CSE professor earns Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

Award is nation’s highest award for science and mathematics teachers and mentors
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (1/16/2025) — The White House honored University of Minnesota Professor Maria Gini with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring on Jan. 15. Gini is one of only 25 individuals from across the country to receive the nation’s highest award for science and mathematics mentors, which highlights the vital role that America’s teachers and mentors play in shaping the next generation of technical leaders, including scientists, engineers, explorers and innovators.
Gini, a professor in the College of Science and Engineering's Department of Computer Science and Engineering since 1982, is a world-renowned researcher, educator and mentor in the field of computer science. She has been at the forefront of the field of robotics and multi-agent systems for multiple decades, and has served as a constant advocate for diversity within the University of Minnesota and beyond.
Gini is an advocate for the need for diversity in computing and has consistently recruited and retained students from underrepresented groups across the world to pursue a career in computing.
She serves as a mentor for the National Science Foundation’s CSGrad4US program and as the chair of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence’s diversity and inclusion committee. Gini runs a summer program at the University of Minnesota to teach high school girls computer programming, and mentors undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students at the University of Minnesota and at peer institutions.
Previously, she was named a Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor in 1987 and a College of Science & Engineering Distinguished Professor in 2008. She is also an IEEE Fellow, ACM Fellow, and received the University of Minnesota’s President’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2019.
Read the full University of Minnesota news release.