Jason Cong Receives 2024 ACM Breakthrough Award
April 9, 2025
ACM has named Jason Cong, the holder of the Volgenau Chair for Engineering Excellence at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, is the recipient of the 2024 ACM Charles P. “Chuck” Thacker Breakthrough in Computing Award. Cong is recognized for fundamental contributions to the design and automation of field-programmable systems and customizable computing.
During his career in both academia and industry, Cong developed an extraordinary array of tools to automate integrated circuit design, mostly focused on tools for Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). FPGAs are special integrated circuits that can be programmed after they have been manufactured. The ability of FPGAs to change their functionality after manufacturing has made them part of the standard hardware in many applications including data centers, telecommunications, aerospace, defense, and automotive engineering.
“Field Programmable Gate Arrays and Electronic Design Automation Tools have been essential to the development of the computer chips that now power the world,” said ACM President Yannis Ioannidis. “Cong’s work in enabling integrated circuits to be programmed, or re-programmed, led to a new level of versatility, efficiency, and power for a wide range of applications. Like Chuck Thacker, Cong has also been an important mentor and champion in advancing his discipline. As a serial entrepreneur, he has successfully brought his innovations into the marketplace, and as an academic, he has produced 48 PhD students who have taken up leadership roles at companies and universities—ensuring that this work continues.”
The ACM Charles P. “Chuck” Thacker Breakthrough in Computing Award recognizes individuals or groups who have made surprising, disruptive, or leapfrog contributions to computing ideas or technologies. The award is accompanied by a $100,000 prize with financial support provided by Microsoft.
