ACM MemberNet - September 26, 2013

Welcome to the September 2013 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 current and past issues of MemberNet online at http://membernet.acm.org. Is there a person, event, or issue you'd like to see covered? Please email mn-editor at acm.org.

September 26, 2013

TOP STORIES

Notice of SIG Elections to Extend Officers' Terms

Officers of permanent ACM Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are elected by plurality vote of the SIG members beginning July 1. At the end of the term, the SIG Governing Board may exercise an option at the request of the SIG officers to extend their term for a set number of years as set forth in the SIG's bylaws. In accordance with this policy, the SIG Governing Board voted to approve the request to extend the terms of office for the following SIGs: SIGMICRO and SIGSIM.

Elections will be held for either of these SIGs if a petition is brought forward by one percent (1%) of the members of the SIG. A petition to initiate an election must be received at ACM Headquarters: Patricia Ryan, Office of Policy and Administration, ACM, 2 Penn Plaza, Suite 701, New York, NY 10121 by November 1. Questions about the petition process should be directed to ACM's Chief Operating Officer, Pat Ryan (ryan_p at acm dot org).

ACM Turing Award Laureates Meet with Young Scientists at First Forum for Computing and Math Luminaries

More than 25 ACM A. M. Turing Award recipients gathered at the inaugural Heidelberg Laureate Forum September 22 to 27 to share information and insights with 200 young researchers from around the world. The Forum, in Heidelberg, Germany, joins recipients of the ACM Turing Award, the highest honor in computing and computer science, with winners of two prestigious awards in mathematics, the Abel Prize and the Fields Medal, to attract and inspire the next generation of innovators. The event, which will be annual, is aimed at creating an environment for personal communication among people dedicated to science, role models, and young researchers to bolster the number of students engaged in advancing technology in the digital age. The Forum was initiated by the Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS), a German foundation supporting the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science, and the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), and organized in collaboration with ACM, the International Mathematical Union, and the Norwegian Academy for Science and Letters. It is modeled after the annual meetings of Nobel laureates in Lindau, Germany.
Read blog posts from attendees.
Read the ACM press release.

Mary Jean Harrold, Teacher and Mentor in Software Field, Dies

Mary Jean Harrold, a computer science professor at Georgia Institute of Technology known for her teaching, mentoring and research in the software field, died September 19 after a battle with cancer. She was 66. Before joining Georgia Tech, she was on the faculty of Ohio State University and, earlier, the faculty of Clemson University. At Georgia Tech, she founded the Aristotle Research Group, which focuses on developing efficient techniques and tools to automate software system development, testing, and maintenance. Harrold's research on static analysis and testing of software is foundational. She was named an ACM Fellow in 2003 and an IEEE Fellow in 2011 for contributions to software systems. A 2007 Communications of the ACM article ranked her as the top software engineering researcher in the world. Her long record of service to the computing research community includes serving as a past Vice Chair and Secretary/Treasurer of ACM SIGSOFT, general chair of the 2008 SIGSOFT Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering, program cochair of the 2001 International Conference on Software Engineering, and program chair of the 2000 International Symposium on Software Testing and Analysis. She was also a fierce advocate for women and minorities in computing fields.
Read the IEEE-CS obituary.

AWARDS

USACM Chair Eugene Spafford Receives Two Cybersecurity Awards

Eugene Spafford, Chair of ACM's US Public Policy Council (USACM), has been named a recipient of two prestigious cybersecurity awards. Spafford, a computer science professor and executive director of Purdue's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) will be inducted into the National Cyber Security Hall of Fame in October. The Hall of Fame was created and is supported by companies and organizations committed to recognizing those who played a key role in the industry's creation. He will also receive the Harold F. Tipton Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the information security profession.
Read more in Purdue University's press release.

2012 Grace Hopper Award Co-recipient Dina Katabi Wins MacArthur Fellowship

Dina Katabi, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a co-recipient of ACM's 2012 Grace Murray Hopper Award, has been named one of 24 recipients of the 2013 MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the "genius grant." The fellowships, awarded annually, carry a five-year, $625,000 prize. Katabi works at the interface of computer science and electrical engineering to improve the speed, reliability and security of data exchange. The MacArthur Foundation cited her for her "ability to translate long-recognized theoretical advances into practical solutions that could be deployed in the real world. Through her numerous contributions, Katabi has become a leader in accelerating our capacity to communicate high volumes of information securely without restricting mobility." She developed XCP, an algorithm to ensure fair allocation of capacity among different flows that compete for the same Internet bandwidth. Her scheme is the first protocol to achieve both goals simultaneously without imposing excessive per-flow overhead on Internet routers.
Read the MIT press release.

