Erin Donahue '09 Uses "Interdisciplinary Talent" to Succeed in Technology

April 23, 2010

April 23, 2010, Greencastle, Ind. — "Several years ago, Erin 'Ed' Donahue was goaded by her mom into taking a computer science class," notes an article. "At the time Donahue was a sophomore at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, preparing for a career in international business. Her mom would repeatedly mention that her cousin had taken the same course and wound up working at Microsoft, even though her degree was in biology. Finally, Donahue, a self-described math geek, thought why not and registered for the intro class."

The article describes how Donahue was captivated by the course and chose to become a computer science major.  Last year, she and Ashley Myers '10 were part of a team which was first runner-up in the U.S. competition for Microsoft's Imagine Cup (Myers is again a finalist this year), a feat which was noted in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Armed with a DePauw degree in computer science, the text notes, Donahue "helps track satellites as a software development engineer at Lockheed Martin." (at right: Myers and Donahue)

"I think one of the really big ways to get more people interested in technology is to talk about this interdisciplinary talent that computer science has," Donahue says.

Donahue, Myers and Malisa Vongskul, a student at Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) made up "Team MangoBunnies" at last year's Microsoft competition. They created a software application, called Computer-Assisted Medication Regimen Adherence (CAMRA), to assist HIV/AIDS patients who must undergo complex medication regimens. The software works like an alarm system: a patient can enter his or her medications -- which can number in the dozens -- on a schedule in his or her phone. When the time comes to take the medication, the phone rings or vibrates. It's a simple, yet effective solution to regimen adherence made possible by the ubiquity of mobile technology.

Donahue recalls, "As we were brainstorming ideas, we realized that the benefit of these projects was going to be more than just a grade at the end of the semester. It was really cool to work on something that was dynamic and could maybe make a difference."

Read the full story -- "More U.S. Students Needed in Tech" -- by clicking here.

Donahue and Myers were featured in a video which was played at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July.  Learn more in this previous article.

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