Alumni Notes

Profiles

Smart Partners

In the world of biotechnology, information technology has become the engine of experimental biology. So says Caroline Kovac '74, general manager of IBM's Life Sciences Solutions, who has the daunting task of developing IT solutions for science organizations to accelerate drug discovery and create new treatments for genetic-based diseases.

She was one of three women around the world to be inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame last June, which recognized her achievements in the field as well as her work in the advancement of women in technology. She speaks publicly about the need for the growing IT field to train "an overlooked-female-half of the population."

With a PhD in chemistry from the University of Southern California, Kovac has held a string of management positions since joining IBM in 1983, including vice president of technical strategy and division operations and head of IBM Research efforts in computational biology. Under her tenure, IBM Life Sciences has become one of the company's most successful new businesses, assisting in the Human Genome Project and other cutting-edge research efforts. She says that the blend of fields such as e-business, supercomputing, and data and storage management, as well as research and expertise in computational biology, is key for people studying and working in the life sciences.

-­Matt Vella '03

 


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