Purdue University

Purdue University's Women in High-Performance Computing (WHPC) chapter is set to host a presentation by Ursula Papandrea on Friday, March 28th, at 10 a.m. Papandrea is a world-renowned competitor, coach, instructor, and leader in the sport of Weightlifting. Her presentation, titled “Surviving the Weightlifting Androcracy,” will focus on her challenges and triumphs as a woman in a traditionally male-centric sport. This will be a virtual event. Please join WHPC for this presentation via the following link: Teams Meeting Link. You may also register in advance, here: REGISTER

Ursula Papandrea has been continuously involved in Weightlifting since 1987. She has been successful at all levels of the sport—from athlete to coach to educational instructor and, ultimately, in the boardroom. As a key decision and policymaker, Papandrea has distinguished herself as the most well-known and successful woman leader in the sport, both nationally and internationally.

Weightlifting as a form of exercise and competition can be found as far back in historical records as the ancient Egyptians. The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), the current governing body for the sport, traces its origin back to 1905. But it wasn’t until 1987 that women were first allowed to compete in the World Championship for Weightlifting. Even then, women’s Weightlifting was not included in the Olympics until 2000. Unfortunately, for most of its history, weightlifting was reserved as a competition for men. Thankfully, much has changed in the past 40 years. Papandrea has witnessed, and indeed made significant contributions to, an explosion of growth in women’s Weightlifting since she began competing. An extensive list of her accomplishments and contributions are as follows:

As an elite international athlete:

• Two-time national champion
• Two-time Olympic Festival champion
• 5-time world team member
• 2x NACACI champion
• Former national record holder in both the snatch and the clean and jerk

As a coach:

• First woman USA Weightlifting Senior International Coach Level (2003)
• First woman head coach of a men’s team (2013) in USAW; head coach of men’s team USA national champions (2014)
• Coach to national and international champions, Olympians, World, and Pan-American team members (1994-2018)
• Inducted into the USAW Hall of Fame

As a coach educator:

• Instructor of USAW Level 1 & 2 Sports Performance courses (since 2009)
• CrossFit Olympic Lifting Certification Staff 2009-2015
• Certified instructor for IWF Level 1 & 2 courses
• Author and instructor of her own advanced-level coaching courses since 2010

As a leader nationally in USA Weightlifting:

• USAW Board of Directors 2009-2020, one of the first 2 women ever elected to the BOD
• USAW Board of Directors Chair and President, 2016-2020, the first woman in either position
• Currently USAW General Secretary (2022-current)

As a leader internationally:

• First woman elected to Vice President of the International Weightlifting Federation (2017-2020)
• First and only woman to serve as Interim President of the IWF (2020)
• First woman elected to First Vice President of the International Weightlifting Federation (2022-present)
• Awarded the IWF Golden Collar

Purdue WHPC is part of a broader engagement initiative by the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC) and is led by women staffers affiliated with the center. WHPC is a diverse community encompassing undergraduate, graduate, staff, and faculty men and women who are interested in exposing women to high-performance computing (HPC) and encouraging their pursuit of research and careers in HPC and other technology fields.

Within the WHPC initiative, RCAC extends partial travel assistance to undergraduate and graduate students, empowering their participation in various national conferences aligning with WHPC’s objectives. The WHPC travel scholarship sends students to numerous conferences each year, most recently including the Grace Hopper Celebration, Society of Women Engineers, and Supercomputing.

In addition to the scholarship program, Purdue WHPC organizes a range of activities, including regular meetings to discuss technical HPC-related issues of interest, opportunities to network with the WHPC community, a mentorship program, workshops, and exposure to external resources and opportunities.

For more information about Purdue WHPC and the March 28th event, contact whpc@purdue.edu.