ACM MemberNet - April 29, 2008
Welcome to the April 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 General Election
- ACM Announces Slate of Candidates for Its 2008 General Election
Awards - AI Researcher Is First Recipient of New ACM-Infosys Foundation Award
- ACM-W Honors Cryptographic Researcher with Athena Lecturer Award
- Call for ACM Fellows and Advanced Member Level Nominations
- ACM SIG Awards Recognize Achievements in Diverse Fields
Member Benefits - ACM Member-Get-A-Member Drive
- ACM Adds Four New Offerings to Insurance Program
- Take Advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership Plan
Conferences and Events - Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy to Address Technology Policy Issues
- Intel CEO Justin Rattner to Speak at Design Automation Conference
- Pixar Animation Studios Co-Founder to Speak at SIGGRAPH 2008
- Russian, US Universities Claim Top Spots at ACM ICPC Programming Contest
- Tribute to Jim Gray, Computing Pioneer and Turing Award Winner
Public Policy - Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy to Address Technology Policy Issues
- USACM Tech Policy Blog: AP Computer Science Courses, and Concerns about Filtering
Chapters News - Distinguished Speaker Mateo Valero Visits ACM Chapters in India
- Education
-
- CSTA Launches Two K-12 Outreach Projects for Computer Science Educators
Student News - New Online Career Resources for Graduating Students and ACM Members
- Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions Call for Submissions
- 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
ACM-W News - ACM-W Honors Cryptographic Researcher with Athena Lecturer Award
- ACM-W Ambassador's Report: Memory of Anita Borg Inspires Turkish Chapter
Publications News - ACM Past President David Patterson Speaks on Changes for Communications of the ACM
- New Enhancement to Digital Library: Author Pages
- Understanding Computers College Textbook Includes Contributions from ACM Experts
- netWorker Digital Edition Debuts
- ACM Queue Explores Virtualization Beyond Server Consolidation
- ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage Call for Papers
ACM in the News - "Does Computing Add Up in the Classroom?"
- "Problem-Solvers of the World Unite in Banff"
- "Interview with Donald Knuth"
ACM General Election
ACM Announces Slate of Candidates for Its 2008 General Election
ACM Professional Members will have the option to vote either via the Internet or by paper ballot. Their unique PIN, sent from Election Services Company, will allow them to participate and will be included on both the email and paper copies of their ballots. The deadline for ballots is May 22, 12 Noon ET.
View the slate and read candidate biographies.
Awards
AI Researcher Is First Recipient of New ACM-Infosys Foundation Award
Daphne Koller, a professor at Stanford University, has been awarded the first-ever ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in Computing Sciences. Koller, 39, is being recognized for her innovative approach to artificial intelligence that allows computers to reason and learn about the world from real-world data. By combining the previously incompatible tools of logic and probability that characterize human cognition, she created a new field of learning that has transformed the way computers can process vast amounts of diverse, uncertain, and often-conflicting data to solve complex real-world problems. This new award, announced in August 2007, recognizes personal contributions by young scientists and system developers to a contemporary innovation that exemplifies the greatest recent achievements in the computing field. Financial support for the $150,000 award is provided by an endowment from the Infosys Foundation.
See Daphne Koller's award citation.
Read the press release.
ACM-W Honors Cryptographic Researcher with Athena Lecturer Award
ACM's Committee on Women in Computing (ACM-W) has named Shafi Goldwasser of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Weizmann Institute of Science as the 2008-2009 Athena Lecturer for her outstanding research contributions to cryptography, complexity theory, and number theory. Goldwasser is the co-inventor of zero-knowledge proofs, a key tool in the design of cryptographic protocols. Her work on interactive and zero-knowledge proofs provides the underpinnings for secure transmission of information over the Internet. The award, which celebrates women researchers who have made fundamental contributions to Computer Science, includes a $10,000 honorarium, which is provided by Google Inc. Read the press release.
Call for ACM Fellows and Advanced Member Level Nominations
ACM recognizes annually a class of ACM Fellows, our eminent 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.
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 May 31, 2008.
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.
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, 2008.
