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Diana Franklin joined the faculty in Winter 2008 and was voted by this year’s graduating seniors to be the Outstanding Faculty Member of 2010. She was hired as part of a department push to focus more on undergraduate education. She has worked with undergraduates and under-represented groups in various capacities, including faculty advisor for the newly-created WISH (Women in Software and Hardware) club, advisor for ACM tutoring, and in classes ranging from introductory programming through advanced computer architecture.

Diana is the director of the Center for Computing Education and Diversity, which brings together the department’s efforts in these areas. Dr. Franklin has a passion for interacting not only with UCSB undergraduates, but also to recruit future computer scientists. She is leading (with co-PIs Dr. Phillip Conrad and Dr. Gerardo Aldana) the NSF project “Animal Tlatoque,” a series of summer camps which integrate animals, conservation, Mayan culture, and computing, to provide a positive experience for middle school students. Franklin is honored to be chosen and hopes that she can continue positively impacting students for years to come.