Call for ACM Award Nominations

Each year, ACM recognizes technical and professional achievements within the computing and information technology community through its celebrated Awards Program. And annually, ACM's award committees evaluate the contributions of candidates for various awards that span a spectrum of professional and technological accomplishments. You and your colleagues are invited to nominate candidates for ACM awards, including:
Awards with November 30 nomination deadlines:

  • A.M. Turing Award
  • ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences
  • ACM/AAAI Allen Newell Award
  • Software System Award
  • Grace Murray Hopper Award
  • Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award
  • Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award
  • Distinguished Service Award
  • Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award

Other Award deadlines:

  • Doctoral Dissertation Award: October 31

Please take a moment to consider those individuals in your community who may be suitable for nomination. Refer to http://awards.acm.org/award_nominations.cfm for nomination guidelines and the complete listing of Award Subcommittee Chairs and Members.

MEMBER RECOGNITION

Call for ACM Senior Member Nominations

The Senior Member advanced grade of membership 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 deadline for nominations is December 3. Please read Advice to Those Seeking ACM Senior Members by Senior Member Committee Chair Susan Rodger on how to submit a strong nomination package.

SIG AWARDS

ACM SIG Awards Recognize Achievements in Diverse Fields

ACM's Special Interest Groups (SIGs) regularly cite outstanding individuals for their contributions in more than 35 distinct technological fields. Some awards presented (or to be presented) at recent conferences:

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

ASSETS 2013, October 21 to 23, Bellevue, Washington

The 15th ACM SIGACCESS International Conference on Computers and Accessibility explores the design, evaluation, and use of computing and information technologies to benefit people with disabilities and older adults. ASSETS is the premier forum for presenting innovative research on mainstream and specialized assistive technologies, accessible computing, and assistive applications of computer, network, and information technologies. Presentations will includde sessions on haptics, mobility and cognitive issues, aging, and assistive technologies for users with vision and hearing impairments. Posters, demos, and a doctoral consortium are also scheduled.

Multimedia 2013, October 21 to 25, Barcelona, Spain

The 21st ACM International Conference on Multimedia brings together multimedia experts and practitioners across academia and industry. In addition to the technical program, the conference features panels, demonstrations, and tutorials, plus a wide array of workshops focusing on new topics for investigation. The conference features special sessions on Brave New Ideas in Multimedia, a Multimedia Grand Challenge contest, a panel on Cross-Media Analysis and Mining and an Open Source Software Competition. It also includes a Doctoral Symposium for mentoring graduate students. A rich multimedia art exhibition will stimulate artists and researchers alike to meet and discover the frontiers of multimedia artistic communication. Scheduled keynote speakers are Elizabeth Churchill, Director of Human Computer Interaction at eBay Research Labs, and Leonidas J. Guibas, Paul Pigott Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. Guibas is an ACM and IEEE Fellow as well as a winner of the ACM/AAAI Allen Newell Award.

SPLASH 2013, October 26 to 31, Indianapolis, Indiana

The 4th Systems, Programming, Languages and Applications: Software for Humanity conference is the premier forum for software innovation, at the intersection of programming languages, programming, and software engineering. Since 2010, SPLASH has been the umbrella for both OOPSLA and Onward! events. This year SPLASH will also host the Dynamic Languages Symposium, the International Conference on Generative Programming and Component Engineering, and the Conference on Software Language Engineering. Scheduled keynote speakers are Kathryn S. McKinley of Microsoft Research; Greg Wilson of Mozilla Foundation, Canada; Molham Aref of LogicBlox; and Gilad Bracha of Google.

HILT 2013, November 10 to 14, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

ACM SIGAda's International Conference on High Integrity Language Technology will provide a forum for experts from academia/research, industry, and government to present the latest findings in designing, implementing, and using language technology for high-integrity software. The conference will feature keynote and invited presentations from leading experts in language technology and high-integrity systems. Keynote speakers are 2007 ACM A. M. Turing Award recipient Edmund M. Clarke; Microsoft Research Corporate VP and ACM Fellow Jeannette Wing; and John Goodenough, Fellow of both Carnegie-Mellon's Software Engineering Institute and ACM. Michael Whalen, Program Director at the University of Minnesota Software Engineering Center, is an invited speaker.