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 (or to be presented) at recent conferences:- SIGCHI: CHI Academy, Lifetime Achievement, Lifetime Service, Social Impact Awards
- SIGCSE Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education, Lifetime Service
- SIGMIS Magid Igbaria Outstanding Conference Paper of the Year Award
Member Benefits
ACM Member-Get-A-Member Drive
ACM's 2007/2008 Member-Get-A-Member Recruitment Drive is now in full swing, with new prizes, and an Apple iPhone grand prize! Current members are the ideal ambassadors to communicate the advantages of joining ACM to prospective members, and those who participate by telling friends and colleagues about ACM may be eligible for valuable gifts and special recognition. ACM's Online Member-Get-A-Member program is interactive, easy to use, and rewards members for helping to recruit new members. The drive ends June 30, 2008. For referral forms, recruitment tips and tools, prizes and rewards, and bonus gifts, visit the Member-Get-a-Member drive page.
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. ACM members living in the US are eligible. 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). Lifetime Members will receive a certificate of recognition suitable for framing, and enjoy all of the benefits of ACM Professional Membership.
Conferences and Events
Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy to Address Technology Policy Issues
Cenral to ACM's CFP 2008 conference are technology policy issues, which will be debated by leading academic, activist, and industry experts in sessions such as Presidential Technology Policy: Priorities for the Next Executive; New Challenges for Spyware Policy; Filtering Out Copyright Infringement: Possibilities, Practicalities, and Legalities; Network Neutrality: Beyond the Slogans; and The National Security State and the Next Adminstration. Among the workshops offered will be Activism and Education Using Social Networks. Tutorials include Maintaining Privacy While Accessing On-line Information; Constitutional Law in Cyberspace; A Short History of Privacy; and e-Deceptive Campaign Practices: Elections 2.0. According to Conference Chair Eddan Katz, engaging with emerging policy issues in technology standards and wiretapping, file-sharing and network neutrality, e-voting, and electronic medical records is important because "the direction of technology policy influences the choices me make about national defense, civil liberties during wartime, the future of American education, national healthcare, and other policy realms featured prominently in the election process." The conference will be held May 20 to 23 in New Haven, Connecticut. Early bird registration with discounted conference fees is available until May 2, 2008.
Intel CEO Justin Rattner to Speak at Design Automation Conference
The 45th Design Automation Conference (DAC), taking place June 8 to 13 in Anaheim, California, offers 36 technical sessions on chip design, power efficiency, multicore simulation, emerging nano/biotechnologies, and more. New related events are co-located MEMOCODE 2008 and NANOARCH2008, and an adjunct event, the Global STC (Semiconductor Test Consortium) Conference. Intel CTO Justin R. Rattner will give the opening keynote on "EDA for Digital, Programmable, Multi-Radios." ACM's Special Interest Group on Design Automation (SIGDA) is a sponsor of DAC, which will also feature eight special sessions, six full-day tutorials, seven panels, 20 pavilion panels on the exhibit floor, and six hands-on tutorials.
Pixar Animation Studios Co-Founder to Speak at SIGGRAPH 2008
Co-Founder of Pixar Animation Studios Ed Catmull will be one of the keynote speakers at SIGGRAPH 2008, the 35th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, being held August 11 to 15 in Los Angeles. Catmull helped build the RenderMan rendering software system used to create animated films such as "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo," and has received 44 of the last 47 Academy Award Visual Effects nominations. Also, SIGGRAPH is building on the success of last year's FJORG! International Animation Contest, in which 16 teams of 3D and 2D animators compete over 32 hours before a live audience to create animations for prizes and bragging rights. This year's competition will allow solo animators to qualify and will organize them into additional teams for a "Pot Luck" submissions category. A new "Vikings vs. Pirates" division will give students an opportunity to compete with professionals. Submissions are being accepted until until May 7.
Russian, US Universities Claim Top Spots at ACM ICPC Programming Contest
Of the top ten winners at the 2008 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) competing to be the best computer programmers in the world, four teams were from Russian universities, one was from Ukraine, and three were teams representing universities in North America, including Canada and the United States. First place went to St. Petersburg University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics (Russia), followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Izhevsk State Technical University (Russia), Lviv National University (Ukraine), and Moscow State University (Russia). Also among the top ten finishers were teams from Tsinghua University (China), Stanford University, University of Zagreb (Croatia), University of Waterloo (Canada), and Petrozavodsk State University (Russia). The international competition, now in its 32nd year, was held April 6 to 10 in Banff, Alberta, Canada, with 100 teams competing in the final round. Earlier rounds of the competition featured 6,700 teams representing 1,821 universities from 83 countries. The ACM ICPC is sponsored by IBM. The world champions and their coaches will be feted at ACM's Annual Awards Banquet on June 21 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
Read the press release.
