In celebration of Iberoamerican Heritage Month 2024, also known as Hispanic Heritage Month, ACM hosted a panel focused on language inclusion in the computer science field. Organized by ACM DEI Council member, Cristiano Maciel, the discussion panel, “Language as Inclusion of Exclusion: Can Artificial Intelligence Make a Difference?” explored ways to reduce language barriers in computer science and how AI can address these disparities in underrepresented languages. Moderated by Indira Guzman, the panel featured Franci Suni, Vinicius Pereira, and Nayat Sanchez-Pi. 

In celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Heritage Awareness Month, ACM DEI Council member Timothy Pinkston has organized a panel, "Preserving Cultural Data and Language Sovereignty While Also Benefiting from Emerging Technologies in the AI Era: Challenges and Opportunities,"  featuring indigenous researchers from multiple countries. Moderated by Cynthia (Star Horse Woman) Lindquist, the panel includes Elmer J. Guy, Te Taka Keegan, Ian Her Many Horses, and Sean Chandler. The panel is scheduled to occur via Zoom on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 5 pm ET (10 pm UTC) . 

The 2025 ACM ASEAN School on High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence will take place 10 - 15 March, 2025 in Singapore, co-located with Supercomputing Asia 2025. The National Supercomputing Center Singapore (NSCC) will host the school. The school is designed for recent postdocs and PhD students in computer science and related fields and is open to outstanding MSc students. Deadline for applications is 15 November 2024, end-of-day AoE.

ACM A.M. Turing Laureate and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin E. Allen Emerson passed away on October 15, 2024. He received the Turing Award together with Edmund Clarke and Joseph Sifakis for their role in developing model-checking into a highly effective verification technology that was widely adopted in the hardware and software industries. This method provides an algorithmic means of verifying whether or not an abstract model representing a system or design, satisfies a formal specification expressed in temporal logic. Emerson also received the ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award for his part in the invention of symbolic model checking.

ACM Fellows Yolanda Gil and Juan Gilbert have been appointed by President Joe Biden as Members of the National Science Board. Gil is Principal Scientist and Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California. Gilbert is Recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and Andrew Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Professor, UF Distinguished Professor & Department Chair at the University of Florida.

ACM A.M. Turing Award recipient Geoffrey Hinton has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics along with John J. Hopfield "for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks." Hopfield created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data. Hinton invented a method that can autonomously find properties in data, and so perform tasks such as identifying specific elements in pictures. Hinton received the 2018 A.M. Turing Award with Yoshua Bengio and Yann LeCun for conceptual and engineering breakthroughs that have made deep neural networks a critical component of computing.

ACM Fellow Fei-Fei Li has been named as one of Fortune magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women. Li earned the nickname “godmother” of AI after inventing ImageNet, a large image database for training and testing models to visually detect and classify objects. Her startup World Labs builds “large world models,” which can interact with the three-dimensional world. While on temporary leave from Stanford University, she continues to oversee the school’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. In 2018, Li was named an ACM Fellow for contributions in building large knowledge bases for machine learning and visual understanding.

On September 14th, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi presented former ACM president and Verified Voting Board Chair Barbara Simons with an award for her decades of commitment to securing our elections at Verified Voting’s 20th anniversary celebration. Simons has served on the Board of Advisors of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission since 2008, and as a computer scientist who believes in the power of paper, she continues to champion secure, transparent elections.

ACM Member Nicola Dell has been named a 2024 MacArthur Fellow. She was cited for developing technology interventions to address the needs of overlooked populations, such as survivors of intimate partner violence. Dell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information Science at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech. She is also the Director of Technological Innovation for the Initiative on Home Care Work in the Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW) at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and the Steering Committee Chair of ACM COMPASS.

The 11th Heidelberg Laureate Forum brought together some of the brightest minds in mathematics and computer science for an unrestrained, interdisciplinary exchange. During the weeklong conference, young researchers and other participants had the opportunity to connect with scientific pioneers and learn how the laureates made it to the top of their fields, along with attending Laureate lectures and discussions plus various interactive program elements. The week featured talks, panels, and interactive sessions where some of the timeliest issues in mathematics and computer science were discussed. Highlights from this year's Forum are now available for viewing on the HLF YouTube page.