SC 2013, November 17 to 22, Denver, Colorado

For 25 years, the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis has served as the crossroads for the entire HPC community, from users and program managers to colleagues and vendors, and from government to private industry to academia. The technical program and exhibits will feature the latest developments in high-performance computing technology. Katherine Yelick, the 2013-2014 ACM-W Athena Lecturer, will deliver her Athena Lecture; noted anthropologist Intel Fellow and ACM Distinguished Speaker Genevieve Bell will keynote.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2013, November 19 to 22, Hong Kong

The 6th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia will present the most cutting edge graphical achievements across a range of fields, including hardware and software, film and game production, and research and education. The largest graphics event in Asia, SIGGRAPH Asia 2013 expects to attract 7,000 attendees from various industry sectors and more than 130 exhibitors from 50 countries around the world. The conference will include an Art Gallery with exceptional digital and technologically mediated art; a Computer Animation Festival; comprehensive instructional courses on contemporary topics in graphics and interactive techniques; and a showcase of Emerging Technologies such as interfaces, input devices, systems of engagement, and robotics with hands-on demonstrations. Other programs include the Symposium on Mobile Graphics and Interactive Applications.

Call for Submissions: First Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale (with SIGCSE 2014), March 4 to 5, 2014, Atlanta, Georgia

The First Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale conference will be held immediately prior to and collocated with SIGCSE 2014. The conference is intended to promote scientific exchange of interdisciplinary research at the intersection of the learning sciences and computer science. Inspired by the emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the accompanying huge shift in thinking about education, this conference was created by ACM as a new scholarly venue and key focal point for the review and presentation of the highest quality research on how learning and teaching can change and improve when done at scale.

"Learning at Scale" refers to new approaches for students to learn and for teachers to teach, when engaging large numbers of students, either in a face-to-face setting or remotely, whether synchronous or asynchronous, with the requirement that the techniques involve large numbers of students (where "large" is preferably thousands of students, but can also apply to hundreds in in-person settings). Topics include, but are not limited to: Usability Studies, Tools for Automated Feedback and Grading, Learning Analytics, Analysis of Log Data, Studies of Application of Existing Learning Theory, Investigation of Student Behavior and Correlation with Learning Outcomes, New Learning and Teaching Techniques at Scale. Submissions are welcome, with the first deadline on November 8. Please visit the website for details.

PUBLIC POLICY

USACM Submits Comments to FCC on Accessibility Waiver Request for E-Readers

Earlier this month, ACM's US Public Policy Council USACM submitted comments to the FCC on a request by the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers to exempt e-readers from the accessibility requirements under the advanced communication provisions of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA). Congress passed the CVAA to help ensure that people with disabilities are able to utilize the Internet-based communications technologies of the 21st century, including mobile devices and technologies. The law allows the FCC to waive the accessibility requirements for features, functions, or classes of equipment "designed primarily for purposes other than using advanced communications services" including interconnected VoIP services, non-interconnected VoIP services, electronic messaging services, and interoperable video conferencing services. USACM's public comment agrees with the Coalition's request, stating that e-readers designed primarily for reading meet the waiver eligibility criteria under the CVAA. However, it also outlined several caveats, such as cautioning against distinguishing e-readers from other classes of devices based on screen type, storage capacity, and processing speed.
Read more in USACM's Tech Policy blog.

MEMBER PROGRAMS

ACM Launches Preferred Employer Program for Corporate Memberships

The new ACM Preferred Employer program empowers companies to create a workplace culture that values innovation, self-improvement, and commitment to the broader society. Attract serious professionals with a wealth of resources unique to ACM that enable your technical staff to learn new skills, adapt to rapidly changing environments, and grow with the company. Become an ACM Preferred Employer, and your technical staff will enjoy the benefits of ACM Professional Membership and ACM Digital Library access at a preferred rate. Member benefits include Communications of the ACM, a trusted source of computing news; life-long learning tools in ACM's Learning Center; and discounts on registration to more than 175 international conferences. Visit the ACM Preferred Employer page to learn how to join.

Become an Ambassador for ACM—You Could Be a Grand Prize Winner!

