Maria Klawe is Dean of Engineering and a professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. Prior to Princeton, Klawe spent fifteen years at the University of British Columbia (Dean of Science from 1998 to 2002, Vice-President of Student and Academic Services from 1995 to 1998, and Head of Computer Science from 1988 to 1995). Before UBC Klawe spent eight years with IBM Research in California, and two years at the University of Toronto. She received her PhD (1977) and BSc (1973) in Mathematics from the University of Alberta.

Klawe has made significant research contributions in several areas of mathematics and computer science including functional analysis, discrete mathematics, theoretical computer science, and the design and use of interactive-multimedia for mathematics education.  Her current research interests include data-structures and multi-modal applications for people with aphasia.

Klawe is Past President of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) in New York, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology in Palo Alto, and a Trustee of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics in Los Angeles and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley. She was one of the founders and is currently Chair of the Board of Silicon Chalk, a Vancouver-based company producing software to support interactive learning and collaboration in classes where each student has a wireless communicating laptop computer (www.siliconchalk.com).

Klawe was elected as a Fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery in 1995. Other awards include Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction Award in Science and Technology (1997), Wired Woman Pioneer (2001), Canadian New Media Educator of the Year (2001), BC Science Council Champion of the Year (2001), University of Alberta Distinguished Alumna (2003), Nico Habermann Award (2004), and honorary doctorates from Queen’s University (2004), the University of Waterloo (2003), and Ryerson University (2001).