ACM MemberNet - August 30, 2007
Welcome to the August edition of ACM MemberNet, bringing you the world of ACM and beyond. Explore the many facets of ACM with our newsletter of member activities and events. Read MemberNet online at http://membernet.acm.org/
Read TechNews, ACM's digest of news and information for IT professionals published three times a week.
Published biweekly, ACM CareerNews provides summaries of articles on career-related topics in the computing field.
ACM Has a New Web Site!
Awards
- ACM Announces New Award Recognizing Contemporary Innovations
- ACM's Turing Award Prize Raised to $250,000
- Turing Award 2006 Lecture on Video
- Peter Denning Wins NSF Award
- Ron Rivest, 2002 Turing Winner and ACM Fellow, Wins Marconi Prize
- Call for ACM Advanced Member Level, Fellows, and Award Nominations
- ACM SIG Awards Recognize Achievements in Diverse Fields
Member Benefits - ACM Launches New Career & Job Center
- Online Books and Courses Offer Technical, Business Expertise
- ACM Adds Four New Offerings to Insurance Program
- Take Advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership Plan
Conferences and Events - Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing
- Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
- OOPSLA Conference on Object-Oriented Programming
- Reconfigurable Computing Papers Sought for Supercomputing Conference
Education - K-12 Alliance Formed to Halt Decline in Girls' Interest in Computing
- CSTA Launches Online Resource for Computer Science Teachers
- CC2001 Curriculum Interim Review Moves to Evaluation Phase
Student News - Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions Call for Submissions: CHI 08
- ACM-W Student Scholarships for Attendance at Research Conferences
- Student Volunteers Needed to Help Train High School CS Teachers
- Graduating Students Eligible for Special Transition Rate
Chapters News - Excellence Awards Recognize ACM Student Chapters from around the World
Publications News - ACM Queue Gets Scoop on Software Development from Guru Joel Spolsky
- ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage Call for Papers
- ACM Seeks Missing SIG Newsletters for Digital Library
ACM in the News - "The Tech Lab: Vint Cerf"
- "Attracting Women to IT"
- "How Close Is World War 3.0?"
- "Hollywood Blamed for Scientific Ignorance"
ACM Has a New Web Site!
ACM has launched its newly redesigned Web site. Please visit www.acm.org and let us know what you think!
Awards
ACM Announces New Award Recognizing Contemporary Innovations
ACM has announced the creation of a new annual award which will recognize young scientists and system developers whose contemporary innovations are having a dramatic impact on the computing field. The ACM - Infosys Foundation Award will carry a prize of $150,000, which is endowed by the Infosys Foundation. The Award Committee, chaired by Juris Hartmanis of Cornell University, will seek eligible candidates globally. The first recipient will be announced as part of the ACM Awards program in early 2008.
ACM's Turing Award Prize Raised to $250,000
Google Inc. will join Intel Corporation to increase the funding for the ACM A.M. Turing Award and raise its visibility as the premier recognition of innovations in computing. Widely known as the "Nobel Prize" of computing, the Turing Award recognizes individuals for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to the computing field. Intel has funded ACM's Turing Award since 2002. The combination of support from Intel and Google will enable ACM to increase the cash award to $250,000.
Turing Award 2006 Lecture on Video
ACM Turing Award winner Fran Allen says software is falling behind hardware capabilities. Watch the video of her Turing Award Lecture, which was delivered at the Federated Computing Research Conference (FCRC) in June.
Peter Denning Wins NSF Award
The National Science Foundation gave its first annual Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Distinguished Education Fellows awards in July to ACM Education Council member Peter Denning of the Naval Postgraduate School and Owen Astrachan of Duke University. Denning was recognized for his outstanding efforts to revitalize undergraduate computing education in the United States. As part of the fellowships, Denning and Astrachan will receive funding from NSF to continue their work over the next two years.
Ron Rivest, 2002 Turing Winner and ACM Fellow, Wins Marconi Prize
Ronald L. Rivest, who received the 2002 Turing Award, along with Adi Shamir and Leonard M. Adleman for their work in public-key cryptography, has been named the 2007 Marconi Fellow for his pioneering work in cryptography, computer and network security. The Marconi Society, named after Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of radio, each year recognizes advances in communications and information technology that are directed to the social, economic and cultural improvement of humanity. Rivest will receive the award and accompanying $100,000 prize at the annual Marconi Society Award Dinner on September 28.