The Ambassadors for ACM program rewards ACM members like you for encouraging new members to join. Your first-hand experience with ACM's valuable career development and continuous learning programs makes you a perfect envoy to share your ACM experiences with prospective members. Please consider becoming an Ambassador for ACM. The 2013–2014 Ambassadors for ACM program offers opportunities for you to earn new prizes, rewards and bonus gifts with each referral. The top ACM Ambassadors for August were Sanyam Grover, Roshan Gupta and Sarabjeet S. Waraich.

Submit the ACM Referral Form, and your referrals can join ACM at a special discount rate. Our members are our greatest asset. Your support of ACM is critical to our continuing efforts to advance computing as a science and a profession.

MentorNet Matches ACM Students, Professionals for One-on-One Mentoring

ACM partners with MentorNet to promote e-mentoring relationships between students (protégés) and professionals (mentors). MentorNet, founded in 1997, now boasts 30,000 mentor/protégé relationships that encourage and inspire students considering careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Professionals also benefit from the program, practicing skills and gaining insights into their own careers. Above all, they gain satisfaction from knowing that they're helping to diversify the global workforce in these fields. ACM members can participate in this program as protégés if they are undergraduates, graduates, post-doctoral students, or untenured faculty. ACM Professional Members with a college degree and at least two years of professional work experience in engineering, science, technology, mathematics, medicine or related disciplines can qualify as mentors. To learn more, visit MentorNet's site and the introductory ACM MentorNet page. Also check out the short videos for protégés and mentors that will walk you through the steps of creating a profile and connecting with others in the MentorNet community.

Auto and Home Insurance Benefit from Liberty Mutual

As a member of ACM, you could receive exclusive savings on your auto and home insurance. Plus, with Liberty Mutual, you get service and support when and where you need it. To learn more about Liberty Mutual insurance or get a free, no-obligation quote, call 1-800-524-9400 or visit www.LibertyMutual.com/acm.
Coverage underwritten and provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, 175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116.

LEARNING CENTER

Watch ACM Webcast with Johannes Ullrich: "The Security Impact of IPv6"

The latest in ACM's popular Learning Webinar series is now available for on-demand viewing. The Security Impact of IPv6, presented on September 25 by Johannes B. Ullrich, Dean of Research and a faculty member of the SANS Technology Institute, and moderated by Tom Limoncelli, an internationally recognized author, speaker, system administrator, and member of the ACM Case Study Committee, addresses security issues with IPv6.

ACM Learning Webinars are free with registration, available for streaming on all major mobile devices, and are recorded for on-demand viewing (registration required).

CAREER & JOB CENTER

Import Your LinkedIn Profile in ACM's Career & Job Center

Be sure to visit ACM's Career & Job Center to update your résumé or create a new one in the Résumé Bank. ACM members' résumés include an ACM logo on their entry, highlighting their ACM membership to employers.

Now available when posting a résumé in the Résumé Bank: import your LinkedIn profile. You will be required to sign in to your LinkedIn account. Please note that LinkedIn does not have exactly the same fields as ACM, so you will have to review the imported information and update where necessary. Once you have a résumé created and saved in our system, you can publish it to the Résumé Bank so that employers find you! Or keep it private and use it when applying online for jobs. Log in to ACM's Job Board and post your résumé today. You can also upgrade to a Preferred Résumé to keep it at the top of the Résumé Bank, highlighted with a star next to it for increased visibility ($25 for 90 days).

In addition, ACM offers CareerNews, which provides summaries of articles on career-related topics of interest to students and professionals in the computing field, in a bi-weekly email alert to ACM members. ACM members can subscribe to the CareerNews email alert service.

For more information about the Career & Job Center please contact Jennifer Ruzicka.

EDUCATION

ACM Report Confirms Growth in Graduates with Computing Skills to Meet Rising Workforce Demands

A new report from ACM confirms positive trends in enrollment and degree production at participating not-for-profit US academic institutions that grant Bachelor's and/or Master's degrees in the major computing disciplines. The report, based on a survey of non-doctoral-granting academic departments in computing (NDC), is known as the ACM NDC Study. It is aimed at filling the gap in data on computing programs not covered by the Taulbee Survey, published by the Computing Research Association (CRA), which reflects trends in institutions that grant Ph.D. degrees in computer science and computer engineering. Published in the September issue of ACM Inroads, the NDC report also tracks ethnicity and gender data in these computing programs, and shows that increases in Bachelor's degrees are more pronounced at public institutions.