ACM has inaugurated the Luiz André Barroso Award to recognize researchers from historically underrepresented communities who have made fundamental contributions to computer science. It will be awarded annually, and the recipient will give a one-hour invited talk at a major ACM conference of their choice. The award carries a cash prize of $40,000 and includes travel expenses to the conference, plus an additional $10,000 cash contribution to an approved charity of the awardee’s choice. Financial support for the Luiz André Barroso Award is provided by Google. Nomination information for the award can be found here.

Each year, ACM recognizes technical and professional achievements within the computing and information technology community through its celebrated Awards Program, and welcomes nominations for candidates whose work exemplifies the best and most influential contributions to our community and society at large. ACM's award committees evaluate the contributions of candidates for various awards that span a spectrum of professional and technological accomplishments. When nominating, we ask people to consider ACM’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Nominations are due December 15, 2024, with the exception of the Doctoral Dissertation Award which is due October 31.

ACM's US Technology Policy Committee has released a “Statement on Mass Cybersecurity Incidents Likely to Recur.” On July 18, 2024, CrowdStrike, a US-based cybersecurity technology company, released a sensor configuration update which caused a global outage affecting an estimated 8.5 million computers. Several critical infrastructure sectors including airlines, 911 emergency systems, banks, government agencies, healthcare, and hospitals around the world were impacted. While CrowdStrike has provided some information as to how the accident happened, ACM USTPC urges that all the details be thoroughly and publicly investigated.

Ke Fan of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Daniel Nichols of the University of Maryland are the 2024 ACM-IEEE CS George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowship recipients.The George Michael Memorial Fellowship honors exceptional PhD students throughout the world whose research focus is high-performance computing (HPC) applications, networking, storage, or large-scale data analytics. The Fellowships will be formally presented at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC24) in November.

The ever-changing landscape of technology, the computing industry, and resulting societal impacts carry great potential for persons with disabilities. On July 10, 2024, ACM DEI Council hosted the panel, "Accessibility in Computing: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities." Panelists explored a range of topics about the current trends in accessibility in computing and how the industry is incorporating inclusive designs to meet diverse needs. Panelists discussed the gaps in accessibility that technology companies and others should address creating a more inclusive digital space.

ACM has relaunched Communications of the ACM (CACM) as a web-first publication, accessible to all without charge—including the entire backlog of CACM articles. First published in 1958, CACM is one of the most respected information technology magazines. The web-first model will allow ACM to publish articles more rapidly than before so that readers can keep abreast of the lightning-fast changes in the computing field. At the same time, researchers will be able to reference and cite valuable information and research from CACM articles more quickly. This marks another important milestone in ACM's ongoing transition to a fully open access publisher.

We are at the forefront of a technological revolution where generative AI is redefining the boundaries of what's possible within enterprise environments. What are the key challenges enterprises face when integrating generative AI into their existing software ecosystems? And how is generative AI changing the day-to-day work of developers and engineers? For the answers to these questions and more, you can now view "Generative AI in Enterprise Software" with host Bushra Anjum and a panel of experts representing diverse fields—Mamta Suri, Elaine Zhou, and Rebecca Sanchez—as they explore the current trends, challenges, and future prospects of integrating generative AI into enterprise software.

Over the years, computing has progressed remarkably thanks to the contributions of individuals from diverse backgrounds who have incorporated their unique experiences and perspectives into technological advancements. Yet despite these significant contributions, award recognition for individuals from diverse backgrounds remains underrepresented. In "Science Needs You: Mobilizing for Diversity in Award Recognition," co-authors Elizabeth Novoa-Monsalve, David Patterson, Stephanie Ludi, and Daniel E. Acuna offer insights on how to create a more inclusive and equitable system of award recognition within the scientific community.