Call for ACM Advanced Member Level, Fellows, and Award Nominations
ACM brings broad recognition to outstanding technical and professional achievements within the computing and information technology community. Each year our award committees evaluate the contributions of candidates spanning a spectrum of professional and technological accomplishments. We also recognize annually a class of ACM Fellows, our distinguished colleagues that ACM and its members look to for guidance and leadership. ACM also has advanced grade memberships of Distinguished Engineer/Scientist/Member and Senior Member.
Nominations by ACM members of those who deserve recognition for their contributions to the field of computing are welcomed. This is a great opportunity to recognize some of the many unsung heroes.
Fellows are outstanding ACM members with at least 5 years of continuous ACM Professional membership who are recognized for their technical, professional and leadership contributions that advance the objectives of ACM and the field as a whole. The deadline for nominations is September 9, 2007.
Senior Member recognizes ACM members with at least 10 years of professional experience and 5 years of continuous ACM Professional membership who have demonstrated performance and accomplishment that set them apart from their peers. Nominations are accepted on a quarterly basis. The next deadline for nominations is November 30, 2007.
The Distinguished Engineer/Scientist/Member designation recognizes ACM members with at least 15 years of professional experience and 5 years of continuous ACM Professional membership who have demonstrated significant accomplishments or made a significant impact on the computing field. The deadline for nominations is July 31, 2008.
The deadline for the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award is September 30, 2007.
The deadline for all other ACM awards is October 31, 2007.
Please refer to the ACM Awards page for:- award descriptions,
- lists containing the names of the previous ACM Award winners and their citations,
- nomination procedures for the 2007 awards, and
- contact information for the Chairs, and list of members, of the 2007 Award Committees.
ACM SIG Awards Recognize Achievements in Diverse Fields
ACM's Special Interest Groups (SIGs) regularly cite outstanding individuals for their contributions in more than 30 distinct technological fields. Some awards presented at recent conferences were:- SIGEVO Human Competitiveness Awards
- SIGGRAPH:
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- Steven A. Coons Award
- Significant New Researcher Award
- Computer Graphics Achievement Award
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- SIGIR Best Paper and Best Student Paper Awards
- SIGKDD Innovation Award
- SIGMOBILE MobiSys Best Paper Award
Member Benefits
ACM Launches New Career & Job Center
ACM is excited to announce its new Career & Job Center, featuring a highly targeted focus on job opportunities in the computing industry. ACM members can access a host of exclusive career-enhancing benefits, including:- Access to hundreds of corporate job postings not often seen on commercial sites
- Resume posting, allowing you to stay connected to the employment market
- An advanced Job Alert system notifying you of opportunities matching your criteria
- Live career advice available to assist you in resume development, creating cover letters, company research, negotiating an offer, and more
Online Books and Courses Offer Technical, Business Expertise
Just a reminder, as you are getting back to work or school after summer breaks or vacations: as an ACM member you have free access to 2,200 online technology and business courses available through SkillSoft. These courses range from Web development to database systems, from popular programming languages to project management. ACM Student and Professional members can also reference the 500 electronic books available from Books 24x7. And ACM Professional Members can benefit from the professional expertise found in the 600 titles offered by Safari Books Online. Visit the Online Books and Courses home page for more information.
ACM Adds Four New Offerings to Insurance Program
ACM is pleased to announce the addition of four new plans to the ACM Insurance Program. The new offerings are Group 10 or 20 Year Level Term Life Insurance, Long Term Care, and Group Dental Insurance. Visit the insurance page to learn more about these programs, and all of ACM’s Insurance Program plans.
Take Advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership Plan
ACM Professional Members can enjoy the convenience of making a single payment for their entire tenure as an ACM Member, and also be protected from future price increases by taking advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership option. Pricing for ACM Lifetime Membership is based on age and current dues rates, and the option to include the ACM Digital Library is also available. ACM Lifetime Membership dues may be tax deductible under certain circumstances (please consult with your tax advisor).
