Jennifer Widom

Jennifer Widom, born in 1960/1961, has shaped the landscape of computer science through her groundbreaking work in database systems and data management. As the Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of Stanford's School of Engineering since 2017, she brings a unique blend of musical training and technical expertise, having earned her BS in trumpet performance before pursuing computer science. Her career trajectory includes significant research at IBM Almaden Research Center before joining Stanford in 1993, where she has served in various leadership roles including Computer Science Department Chair and Senior Associate Dean. Widom's contributions to semi-structured data management and database systems have earned her numerous accolades, including ACM Fellowship, membership in the National Academy of Engineering, and the prestigious ACM SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award. She pioneered one of Stanford's first MOOCs in 2011, reaching over 100,000 students worldwide, and has co-authored four influential database textbooks. Beyond her academic achievements, she maintains strong family ties in academia - her father Harold Widom is a mathematician, and she is married to Alex Aiken, former chair of Stanford's computer science department, with whom she has two children