The report was conducted with support from ACM, Google, and CRA. Its main purpose is to present a baseline measurement for Bachelor's and Master's degree enrollment and degree production rates in 2011–2012, and includes ethnic and gender-related data for these categories. It also tracks trends in faculty demographics and salaries for participating computing programs.
Read the press release.

STUDENT NEWS

XRDS Needs You!

XRDS, the ACM magazine for students, is seeking students to become an active part of our team. Please email your resume/CV and a short paragraph about yourself to [email protected].

Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions

ACM Student Research Competitions (SRCs), sponsored by Microsoft Research, offer a unique forum for undergraduate and graduate students to present their original research at well-known ACM sponsored and co-sponsored conferences before a panel of judges and attendees. The most recent SRC winners presented at PACT 2013. The next conferences accepting submissions are:

  • SIGCSE 2014, March 5-8, 2014, deadline September 29
  • PLDI 2014, June 9-11, 2014, deadline November 15
  • ICSE 2014, May 31-June 7, 2014, deadline November 22

Learn about more competitions on the SRC submissions page.

ACM-W Student Scholarships for Attendance at Research Conferences

The ACM Women's Council (ACM-W) provides support for women undergraduate or graduate students in computer science and related programs who wish to attend research conferences. This exposure to the Computer Science research world can encourage a student to continue on to the next level (Undergraduate to Graduate, Masters to Ph.D., Ph.D. to an industry or academic position). The student does not have to present a paper at the conference she attends. Students can apply an unlimited number of times; however, once a student receives an award, she is no longer eligible for future ACM-W scholarships.

The ACM-W scholarships are divided between scholarships of up to $600 for intra-continental conference travel, and scholarships of up to $1200 for intercontinental conference travel. Scholarship applications are evaluated in six groups each year, in order to distribute awards across a range of conferences.

ACM-W encourages the student's home department to match the scholarship award and recognize the student's achievement locally within their department. In addition, if the award is for attendance at one of several ACM Special Interest Group conferences (SIGACCESS, SIGACT, SIGARCH, SIGCOMM, SIGCHI, SIGCSE, SIGDA, SIGECOM, SIGEVO, SIGGRAPH, SIGHPC, SIGIR, SIGITE, SIGMM, SIGMOBILE, SIGOPS, SIGPLAN, and SIGSOFT), the SIG will provide complimentary conference registration and a mentor during the conference. The number of free registrations available varies from SIG to SIG. The 2013-2014 scholarships are made possible by generous support from Google.

For application form, notification dates and more information, please visit the scholarships page.

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. For more information, visit the Reasons to Transition to Professional Membership page.

DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS PROGRAM

The Distinguished Speakers Program (DSP) is one of ACM's most valued outreach programs, providing universities, corporations, event and conference planners, and local ACM chapters with direct access to top technology leaders and innovators from nearly every sector of the computing industry.

This month's featured speaker is Jaeha Kim. Jaeha is currently Assistant Professor at Seoul National University and his research interests include low-power mixed-signal systems and their design methodologies. He received the BS degree in electrical engineering from Seoul National University in 1997, and received MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1999 and 2003, respectively. Prior to joining Seoul National University in 2010, Jaeha was with Stanford University as Acting Assistant Professor from 2009 to 2010, with Rambus, Inc., Los Altos, California as Principal Engineer from 2006 to 2009, and with Inter-university Semiconductor Research Center (ISRC) in Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea as post-doctoral researcher from 2003 to 2006. From 2001 to 2003, he was with True Circuits, Inc. in Los Altos as a circuit designer. Jaeha Kim is a recipient of the Takuo Sugano Award for outstanding far-east paper at the 2005 International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) and the Low Power Design Contest Award at 2001 International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design (ISLPED). He served on the technical program committees of the Design Automation Conference (DAC), International Conference on Computer Aided Design (ICCAD), and Asian Solid-State Circuit Conference (A-SSCC).

For more information on Jaeha, please visit his DSP speaker information page.
Jaeha Kim's Digital Library author page.

