ACM MemberNet - November 21, 2013

Welcome to the November 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.

November 21, 2013

Get Involved in CSEdWeek 2013's "Hour of Code" to Introduce Programming to Students of All Ages

CSEdWeek's "Hour of Code" is an exciting new opportunity for you to get people in your community involved in computer programming. The Hour of Code, part of Computer Science Education Week, December 9 to 15, aims to introduce more than 10 million students of all ages to the basics of coding, and to underscore the critical role of computing in all careers. Hour of Code is intended to demystify computing for people who think programming is hard or requires math. It offers self-guided activities that every student can use to try out the essentials of computer science. It includes a variety of tutorials featuring technology leaders like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

As a founding partner of Computer Science Education Week, ACM invites you to engage with your families, schools, professional and recreational groups to participate in the Hour of Code. You can play an important role in making computing an integral part of the next generation's future. Visit CSEdWeek's site for participation and hosting information, as well as videos featuring celebrities providing inspiration and everyday people discovering the magic of coding.

ACM Honors Distinguished Computer Scientists, Engineers and Educators for Innovations

ACM has named 40 Distinguished Members for their individual contributions and their singular impacts on the vital field of computing. Their achievements have advanced the science, engineering, and education of computing, and highlight the widening role that computing plays in a range of disciplines and domains around the globe. The 2013 Distinguished Members hail from universities in Denmark, Japan, Israel, Italy, China, and the United Kingdom in addition to North America, and from leading international corporations and research institutions. ACM President Vinton G. Cerf described the recipients as "the problem solvers, prophets, and producers who are powering the future of the digital age." He noted that these ACM members "are the driving force for enabling the computing community to change how we live and work. They demonstrate the advantages of ACM membership, which empowers self-improvement and inspires a bold vision for their own careers as well as their impact on the future."

The ACM Distinguished Member program can recognize the top 10 percent of ACM worldwide membership based on professional experience as well as significant achievements in the computing field.
Read the press release.

AWARDS

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

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:

SIGACCESS Impact, Best Paper, and Best Student Paper Awards
SIGAda Awards
SIGCAS Outstanding Service and Making a Difference Awards (2012)
SIGOPS Mark Weiser and Dennis M. Ritchie Awards

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

Tapia 2014, February 5 to 8, 2014, Seattle, Washington

The Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing (Tapia 2014) brings together students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities to celebrate the diversity that exists in computing; connect with others with common backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, and gender to create communities that extend beyond the conference; network with computing leaders in academia and industry; and draw inspiration from presentations and conversations with leaders with common backgrounds. This year's conference theme is "The Strength of Diversity," celebrating the contributions to computing by members of broad and diverse communities. The conference includes workshops, career fairs, poster sessions, a doctoral consortium, a robotics competition, a code-a-thon, and keynote sessions. Scheduled plenary speakers are Chieko Asakawa, IBM Fellow, IBM Research–Tokyo; James McLurkin, assistant professor, Rice University; Latanya Sweeney, Professor of Government and Technology in Residence, Harvard University; Dan Garcia, Senior Lecturer, University of California at Berkeley; and Kathryn McKinley, Principal Researcher, Microsoft, delivering the Ken Kennedy Distinguished Lecture.

CSCW 2014, February 15 to 19, 2014, Baltimore, Maryland

The 17th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2014) is the premier venue for presenting research in the design and use of technologies that affect groups, organizations, communities, and networks. Bringing together top researchers and practitioners from academia and industry in the area of social computing, CSCW encompasses both the technical and social challenges encountered when supporting collaboration. Papers, workshops, panels, interactive posters, videos, demonstrations, and a doctoral colloquium will cover topics ranging from social media to information sharing in the health field. The opening plenary speaker will be Mary Flanagan, Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor in Digital Humanities at Dartmouth College; the closing plenary speaker will be Patrick Meier, Director of Social Innovation at the Qatar Computing Research Institute.

SIGCSE 2014, March 5 to 8, 2014, Atlanta, Georgia

SIGCSE 2014 gathers colleagues from around the world to present papers, panels, posters, special sessions, and workshops, and to discuss computer science education in birds-of-a-feather sessions and informal settings. The SIGCSE Technical Symposium addresses problems common among educators working to develop, implement and/or evaluate computing programs, curricula, and courses. The symposium provides a forum for sharing new ideas for syllabi, laboratories, and other elements of teaching and pedagogy, at all levels of instruction.

The First Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale will be held immediately prior to and collocated with SIGCSE. 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.

