The American Association of University Women awarded an international fellowship to computer science student Temitope Olorunfemi, PhD, who is pursuing her postdoctoral in natural and physical sciences at the University of Oklahoma.
The fellowship is awarded to individuals because of their outstanding academic work and community projects that empower women and girls. Olorunfemi’s work focuses on women and girls in the rural areas of Southwestern Nigeria. She hopes to create an automated dialogue system designed in their local language, Yoruba, to be used to self-diagnose cervical cancer.
“Many women in rural Nigeria who speak the Yoruba language are very isolated due to poverty, physical distances, travel times, language and cultural barriers. If a smartphone app could be developed that would allow them to privately interact in their own native language, they could have a better idea of their risk for cervical cancer and could be encouraged and supported in seeking out appropriate healthcare,” said Olorunfemi, a native of Oyo State, Nigeria.
In 2012, Olorunfemi joined Women in Technology, a non-government organization that helped rural women in Nigeria use computer systems. That experience helped launch her career in the field of computer sciences, a field she estimates has only 20 female professors in Nigeria with a population of over 206 million.
Olorunfemi earned a master's degree and a PhD in computer science at Obafemi Awolowo University and a bachelor's in computer science from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, both in Nigeria.
When it came to choosing a computer science PhD program, Olorunfemi says she chose OU because its research groups cover all aspects of artificial intelligence and focuses on machine learning and multi-agent systems. Her research is under the direction of Dean Hougen, PhD, associate director of the OU School of Computer Science.
AAUW is one of the world’s oldest leading supporters of graduate women’s education. Since 1888, it has awarded more than $115 million in fellowships, grants and awards to 13,000 women from 150 countries. For the 2021–22 academic year, AAUW has awarded a total of an unprecedented $5 million through its fellowships and grants programs to 260 scholars as well as to community projects and programs that promote education and equity for women and girls.
“We’re proud to support the work of these outstanding scholars,” said Gloria Blackwell, AAUW's executive vice president and chief programs officer. “This year’s recipients are making valuable contributions in a wide range of fields, but with a common goal of improving life for all of us. We’re impressed by what these scholars are doing and excited about the great things they’ll accomplish throughout their research and careers.”