Conferences and Events
Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing
With the theme "Passion in Computing, Diversity in Innovation," Tapia 2007 will take place October 14 to 17 in Orlando, Florida. Held every other year, the conference features speakers including former ACM President Maria Klawe, panels, workshops, and technical sessions covering information security, intelligent systems, human-centered design, and computational math and science. The conference also includes the Doctoral Consortium, an ACM Student Research Competition, and a robotics competition. The conference will be co-located with the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC 2007). Special early bird registration for Tapia 2007 is available through September 7.
Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
The theme of GHC 2007 is "I Invent the Future." The mission of the conference is to support women in their academic and professional lives as they expand their roles in the computing field. Participants will attend workshops in social innovation, machine learning, and many other topics, in a collaborative and stimulating environment. GHC will again host an ACM Student Research Competition. Former ACM President Maria Klawe and Numenta Founder, CEO and Chair Donna Dubinsky are the scheduled keynote speakers. The conference will be co-located with the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing (Tapia 2007), and will take place October 17 to 20 in Orlando, Florida. Registration ends October 8.
OOPSLA Conference on Object-Oriented Programming
The ACM SIGPLAN Conference on Object-Oriented Programming, Languages, Systems and Applications (OOPSLA 2007) will take place October 21 to 25 in Montreal. Two Turing Award winners, Fred Brooks and John McCarthy, will be giving talks. Brooks will talk about collaboration and telecollaboration in design, and McCarthy will present Elephant 2000, a proposed programming language for writing and verifying programs that interact with people and programs belonging to other organizations. Second Life, maps, and developer perspectives on software are just a few of the topics to be covered in the sessions. Reduced registration rates are available until September 13.
Reconfigurable Computing Papers Sought for Supercomputing Conference
SC07, the International Conference for High Performance Computing Networking, Storage and Analysis taking place November 10 to 16 in Reno, Nevada, is seeking submissions of papers on high-performance reconfigurable computing (HPRC) and related topics. Submissions will be accepted through Sept. 15.
Education
K-12 Alliance Formed to Halt Decline in Girls' Interest in Computing
The National Center for Women & Information Technology has formed the NCWIT K-12 Alliance, composed of 19 organizations, including ACM and CSTA. The group's mission is to increase the number of girls interested in pursuing careers in computing fields. To accomplish this, the Alliance will work to improve the visibility of girls' involvement in computing and information technology; remove obstacles preventing female participation in the field; improve education at the K-12 level; and raise awareness that strong computer skills can lead to success in many other fields. Their first project is Gotta Have IT, a resource kit including posters, digital media, and other information on computing careers.
CSTA Launches Online Resource for Computer Science Teachers
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) has launched its Web repository, called CSTA Source, the largest collection of K-12 computer science teaching materials in the country. CSTA Source offers 100 resources in a searchable, downloadable collection, including lesson plans, learning modules, code segments, presentations, and even complete course descriptions. Educators can also access information about how to promote their computing courses. Chris Stephenson, executive director of CSTA, says that CSTA Source will be "a constantly evolving database of teaching materials," allowing CS instructors to incorporate well-researched and up-to-date material into their lessons. The web repository and all of its resources are open to viewing by anyone, but free full-text downloads are restricted to CSTA members. Faculty and interested corporate CSTA members are encouraged to contribute submissions to the collection. Membership in CSTA is free, and anyone can become a member.
CC2001 Curriculum Interim Review Moves to Evaluation Phase
The ACM Education Board has completed the first step in the Interim Review of the 2001 Computer Science Curriculum. Approximately 163 comments on various aspects of the curriculum were received from 68 professionals and academics on the CC2001 Web site. An in-depth discussion of the Computer Science volume was also held with 15 participants at a May meeting in Colorado, and this brought together representatives of the IEEE Computer Society as well as representatives from industry and the Two-Year College Education community. Additional valuable feedback has also been received from individuals. The Interim Review Task Force is now in the process of evaluating the diverse input, and will be producing a document for review by the computing community. Additional comments will be analyzed and integrated, and then a final document will be produced. It is envisioned that the curriculum will be an organic document, that will continue to evolve over time, once an appropriate mechanism has been put in place to allow comments to be continually collected via an ACM Web site. The Interim Review Task Force thanks all participants for their valuable comments and suggestions.
Student News
Upcoming ACM Student Research Competition Call for Submissions: CHI 08
ACM Student Research Competitions take place at ACM-sponsored conferences throughout the year. Students present their papers in poster sessions to compete for the Grand Finals prizes, and network with luminaries from academia and industry. CHI 08 is the next conference accepting submissions. The deadline is January 8, 2008.
