Much has changed since the release of Star Trek, but computer science departments at universities across the country are still struggling to overcome certain stereotypes that discourage women from entering their programs.

In a study published last month and led by assistant psychology professor Sapna Cheryan, researchers set to address the differential between male and female students majoring in computer science.

“Women are making up about 50 percent of math majors now,” Cheryan said. “Why are they 50 percent of math majors and only 20 percent of computer science?”

As part of the study, students from the University of Chicago were asked to list objects they would expect to find in the office or room of a computer scientist. The most popular responses: junk food, video games, Star Trek posters and comic books. Dr. Cheryan then placed these items in classroom environments, unbeknownst to participants, as students filled out questionnaires.

“We’re looking at how people’s images of computer science affect whether they are interested in pursuing the field,” Cheryan said. “What we’ve found is that stereotypes can be conveyed simply through objects. You can walk into a room, see these objects, make a quick appraisal of the ambiance and decide whether or not you’d want to be in this room — or field.”

As these particular “geeky” items were added to classroom environments, women subjects participating in the study became less interested in computer science; when the objects were removed, women’s interest rose.

“If you create an environment that defies the stereotypes,” Cheryan said, “then women will say they are more interested in going into computer science.”

Yet, to members of the UW’s computer science department, this information provides little progress.

“The fact is that these stereotypes are not news, and the fact that they are off-putting is not news,” said Computer Science and Engineering professor Ed Lazowska. “I would really love research that points to intervention that we haven’t thought of yet – something that we and others in the field could do that would have an even greater impact.”

For Lazowska, the important thing to understand is that the images in the study are not a real reflection of computer science.

“What’s happened in our field is that the stereotypes are no longer accurate, but the perception still exists,” he said.

Cheryan’s study shows that the stereotypes – accurate or not – associated with computer science may correlate to the low number of women enrolled in the program; just 22 percent of computer science undergraduates are women.

“Sometimes, it is a little strange to realize I’m the only girl in the room,” said senior Justine Sherry.

As chair of the women’s chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery, she works to form a support network for women inside the computer science major.

For Sherry and other women majoring in computer science, the disconnect between stereotypes and reality are obvious. Rather than Star Trek posters and greasy-fingered gamers, UW students work to represent a new age of computer scientists.

“I would challenge any woman to go take a tour of these buildings and not think twice about doing computer science,” junior computer science major Emma Lynch said. “I think that this study really gives the wrong impression. I don’t feel geeky. I know how to interact with people. I don’t wear big glasses and have snot running down my face.”

As the study moves forward, Cheryan aims her focus on developing ways to overcome the common stereotypes.

“What people have in their head is a very exaggerated, probably inaccurate notion of what computer science is,” Cheryan said. “But, that’s what they have in their head.”

Lazowska and others in the computer science department eagerly await answers. Despite a new home for the department in UW’s Allen Center, continued contact with high-school teachers, as well as a host of other efforts to improve the department’s diversity, computer science remains heavily male-dominated.

“Each of us brings our own cultural baggage to everything we design,” Lazowska said. “If 30-year-old white guys design all of the computer programs, they are going to be best suited for 30-year-old white guys. A more diverse work force equals a better product.”

Reach reporter William Denman at news@dailyuw.com.