The 2005 Tapia Conference scholarships were established to encourage and support participation in the conference by people from groups that are underrepresented in computer science, mathematics, computational sciences and engineering. Scholarships to cover travel, hotel accommodations, meals, and conference registration, are being provided to assure the attendance of those who would otherwise be unable to attend and ensure diversity in conference attendance.

"Because the Tapia conference combines a technical program with a collegial and supportive atmosphere, it is an ideal opportunity for students and professionals just starting their careers to learn from each other and from experts," said conference Scholarship Chair Stephenie McLean. "These scholarships help ensure that those who could benefit most from such a conference but may not be able to afford it will still have an opportunity to participate."

Tapia 2005, the third in the series, will be held Oct. 19-22, 2005, in Albuquerque under the theme "A Diversity of Scholars - a Tapestry of Discovery." Tapia 2005 is co-sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society, in cooperation with the Computing Research Association.

The deadline for applying for scholarships is Friday, May 6. Detailed information about applying can be found at http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Conferences/Tapia2005/scholarships.html. Questions about the scholarship program should be sent to mclean@tacc.utexas.edu.

In awarding scholarships, preference will be given to students and mentors (from academia, industry or government) who present posters, papers, and panels at the conference. More information and deadlines for submissions can be found at http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Conferences/Tapia2005/cfp.html.

In addition, preference will be given to faculty teams who bring students. The determination of the awards will be based on need.

The Tapia conference series honors the significant contributions of Richard A. Tapia, a mathematician and professor in the Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is internationally known for his research in computational and mathematical sciences and is a national leader in education and outreach programs. Tapia has authored or co-authored two books and more than 80 mathematical research papers. His current positions at Rice are Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics; Associate Director of Graduate Studies, Office of Graduate Studies; and Director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education.

The Tapia conference series enjoys the support of a number of academic, research and business organizations, with Google the newest organization to sign on as a supporter. The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the Computer Science Department at UI Urbana-Champaign, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Sandia National Laboratories have previously committed support for Tapia 2005. For more information about the different levels of support and the associated benefits, go to: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Conferences/Tapia2005/benefits.html

For more information about the Tapia 2005 conference, visit the Web site at http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Conferences/Tapia2005/.