ACM, IEEE Computer Society Join to Share Distinguished Speakers Programs

IEEE-CS and ACM have joined to share their invited speaker programs, to further the dissemination of technical knowledge of computing fields that greatly benefit both memberships. IEEE-CS chapter volunteers can host a speaker from ACM's Distinguished Speakers Program (DSP), with access to top technology leaders and innovators from nearly every sector of the computing industry, by following the instructions on the DSP site. Make sure you identify yourself as an IEEE Computer Society Chapter.

IEEE-CS provides a popular offering of first-quality speakers serving its professional and student chapters. The Distinguished Visitors Program (DVP) owes its success to the many volunteers and staff members of the Computer Society who generously contribute their time and talent. Organizers of an ACM chapter, conference, or event can host a speaker from IEEE-CS's DVP by following the instructions instructions on the DVP site. Make sure you identify yourself as an ACM chapter or event.

CHAPTERS NEWS

Welcome New ACM Chapters

Chapters are the "local neighborhoods" of ACM. The regional ACM Professional, Student, ACM-W, and Special Interest Group (SIG) chapters around the globe involve members locally in competitions, seminars, lectures, workshops, and networking opportunities. ACM welcomes these new chapters that were chartered August 17 to September 13, 2013:

ACM Student Chapters:

  • BITS-Pilani Goa ACM Student Chapter, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Goa, India
  • NITS ACM Student Chapter, National Institutes of Technology, Silchar, India
  • SMCC ACM Student Chapter, Southern Maine Community College, South Portland, Maine
  • Truman State University, Kirksville, Missouri
  • Turabo ACM Student Chapter, Gurabo, Puerto Rico
  • University of Moratuwa ACM Student Chapter, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
  • University of Phoenix ACM Student Chapter, Tempe

ACM Professional Chapter:

  • Minas Gerais ACM Chapter, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

ACM-W NEWS

ACM-W India Hosts First Regional Celebration of Women in Computing

ACM-W India's Regional Celebrations of Women in Computing (PuCWIC 2013), held in Pune, India on April 6, was a unique opportunity for women students and professionals in the field of computing to learn from and network with experts and peers. More than 125 participants from various parts of India attended.

The Welcome Address was delivered by Arati M. Dixit from Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune with an introduction to ACM-W India and ACM Pune Chapter activities. The inauguration lamp was lit to start the event on a good note.

Margaret M. Burnett, Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Oregon State University delivered the keynote address on "Males and Females Developing Software: Are Programming Tools Getting in the Way?" Her talk focused on how programming environments and tools interact with gender differences.

Kalika Bali, Researcher, Microsoft Research Labs India (Bangalore), delivered a plenary session speech on "VideoKheti: Making Video Content Accessible to Low-Literate and Novice Users." VideoKheti is a mobile system using speech, graphics, and touch interaction that allows low-literate farmers in rural India to view agricultural extension videos in their own language and dialect.

Two tutorials on emerging areas in computing covered Big Data Analytics (conducted by Lipika Dey, Principal Scientist, Innovation Labs, Tata Consultancy Services) and Cloud Computing (conducted by Geetika Sharma, Innovation Labs, TCS, Delhi)

Seven work-in-progress presentations and 10 poster presentations of Doctoral- and Master-level women students were short-listed out of 44 entries received by the committee of reviewers. The top three awards were given in each category. Bhooshan P. Kelkar, Country Manager, IBM India University Relations presented the awards, which were sponsored by IBM India Ltd.

The panel discussion on "What Is keeping Indian Women Behind?" was introduced by Yogesh Dandawate, Research Scientist, Infosys, and moderated by Ajay Kolhatkar, Senior Practice Consultant, Tata Mangement Training Centre (TMTC). Panelists were: Deepa Athle, Social Psychologist, Pune; Sudhanshu Pandit, Director of Human Resources, Symantec; Jaya Panvalkar, Director, NVIDIA; Aditya Abhyankar, Head, Department of Technology Management, University of Pune; Suandarya Rajesh, Founder/Director, Flexi Career; and Sanjay Jambhale, Solutions and Delivery Head, CTO-Incubation, TCS.

The closing Vote of Thanks was delivered by Sandeep Athavale, Research Scientist, TCS and Secretary of the ACM Pune Chapter.

The ACM-W Regional Celebrations project provides programming that showcases female role models, encourages mentoring and networking, supplies accurate information about computing careers, and creates opportunities for women to participate in the program, often for the first time in their careers.