Tribute to Jim Gray, Computing Pioneer and Turing Award Winner
ACM, the IEEE Computer Society, and University of California, Berkeley are joining to pay tribute to Jim Gray, missing at sea since January 28, 2007. Gray, who won the Turing Award in 1998, is best known for his seminal contributions to database and transaction processing research, which made possible such applications as the cash machine and databases like Google's. The tribute will be held May 31 at UC Berkeley. Speakers at the tribute will include UC Berkeley's Joe Hellerstein, University of Washington's Ed Lazowska, and Microsoft's Rich Rashid and David Vaskevitch. The general session will be followed by technical sessions. For more information, visit the Jim Gray Tribute home page.
Public Policy
Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy to Address Technology Policy Issues (see story under "Conferences and Events")
USACM Tech Policy Blog: AP Computer Science Courses, and Concerns about Filtering
In its technology policy blog, USACM, ACM's US Public Policy Committee, recently took the Washington Post to task for implying that all AP computer science courses are being eliminated. The College Board is eliminating the less popular AB course, not the A course.
Also this month, a letter was released by USACM to Senate and House of Representatives education leaders cautioning against legislation that would promote or require universities to use filters to deal with copyright infringement on their networks. "Our position is that filtering technologies are ineffective and costly in the long run because they can be foiled by technology, create new security vulnerabilities, and undermine fair use rights and research on new technologies." Read more about these and other issues in the USACM technology policy blog.
Chapters News
Distinguished Speaker Mateo Valero Visits ACM Chapters in India
Last month ACM Distinguished Speaker Mateo Valero, Director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, visited the ACM Student chapters at BITS Pilani and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. This was one of the first international tours undertaken as part of ACM's Distinguished Speakers Program. The two Indian ACM Student chapters invited Valero to speak at APOGEE 2008, the annual technical festival held BITS Pilani, which was attended by students from more than 30 universities throughout India. The actual attendance far exceeded the capacity of the 300-seat auditorium. Valero delivered two lectures on High Performance Computing. He addressed various aspects of supercomputing, multi-core architectures, the new super scalar processor, and the research being done in this field at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). In particular, he talked about Marenostrum, the fastest supercomputing machine in Europe, which has been developed and hosted at the BSC. Mateo is the director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the National Centre of Supercomputing in Spain, and is an ACM Fellow and the recipient of ACM's Eckert-Mauchley Award. His research topics are in the area of computer architecture, with a special emphasis on high performance computers. Although he is one of the most acclaimed figures in the world of computers, he has remained true to his roots. He is quick to remind that "no matter how high up you are in today's competitive world, you should never forget your ethics."
Education
CSTA Launches Two K-12 Outreach Projects for Computer Science Educators
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and SIGCSE, ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education, are joining forces for the first workshop for college and university faculty who are interested in reaching K-12 students via "road shows." The road shows, to be held across the country, will inform K-12 students of career opportunities in computing and engage them in activities that spark their interest in CS as a field of study. The workshop is part of a program initiated by CSTA to create a team of educational leaders who will share research, expertise, resources, and best practices. The workshop will be hosted by Google at their Mountain View campus May 29 and 30th. Pre-registration is required. For more information, contact CSTA Executive Director Chris Stephenson. Support for this event has been provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Through a two-year grant from NSF, the CSTA is also building a cadre of K-12 educational leaders who can effectively advocate for Computer Science education at the local, state, and national level. The group, known as the CSTA K-12 Leadership Cohort, will focus on establishing K-12 computer science as an essential academic discipline. A three-day workshop for selected teachers from July 8 to 10 will provide training in the leadership qualities needed for advocacy, and will develop a toolkit of advocacy materials for teachers to use as they help organize local and state chapters of CSTA. The aim is for chapters to become an information source about local and state issues affecting K-12 CS education, and to function as an active advocacy group. Through this framework, CSTA can provide more localized services and broaden membership. For more information, contact Gail Chapman.
