Delia Grenville, a research scientist and technology strategist at Intel Corporation, was honored as Technologist of the Year at the 20th annual Women of Color STEM Conference.

At the time of the award, Grenville was working as an architect specializing in strategy, innovation, platform engineering, and user experience design.

As a lead human factors engineer in Intel's Digital Home User Experience Group, Grenville was responsible for defining the usage and experience of consumer electronics products.

She developed digital content technologies that enable consumers to filter content streaming to their televisions and enhance their online content viewing experience.

Grenville has pioneered several programs for consumer electronic projects and is part of several teams that aim to foster innovation in the consumer experience.

Before joining Intel, she was a senior research scientist at Oracle, where she worked on small device interfaces and geospatial visualization technologies.

Grenville has also served as a program chair and reviewer for the Human Factors Engineering Society.

She is also the co-founder of an organization that aims to guide professional women toward executive and leadership positions.

When Grenville received the 2015 Technologist of the Year Award, she was thrilled by its impact on her career.

"The award opened up numerous career conversations within and outside my company," said Grenville. It provided me with access to executive-level connections and conversations I hadn't had before. Those conversations wouldn't have occurred as quickly when I was in middle management."

She received more opportunities as a speaker and panelist, as well as invitations to meetings and luncheons, and gained increased access to top executives at her company, Intel.

Grenville encourages individuals to regard feedback from outside sources as constructive criticism, adding, "Career management is essential for women, as we tend to be more focused on others. Often, our situations can filter our viewpoints, and the organizations we are in."

Grenville said her message to young people is simple: Focus on science in school, but pay attention to the importance of the Arts.

It's up to students to seize the opportunity to blend arts and sciences, enabling them to develop unique skills in inventing, designing, and creating future technologies.

"Believe you can," she said, adding that those individuals who possess the "unique combination" of artistic talent and technical and scientific skill must recognize that they have something unique to bring to the world.

Grenville, who earned a doctorate and master's degree in industrial and systems management from Virginia Tech, said it's vital for individuals advancing on the corporate ladder to be aware of how they are perceived within their companies and beyond.

Her undergraduate degree is in mechanical engineering from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.