Call for Participation: 2014 Workshop on ACM History, May 21 to 22, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The ACM History Committee is sponsoring a two-day archiving workshop designed to help diffuse knowledge of professional archival practices into ACM's membership and others with an active interest in preserving computer heritage. The audience will include people who are creating archives, not just those who are using them. The workshop will be of special interest to ACM officers and staff, SIG leaders, historically-minded ACM members, and others working on computer history archiving projects. Priority will be given to ACM members and members of other national computer societies affiliated with ACM. Participants will leave with a "tool kit" of practical, useful procedures as well as insights into professional archiving practices. Project proposals are due by January 15, 2014. Visit the workshop site for more information.

Call for Participation: SIGIR 2014, July 6 to 11, 2014, Queensland, Australia

SIGIR 2014 is the major international forum for the presentation of new research results and for the demonstration of new systems and techniques in information retrieval. The conference will feature papers, posters, demonstrations, tutorials and workshops focused on research and development in information retrieval. The Conference and Program Chairs are now inviting all those working in areas related to information retrieval to submit original papers related to any aspect of IR theory and foundation, techniques and application. A list of key submission dates, relevant paper topics, submission guidelines and instructions is now available. The first deadline is January 20, 2014.

MEMBER PROGRAMS

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 October were Olu Ogbe, Rakhesh Rao, and Anthony Shantaé Morris.

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.

Please note: MentorNet is currently developing a modern platform that combines the technology of social networks with the social science of mentoring. The new website is expected to launch in March 2014. Individuals who are not currently matched in a mentorship will not be matched until the new website is launched. Learn more. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Ryan.

Group Term Life Plan for ACM Members

Three in 10 American households (35 million) are uninsured and half say they need more life insurance. This crucial benefit can mean the difference between financial security and financial burden for the loved ones left behind.

The ACM Group Term Life Plan administered by Marsh U.S. Consumer, a service of Seabury & Smith, Inc., is an important member benefit available to ACM members and their families at economical, group-negotiated rates. ACM members and their spouses/domestic partners are eligible to apply for up to $500,000 in benefit amounts. (Children's coverage is available up to $5,000.) This plan also offers an Accelerated Life Benefit, which pays up to 60% of the benefit amount before death if the insured is diagnosed as terminally ill. Other plan features include a 30-day review period and the option for members to choose their own beneficiary. Learn more about ACM Group Level Term Life Insurance Plan today. Or call 1-800-503-9230.

LEARNING CENTER

Watch ACM Webcast with Kate Matsudaira: "Big Data Without Big Database—Extreme In-Memory Caching for Better Performance"

Watch Big Data Without Big Database—Extreme In-Memory Caching for Better Performance, presented November 20 by by Kate Matsudaira, Founder and CEO of popforms. The talk will be followed by a live question and answer session with Kate, moderated by Terry Coatta, CTO of Marine Learning Systems and a member of the ACM Practitioner Board.

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

Learning Center Book Swap Adds New Titles to Online Collection

On November 21, we are adding a large inventory of new titles to our online book collection as part of the ACM Learning Center Book Swap. The updated collection offers new coverage of hot technologies like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and skills in big data analytics and management, agile/test-driven development strategies, and more.

New titles in our Books24x7 collection include the Fifth Edition of the PMBOK Guide with updated coverage for the new Project Management Professional (PMP) exam, as well as books on ASP .NET 4.5, Access and Excel 2013, Microsoft SQL Server 2012, SharePoint 2013, Windows 8 and Server 2012. There is deeper coverage of algorithms, cybersecurity and hacking, data mining and warehousing, game programming, interaction design, PHP programming, systems analysis/design, and virtualization, as well as popular books on Erlang, Haskell, and Lisp. Newly added certification training includes study guides for CBAP/CCBA, CISA, CISSP, CompTIA (A+, Healthcare IT, Networking, Security, and Strata), Cisco CWNA and ROUTING, ITIL, LPIC-1, MCSA, MCSD, Oracle OCA Java SE 7 and OCPJP 7, PMP, PRINCE2, and SAS.

Highlights from the Safari collection include coverage of the new Cisco CCENT/CCNA ICND1 100-101 and CCNA ICND2 200-101 exams. Professional Members will also find new books on algorithms, agile/Scrum methodologies, Android and iOS 7, C++, data science and statistical analysis, data structures and design patterns, Hadoop, human-computer interaction, Linux and UNIX, machine learning, and web services. There is also brand-new coverage of currently popular software frameworks and libraries such as AngularJS, Clojure, Maven, and Node.js.

Log in through the ACM Learning Center or myACM to access these and other new books and videos.

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

Help Create Assessment Tools for the CS2013 Curricular Volume

With the upcoming release of Computer Science Curricula 2013 (CS2013), the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) is developing assessment exams intended to measure graduating students' retained knowledge against the specific learning outcomes contained in the CS2013 model curriculum. For information on how your academic institution or community can get involved and help create quality assessment exams, visit the Assessment Tools for Computing Curricula page or contact Terry Linkletter, CCP.

