Blair Taylor, clinical associate professor of computer and information sciences, is on the Sun Magazine’s list of 50 Women to Watch. The list includes area women who have distinguished themselves as business executives, entrepreneurs, educators, legislators and in many other fields.
The magazine praised Taylor for emphasizing the importance of teaching TU cybersecurity students to write secure code at the outset of their studies. Her achievements also include directing SPLASH (Secure Programming Logic Aimed at Students in High School), a program that enables girls to earn college credit and prepares them for pursuing degrees in computer science or cybersecurity. The SPLASH project has been funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, the National Science Foundation and the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.
Taylor, who enrolled at John Hopkins University at 16 and later worked as a computer programmer, became an academic after discovering a love for teaching.
In 2012 she received a University System of Maryland Regents’ Faculty Award for teaching, the highest honor the board presents to USM faculty members.