ACM has joined with the IEEE Computer Society and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence to develop "Computer Science Curricula 2023” (CS2023). CS2023 provides a comprehensive guide outlining the knowledge and competencies students should attain for degrees in computer science and related disciplines at the undergraduate level. Establishing uniform curricular guidelines for computer science disciplines is essential to the ongoing vitality of the field and the future success of those who study it.

In a major step in its transition to fully Open Access (OA) publication of all content on the ACM Digital Library, ACM will transition the International Conference Proceedings Series (ICPS) to a fully OA publishing model from January 2024. In the new model, all ICPS papers will be made OA upon publication, and existing ICPS papers will be converted to OA. Some authors who are not at ACM Open institutions will be required to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs). The model will apply to all conferences for which the Call for Papers will be issued on or after January 1, 2024.

ACM has created a new Skills Bundle add-on providing unlimited access to ACM's collection of thousands of online books, courses, and training videos from O'Reilly, Skillsoft Percipio, and Pluralsight. ACM’s collection includes more than 60,000 online books and video courses from O’Reilly, 9,700 online courses and 11,000 eBooks and audiobooks from Skillsoft, and 2,000 courses from Pluralsight.

The new Skills Bundle add-on is available to paid Professional Members only. Visit the ACM subscription page or contact Member Services to add the Skills Bundle to your membership.

ACM and IMS (Institute of Mathematical Statistics) have announced the publication of the first issues of the ACM/IMS Journal of Data Science (JDS), a new peer-reviewed publication. The scope of the journal is multi-disciplinary and broad, spanning statistics, machine learning, computer systems, and the societal implications of data science. JDS accepts original papers as well as novel surveys that summarize and organize critical subject areas. The ACM/IMS Journal of Data Science is a Gold Open Access publication, permanently and freely available online for anyone, anywhere to read.

ACM publications had an impressive showing in the newest Journal Citation Reports from Clarivate Analytics. ACM Computing Surveys continued its impressive ascent, receiving an impact factor of 23.8, up from 16.6 in 2023, and placing it first out of the 143 journals in the Computer Science, Theory & Methods category. Communications of the ACM boasted continued strong performance, with an impact factor of 11.1, placing it first in the Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture category for the second year in a row; third of 131 titles in the Computer Science, Software Engineering category; and sixth of 143 journals in the Computer Science, Theory & Methods category.

ACM has made the decision to cease print publication for ACM’s journals and transactions as of January 2024. There were several motivations for this change: ACM wants to be as environmentally friendly as possible; print journals lack the new features and functionality of the electronic versions in the ACM Digital Library; and print subscriptions, which have been declining for years, have now reached a level where the time was right to sunset print. Please contact [email protected] should you have any questions.

ACM TechBriefs is a series of short technical bulletins by ACM’s Technology Policy Council that present scientifically-grounded perspectives on the impact of specific developments or applications of technology. Designed to complement ACM’s activities in the policy arena, the primary goal is to inform rather than advocate for specific policies. The new edition concerns the proliferation of data collection, advanced algorithms, and powerful computers which have made it easy to piece together information about individuals’ private lives from public information—even as controls over information privacy become increasingly ineffective.

Once considered science fiction, autonomous weapons systems long ago left the drawing board for the battlefield. Employed in conflicts today, such systems remain controversial and are ungoverned by any broad binding international agreement. The ACM US Technology Policy Committee hosted the HotTopics webinar: "Death by Algorithm: The Use, Control, and Legality of Lethal and Other Autonomous Weapons Systems" with Larry Medsker (Moderator), Ronald C. Arkin, Gary Corn, Jack Shanahan, and Jody Westby discussing this timely and critical subject.

In response to major advances in generative AI technologies—as well as the significant questions these technologies pose in areas including intellectual property, the future of work, and even human safety—ACM's global Technology Policy Council (TPC) has issued "Principles for the Development, Deployment, and Use of Generative AI Technologies." Drawing on the deep technical expertise of computer scientists in the United States and Europe, the TPC statement outlines eight principles intended to foster fair, accurate, and beneficial decision-making concerning generative and all other AI technologies.

