The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), US, has announced the winners of five awards for innovations in computing technology who have made significant contributions that enable computer science to solve real world challenges.
These awards are said to reflect achievements in human-computer interaction, complex data structure applications, computer science education, geographic information science, computer simulation for biological research, and open-source software development tools. The 2011 ACM award winners, from internationally known research and academic institutions, include prominent computer scientists, educators and industry leaders. ACM will present these and other awards at the ACM Awards Banquet on June 16 in San Francisco.
The Grace Murray Hopper Award is given to the outstanding young computer professional of the year, selected on the basis of a single recent major technical or service contribution. This award is accompanied by a prize of $35,000. The candidate must have been 35 years of age or less at the time the qualifying contribution was made. Financial support for this award is provided by Google, Inc.
Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award honours specific theoretical accomplishments that have had a significant and demonstrable effect on the practice of computing. This award is accompanied by a prize of $10,000 and is endowed by contributions from the Kanellakis family, with additional financial support provided by ACM's Special Interest Groups on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT), Design Automation (SIGDA), Management of Data (SIGMOD), and Programming Languages (SIGPLAN), the ACM SIG Projects Fund, and individual contributions.
The Karl V. Karlstom Outstanding Educator Award is presented annually to an outstanding educator who is appointed to a recognised educational baccalaureate institution. The recipient is recognised for advancing new teaching methodologies; effecting new curriculum development or expansion in Computer Science and Engineering; or making a significant contribution to the educational mission of ACM. Those with 10 years or less teaching experience are given special consideration. A prize of $5,000 is supplied by Pearson Education.
The ACM/AAAI Allen Newell Award is presented to an individual selected for career contributions that have breadth within computer science, or that bridge computer science and other disciplines. This endowed award is accompanied by a prize of $10,000, and is supported by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and by individual contributions.
The Software System Award honours an institution or individual(s) recognised for developing a software system that has had a lasting influence, reflected in contributions to concepts, in commercial acceptance, or both. This award carries a prize of $35,000. Financial support for the award is provided by IBM.
