Abstract

From life as a Cambridge PhD (crystal physics) student, Beth Hutchison found that she enjoyed computing far more than the physics, and so spent the next eight years working in a variety of IT companies, managing to include a career break spending two glorious summers on a yacht, cruising the Mediterranean’’, before joining IBM .

At IBM ’s UK Software Development Lab at Hursley, Winchester, Beth’s career spiralled to the level of Distinguished Engineer. She was lead architect for IBM ’s Java Virtual Machine, working with Java during its emergence as a vital component of the web technology we all now take for granted and she is currently pushing the boundaries of technology as lead architect in Web Services.

She balances work demands with a passion for sailing, flying (she qualified as a solo glider pilot in 1992) and golf, yet still makes time to be involved in initiatives to encourage women within the IT profession. Beth won the Women’s Engineering Society’s Karen Burt Award in 2001, for promoting the profession and continues to mentor software professionals, both within and outside IBM , encouraging them both in terms of their technical interests and their career development

Beth will talk informally about her career and how she got to be where she is today. Come along and find out what it’s like to work at IBM from one of its senior leaders and inventors.