Student News
New Online Career Resources for Graduating Students and ACM Members
An extensive list of online career resources, including selected career websites; resumes, cover letters, and interview tips; online professional networking sites; and more is now available to graduating students and all ACM members. Please visit the Online Resources for Graduating Students site to take advantage of this valuable resource.
Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions Call for Submissions
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. Hypertext 2008 is the next conference accepting submissions. The deadline is April 30, 2008. Learn about more competitions on the SRC submissions page.
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.
ACM-W News
ACM-W Honors Cryptographic Researcher with Athena Lecturer Award (see story under "Awards")
ACM-W Ambassador's Report: Memory of Anita Borg Inspires Turkish Chapter
Turkish ACM-W Ambassador Reyyan Ayfer recounts how she first became involved with ACM-W, and her personal correspondence with pioneer and women's advocate Anita Borg, which inspired the formation of the Bilkent Women in Computing ACM-W student chapter. Read about her experiences and her fascinating country in ACM-W's News Blog.
Publications News
ACM Past President David Patterson Speaks on Changes for Communications of the ACM
University of California, Berkeley professor and former ACM President David Patterson discusses the upcoming re-launch of Communications of the ACM in a video presentation. A great deal of thought and energy has gone into Communications of the ACM's redesign to make the publication more relevant, more vital, and more appealing to ACM members. All aspects of the publication were scrutinized: its content, its look, even its name. The result is the new CACM, which will debut with the July issue. An accompanying redesign of the CACM website is already under way. To learn more about the redesigned CACM magazine from the new Editor-in-Chief, Moshe Vardi, and view the video or read a transcript, visit the Feature page of ACM's site, or the CACM home page.
New Enhancement to Digital Library: Author Pages
For the first time, Author Profile pages are available in the Digital Library. They include authors' papers from the Guide to Computing Literature, citation and usage statistics, links to personal home pages, professional affiliations and colleagues, and more. Read the press release.
Understanding Computers College Textbook Includes Contributions from ACM Experts
Five ACM members have contributed expert insights to the 12th Edition of Deborah Morley's college textbook, Understanding Computers: Today & Tomorrow. The edition features Stuart Feldman, President of ACM and Vice President, Engineering, Google, as a Guest Expert for the Systems module. Also included are contributions from Kathleen Fisher of AT&T Research and SIGPLAN Chair; Chandra Krintz of UC Santa Barbara and SIGPLAN Vice Chair; Kevin Scott of AdMob and ACM's Executive Committee and Education Board; and Moshe Vardi of Rice University, the new Communications of the ACM Editor-in-Chief. Read excerpts here.
netWorker Digital Edition Debuts
With the March, 2008 issue, netWorker, the magazine for the ACM networking community, now has a digital edition. The digital format is an added benefit to subscribers, complementing the current print edition of the magazine and articles posted in the ACM Digital Library. It enables members to view a true digital representation of the entire print magazine from cover to cover in an easy-to-use digital format. netWorker is the newest addition to ACM's digital-format magazines, which include Communications of the ACM, interactions, and Crossroads.
ACM Queue Explores Virtualization Beyond Server Consolidation
In his latest article for ACM Queue, Amazon.com CTO Werner Vogels writes: "Virtualization's main application in the enterprise is still server consolidation. As effective as that is, we are likely to see a very different picture a number of years from now, where virtualization will be the key enabling technology for a series of strategic changes in IT." Learn more about these promising new applications for virtualization technology in "Beyond Server Consolidation".
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 in the News
"Does Computing Add Up in the Classroom?"
New York Times, April 1, 2008
Robert B. Schnabel, Chair of ACM's Education Policy Committee, says that "there is a real battle going on to determine the role that computing is going to play in K-12 education."
"Problem-Solvers of the World Unite in Banff"
Business Edge, April 18, 2008
Challenges at ACM ICPC International Collegiate Programming Contest ranged from trying to measure a city's skyline to trapping someone in underground tunnels.
"Interview with Donald Knuth"
InformIT, April 25, 2008
1974 Turing Award winner Donald Knuth discusses the success of open source, the problem with multicore architecture, the lack of interest in literate programming, the menace of reusable code, and an urban legend about winning a programming contest with a single compilation.
Read more ACM in the News.
Copyright © 2008, ACM, Inc.