Who We Are: Gilda Garreton

Principal Engineer, Oracle Labs/Oracle

Gilda Garretón is a principal engineer at Oracle Labs/Oracle and her main research focuses on VLSI CAD algorithms and parallel programming in Java. She is currently investigating alternative methods to multi-thread VLSI tools. During her PhD, Gilda researched on 2D/3D mesh generation algorithms suitable for device simulation. Gilda is an Open Source advocate and a Java/C++ developer.

She received her B.A. and Engineering degree with honors from the Catholic University of Chile (PUC) and her Ph.D. from the Swiss Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ). She joined Sun Microsystems Laboratories in 2004, an Oracle division as of February 2010. Previous to Oracle Labs, she worked as a consultant at the Catholic University of Chile and as IT analyst/project manager at UBS, a Swiss bank in Zurich and Stamford, CT.

Gilda is a co-founder and co-chair of Latinas in Computing, a grassroots organization whose mission to promote and develop Latinas in technology. In 2009, Gilda and Latinas in Computing were honored by Caminos Pathways and the City of San Francisco for their diversity work. In 2011, she was recognized as a HENAAC//Great Minds in STEM Luminary Honoree. Gilda has been a mentor at Sun Microsystems and MentorNet.

Gilda served as co-chair for the GHC PhD Forum Committee in 2011 and she is co-chairing the New Investigator forum in 2012. Since 2007, she has served as GHC Industrial advisory and scholarship board member multiple times.

During her free time, Gilda enjoys family time with her husband and two little boys, sports and volunteer work. She is the web master at her son’s primary school and a member of its technology committee.