Join ACM-W's Membership Email List

Did you know that ACM-W offers a general email distribution list for its members? This ACMW-public list is a communication channel for disseminating general information about ACM-W, bulletins and upcoming events. To join the list: http://signup.acm.org/listserv_index.cfm?ln=ACM-W-PUBLIC.

Be sure to read the current issue of the ACM-W CIS Newsletter for the latest news on ACM-W activities and events.

PUBLICATIONS NEWS

ACM Journal on Experimental Algorithmics and ACM Transactions on Information Systems Seek New Editors-in-Chief

ACM Journal on Experimental Algorithmics is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Nominations are due October 1.

ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS) is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Nominations are due November 1.

CACM Reports: Tips for Successful Startups

The October issue of Communications of the ACM reports on a blueprint for building a quantum computer; implementing the "Argument Web"; and tips for successful startups. The cover story, "A Blueprint for Building a Quantum Computer," assesses the challenges in developing the architecture, which holds the key to commercially viable systems. The authors of "Implementing the Argument Web" advocate for technology that connects opinions across blogs, editorials, and social media to promote a new online critical literacy. And MIT's Michael Cusumano observes that successful startups are rare, and startups that go public and yield strong financials are even more extraordinary.

Communications, the flagship publication of ACM, offers readers access to this generation's most significant leaders and innovators in computing and information technology, and is available in print, web and digital format.

Read the press release.

ACM Queue Presents: The Balancing Act of Choosing Nonblocking Features

In The Balancing Act of Choosing Nonblocking Features, Maged Michael describes the key issues that can help designers of nonblocking systems make the oft-needed compromises and balance tradeoffs necessary to reach a feasible design that satisfies all requirements. In considering the totality of these issues, designers should go through a few passes on this list of features and issues. First, they should identify and separate the features that are absolutely necessary from those that are desirable but open to compromise. After that, they can start to consider the implications of using these various features.

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM, the computing industry's most trusted source for news, analysis and insights! Non-members can use our online form and receive a new ACM membership with your 12-month subscription, or request a sample issue using our online free trial issue form.

ACM IN THE NEWS

"Ella Gale: Building a Neuromorphic (Brainlike) Computer"

Scientific American, September 16, 2013
Ella Gale, one of the young researchers attending the 1st Heidelberg Laureate Forum in Germany, says her interest is unconventional computing. The British research fellow is jointly working at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory and the University of the West of England, and she says she is interested in building a neuromorphic computer from memristors.

"Cryptographers Have an Ethics Problem"

MIT Technology Review, September 13, 2013
USACM Chair Eugene Spafford says that if a person is hacking computers and stealing messages to prevent a terrorist attack, they're not necessarily in violation of the society's code, which allows for "varying interpretations." ACM's Code of Ethics is also referenced in this article.

"Here's an Intel chip that uses wine—yes, wine—for power"

Computerworld, September 12, 2013
Intel researchers have developed a system that uses wine to power a microprocessor. In a recent demonstration of the new technology, Intel researcher and ACM Distinguished Speaker Genevieve Bell poured red wine into a glass containing circuitry on two metal boards. Once the red wine hit the metal, the microprocessor on a circuit board powered up and ran a graphics program on a computer with an e-ink display.

"Internet Experts Want Security Revamp After NSA Revelations"

Reuters, September 7, 2013
"There has long been a tension between the mission to conduct surveillance and the mission to protect communication, and that tension resolved some time ago in favor of protection at least for American communications," says Google chief Internet evangelist and ACM president Vint Cerf.

"Precomputing Speeds Up Cloth Imaging"

Cornell Chronicle, September 4, 2013
Conventional computer graphic models can require far too much calculating for practical use, especially during the final rendering step, but Cornell University researchers say they have extended the idea of repetition to make the calculation much simpler and faster. Their research was presented at the recent SIGGRAPH 2013 conference.

"Internet Needs 'Cyber Fire Department' to Protect Web Users, Claims Vint Cerf"

V3.co.uk, September 4, 2013
The Internet needs a cyber fire department to keep risks found on websites and services from spreading, says Google chief Internet evangelist and ACM president Vint Cerf.

"Very Young Programmers"

The New York Times, September 2, 2013
The Code.org website, with which ACM has partnered to expand K-12 CS education, has a petition with about 780,000 digital signatures stating that all students should have the chance to learn to code.

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