015.
- The Homeless Need Cell Phones Too, Voice of America, April 2015.
- Santa Clara U Hosts Second Hack for the Homeless Event, Campus Technology, Feb 2015.
- Hack for the Homeless at Santa Clara University Aims to Make Donated Phones More Useful, Business Wire, Feb 2015.
- Homeless App Results from California Universities Student Hackathon, American Entrepreneurship Today, Feb 2015.
Humanitarian Presence
- Engineering for Change - News and Insights, Contributing Editor
- IEEE SIGHT - Member since 2014
Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter, since 2018
- IEEE GHTC
Steering Committee, since 2016
Program Chair and Invited Speakers Chair in 2019
Technical Program Chair in 2018
Vice Chair and Invited Speakers Chair 2017
Invited Speakers Chair 2016
Author since 2013
- ACM DEV
Author in 2014-2016
- Speaker at the following events:
Frugal Innovations in Global Health Conference, speaker, "Affordable Technologies + Frugal Innovations = Impat on Global Health, March 2022.
International Women's Day 2021: Empowering Women as Global Leaders Panel, by United Nations Association - USA - East Bay Chapter, March 2021.
IFSFS 2020, IEEE PES Kerala Chapter, panel, Impact Assessments of Sustainable Humanitarian Projects, November 2020.
The Women in STEM, East Bay Colleges, panel, Women in STEM Panel - "Breaking Boundaries - Your Style," October 2020.
Rose Academies, panel, Empowering the Rural Poor with Healthcare Knowledge, May 2020.
IEEE SCV/SSIT Chapter, webinar, The Impact of Technology in Impoverished Areas, May 2020.
Xilinx, talk, Humanitarian Engineering Projects, October 2019.
IEEE SCV/SF/OEB TEMS Chapter, talk, Silicon Valley, National Instruments, March 2019
SocialSec, keynote, Silicon Valley, CA, 2018
GHTC, panel, San Jose, CA, 2018
ICSD, panel, Columbia University, New York, 2018
Afrobytes, panel, Paris, 2018
PAN-PBL, Project-Based Learning for the Next Generation, panel, California, 2018
1st IEEE RAS Humanitarian Technology Day, keynote, 2017
InnoFrugal, talk, Finland, 2017
UN Humanitarian ICT Forum, Mountaing View/Santa Clara, 2017
Humanitarian Frugal Innovation, Collaborate for Africa, San Francisco, Summer 2017
HumTech, talk, Boston, 2016
Mobile4Homeless, Continuing The Conversation, Palo Alto, Summer 2015
GHTC, panel, 2014
Social Innovation Workshop,
San Jose's Tech Museum of Innovation, 2014.
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