It seems fitting that ICALEPCS 2019 has adopted the theme of Diversity, Inclusion and Education as it is held in Brooklyn, NY, a wonderfully vibrant community, reaping all the benefits of a population from many countries, backgrounds and cultures. As a community of control system developers working on very specialized scientific endeavors, we require great diversity in our technical solutions. To be successful, we employ many different types of hardware, firmware and software using a variety of methods and processes. As we meet to discuss the latest developments in our field, we have an opportunity to reflect on how people of different genders, gender identities, ethnicities, races, ages, abilities, religions and cultures bring a variety of life experiences and perspectives leading to better productivity and technical solutions. College graduation data shows us that student populations are becoming more diverse and the need for engineering graduates continues to exceed the supply, which means we must be competitive for these graduates and encourage qualified young people from a variety of backgrounds to study engineering and computer science. Engaging a diverse workforce, being truly inclusive and supporting the education of engineers is essential for the growth and success of our field.
In this spirit, ICALEPCS 2019 is committed to improving diversity and inclusion in our community by increasing awareness, providing equal opportunities to all who attend, respecting our differences and celebrating our diversity. The ICALEPCS series gives us a great platform to spread this message. We are pleased to have scheduled several keynote speakers from outside our community to share both their technical experience and their perspective with respect to diversity and inclusion. You can read more about all the keynote speakers later in the program booklet. We have also scheduled a panel discussion to examine approaches to breaking down barriers to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to have two of our keynote speakers, Florence Hudson and Allison Bishop on our panel along with Allan Casey, the NIF Computation Division Leader. I welcome each of you to ICALEPCS 2019 and encourage you to spend some time this week, amidst the backdrop of Brooklyn, to gain a greater understanding of the role you can play in your organization and our community to create and sustain a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
Karen White
IEC and ISAC Chair