Meenakshi D’ Souza is a Professor at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Bangalore, India. Her research interests include formal methods, software testing, model-based development, and automata theory, as well as design and architectures for embedded software. She was elected President of the ACM India Council for a term that runs from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2026. In her interview, she discusses working towards gender diversity in computing, improving software estimation models, her goals as President of the ACM India Council, and more.

ACM has opened the articles published during the first 50 years of its publishing program, from 1951 through the end of 2000, These articles are now open and freely available to view and download via the ACM Digital Library. ACM’s first 50 years backfile contains more than 117,500 articles on a wide range of computing topics. In addition to articles published between 1951 and 2000, ACM has also opened related and supplemental materials including data sets, software, slides, audio recordings, and videos.

Luciano Baresi is a Professor at Politecnico di Milano. He has published papers in a variety of topics in software engineering. Earlier in his career, he worked in formal approaches for modeling and specification languages, Unified Modeling Language (UML), and the design of web applications. Currently, he is interested in distributed systems, service-based applications, and the different aspects of mobile, self-adaptive, and pervasive software systems. In his interview, he discusses the constraints of cloud infrastructure, the need for software engineering to keep pace with mobile computing, why ACM PACMSE is needed, and more.

ACM ByteCast is ACM's series of podcast interviews with researchers, practitioners, and innovators who are at the intersection of computing research and practice. In this episode of ACM ByteCast, Rashmi Mohan hosts Nashlie Sephus, Principal Tech Evangelist for Amazon AI focusing on fairness and identifying biases at AWS AI. Here, Sephus describes her early love for mathematics and music, shares a personal experience that deeply influenced her work in AI, discusses the importance of building diverse teams to practicing responsible AI and building sound products, and more.

In celebration of Pride Month, ACM hosted a panel discussion centered around technological advances and its importance in connecting LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide. Queer users have utilized virtual reality and social media platforms to create a safe environment for community gathering and authentic self-expression. “Virtual Realities: How Tech Can Empower the LGBTQ+ Community,” featured panelists Andreea Danielescu, Sharone Horowit-Hendler, and Michael Ann Devito with Guo Freeman as the moderator. Panelists shared their research on how LGBTQ+ identities and technology intersect.

ACM is deeply committed to fostering a scientific community that both supports and benefits from the talents of community members from a wide range of backgrounds. To this end, ACM has adopted new demographic questions developed by ACM’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council to understand current levels of participation and to gauge our success at advancing DEI. It is mandated that they be used throughout ACM for all activities, and responses will be required from all ACM authors, reviewers, conference attendees, volunteers, and members. Please take the time to fill out your questionnaire today.

The ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility explores the design, evaluation, and use of computing and information technologies to benefit people with disabilities and older adults. Workshops include "The Future of Urban Accessibility: The Role of AI," "Teaching Accessibility in Different Disciplines: Topics, Approaches, Resources, Challenges," "Challenges and Considerations for Accessibility Research Across Cultures and Regions," "accessFinTech: Designing Accessible Financial Technology," and more. Keynote speaker will be Chieko Asakawa (IBM). The event will be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The ACM Multimedia Conference is the worldwide premier conference and a key world event to display scientific achievements and innovative industrial products in the multimedia field. The conference will offer an extensive program of sessions, presentations, tutorials, panels, exhibits, demonstrations, and workshops including: "Human-centric Multimedia Analysis," "Multimedia Content Analysis in Sports," "Multimodal and Responsible Affective Computing," and more. Keynote speakers are Pascale Fung (Hong Kong University of Science & Technology), Judy Kay (University of Sydney), Jiebo Luo (University of Rochester) and Benoit Huet (Median Technologies). The event will be held in Melbourne, Australia.

The ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems provides a forum for original research contributions covering all conceptual, design, and implementation aspects of geospatial data ranging from applications, user interfaces, and visualization to data storage and query processing and indexing. Workshops include "Analytics for Big Geospatial Data," "Geocomputational Analysis of Socio-Economic Data," "AI for Geographic Knowledge Discovery," "Geo-Privacy and Data Utility for Smart Societies," and many more. The event is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

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