ACM-W Student Scholarships for Attendance at Research Conferences
A program launched by ACM's Committee on Women in Computing (ACM-W) provides support for undergraduate or graduate women students in Computer Science programs who are interested in attending research conferences. It is not required that the student present a paper at the conference she attends. High school students will also be considered for conference support. Initially, up to 12 scholarships of up to $500 each will be awarded annually. ACM-W also encourages the student's home department to match the scholarship award and recognize the student's achievement locally within her department. Applications will be evaluated in four groups each year, in order to distribute awards across a range of conferences, with two to three awards given each quarter. For application form, notification dates and more information, please visit the scholarships page.
Student Volunteers Needed to Help Teach High School CS Teachers
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) is seeking Computer Science college students proficient in Java and other new programming languages and environments to train high school CS teachers in these technologies. Java Engagement for Teacher Training (JETT) and Teacher Enrichment in Computer Science (TECS) are one- and two-day workshops for high school teachers, hosted by college and university CS students and faculty. Hosting a JETT or TECS workshop is a great volunteer experience for individual student ACM members, as well as student chapters. For more information please contact Gail Chapman, the JETT and TECS workshop coordinator.
Graduating Students Eligible for Special Transition Rate
ACM offers a special ACM Professional Membership for $49 USD (regularly $99) to help graduating students make the transition to professional careers, and take advantage of continuous learning opportunities, including free online books and courses and access to ACM's Career & Job Center. This one-year-only transition rate includes all the benefits of Professional Membership plus the option of purchasing a Digital Library subscription for $50. Recent graduates can access this special transition offer through ACM's convenient online renewal form, or by following the instructions on the paper renewal form.
Chapters News
Excellence Awards Recognize ACM Student Chapters from around the World
Each year ACM recognizes outstanding student chapters in five areas: Activities, Website, Recruitment, Community Service, and School Service. Chapters at universities in Portugal, the Philippines and India, as well as US universities in New York and Boston, MA were honored. Submissions to be considered for next year's awards are due May 15, 2008. For more information please see the Student Chapter Excellence Awards page.
Publications News
ACM Queue Gets Scoop on Software Development from Guru Joel Spolsky
Millions of people around the world read Joel Spolsky's weblog Joel on Software for his insightful commentary on software development and management. Also the founder of a successful software company, Fog Creek, Spolsky recently sat down with ACM Queue magazine at Fog Creek's Manhattan offices and discussed the benefits of developer-centered software houses and how evidence-based scheduling can help companies better plan their release dates. Read the interview.
ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage Call for Papers
ACM's new Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH) is seeking papers on the use of information and communications technology in support of Cultural Heritage, such as on-site and remotely sensed data collection; metadata, classification schema, ontologies and semantic processing; and intelligent tools for digital reconstruction. Visit the JOCCH Web site for more information.
ACM Seeks Missing SIG Newsletters for Digital Library
ACM is seeking to complete its Digital Library archive of Special Interest Group (SIG) newsletters. Please review the spreadsheet of missing SIG newsletter issues and, if you have any of the ones on the list, contact Craig Rodkin with your list and for shipping details. Be sure to let Craig know if you'd like the newsletters returned to you.
ACM in the News
"The Tech Lab: Vint Cerf"
BBC News, August 24, 2007
In an interview, Turing Award winner Vint Cerf says the Internet is on the cusp of becoming "the greatest communications platform humanity has ever known."
"Attracting Women to IT"
CIO Strategy Center, August 23, 2007
Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology President (and former ACM Secretary-Treasurer) Telle Whitney says media focus on IT outsourcing and negative perceptions of IT careers dampening women's interest in the field.
"How Close Is World War 3.0?"
Network World, August 22, 2007
USACM Chair Eugene Spafford says true cyberwar would be an attempt by a country to impose its will on another, and network attacks would probably function as a complement to physical assaults.
"Hollywood Blamed for Scientific Ignorance"
InformationWeek, August 15, 2007
ACM Education Board member Kevin Scott says movies are good for attracting young people to science and technology, and that US universities are doing a pretty good job of preparing candidates for IT workforce.
Read more ACM in the News.
Copyright © 2007, ACM, Inc.