Mingrui Zhang, professor of computer science at Winona State University, has received the Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT).

Recipients were selected for their outstanding mentorship, creation of high-quality research opportunities, recruitment of women and minority students, and efforts to encourage and advance undergraduate students in computing-related fields.

Though his department’s student body is only four percent female, Zhang actively recruits women to his research programs and seeks funding to support them. His students have received several awards for their scholarship and research, including the 2010 Microsoft Graduate Women Scholars Award.

NCWIT is a non-profit community of organizations working to increase women’s participation in computing and technology from K-12 through college education and from academic to corporate and entrepreneurial careers. Members of the NCWIT Academic Alliance work to increase the number of women graduating with computing and technology degrees, with access to leading-edge practices for recruiting and retaining women and a supportive peer community.

For more information, contact Zhang at 507-457-2980, or Jenny Slade of NCWIT at 303-735-660.