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 SPLASH 2013. The next conferences accepting submissions are:

CHI 2014, April 26-May 1, 2014, deadline January 7
MODULARITY(AOSD)2014, June 9-11, 2014, deadline February 2

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

Featured ACM Distinguished Speaker: Peter Freeman

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 Peter A. Freeman. Freeman is the founding dean of Georgia Institute of Technology's College of Computing. He was assistant director of the National Science Foundation from 2002 to 2007, and has been emeritus dean of the College of Computing since 2007. He is currently the director of the Washington Advisory Group. Freeman is widely recognized for his technical and educational activities in software systems and software engineering, and computer science and information technology more generally. In addition to his academic and research activities, he is an experienced university and government executive and manager, and a seasoned lecturer and consultant to corporations, governments, and universities in more than a dozen countries.

As an Assistant Director of NSF, Freeman was part of the senior management team that helped formulate national science policy and that operated the NSF. He was also responsible for insuring that the US computing research community was well connected internationally, and was responsible for activities that continue to have a major impact on computing, including the Information Technology Research Program, cyberinfrastructure initiatives, the GENI Internet Research project, Broadening Participation in Computing, and the Computing Community Consortium.

He has focused his attention for over 25 years on national policy and local action intended to advance science and engineering research and education, and for almost 40 years has been teaching, lecturing, and consulting internationally. He has also held positions at George Mason University, the University of California, Irvine, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Freeman is a Fellow of ACM, IEEE, and AAAS. He received his PhD in computer science from Carnegie-Mellon in 1970, his MA in mathematics and psychology from University of Texas at Austin in 1965, and his BA in physics and mathematics from Rice University in 1963.

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

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

ACM Announces Winners of 2012–2013 UPE ACM Student Chapter Scholarship Award

Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE), the Honor Society for Computing Sciences, and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) are proud to announce the 2012–2013 UPE ACM Student Chapter Scholarship Award winners:

Maria Gaci, City College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield
Arihant Sogani, Dubai International Academic City
Christina Vitolo, The College of New Jersey
Teresa Worner, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Honorable Mention:

Andreas Basurto, California State University
Cody Hock, Northern Michigan University
Alex Moser, University of Findlay
Sarah Zaki, The University of Tampa

UPE and ACM created the award to raise the importance of academic achievement and professional commitment in future computer professionals. Visit the UPE Award site for more information.

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 October 16 to November 13, 2013:

ACM Student Chapters:

Faulkner University ACM Student Chapter, Montgomery, Alabama
Lipscomb University ACM Student Chapter, Nashville, Tennessee
Puerto Rico Rio Piedras ACM Student Chapter, San Juan
St. Johns River State College ACM Student Chapter, Orange Park, Florida
Sage College ACM Student Chapter, Albany, New York
University of Mauritius ACM Student Chapter, Moka, Mauritius
Rochester Institute of Technology ACM SIGCHI Student Chapter, Rochester, New York
Hacettepe University ACM-W Student Chapter, Ankara, Turkey
Mount Holyoke College ACM-W Student Chapter, South Hadley, Massachusetts
University of Minnesota ACM-W Student Chapter, Minneapolis
University of Southern California ACM-W Student Chapter, Los Angeles

ACM Professional Chapters:

ACM Changsha Chapter, Changsha, China
ACM Guangzhou Chapter, Guangzhou, China
Mauritius ACM Chapter, Moka, Mauritius

Notice of Chapters to Be De-chartered

ACM is considering the de-charter of the following chapters due to inactivity. Members interested in revitalizing their chapters should contact Zarina Strakhan, Local Activities Coordinator, at [email protected]. ACM will terminate the chapters listed below on January 30, 2014 unless interested volunteers express a desire to reactivate their chapter by preparing acceptable revitalization plans.

ACM Student Chapters:
A.T.R.I ACM Student Chapter; ABV Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management ACM Student Chapter; ACM ITESCO Student Chapter; aCTIv ACM Student Chapter; Al Akhawayn University ACM Student Chapter; Alfred State College; Augsburg College ACM; Bellarmine College; BITS Pilani-Goa Campus ACM Student Chapter; Central Washington University ACM Student Chapter; CIIT, Lahore ACM Student Chapter; Claremont College ACM Student Chapter; Clayton College and State University ACM Student Chapter; Columbia ITT Tech ACM Student Chapter; Concordia University/Austin ACM Student Chapter; DePaul University ACM Stu. Chap.; Excelsior College ACM Student Chapter; Furman Univ ACM-W Student Chapter; Grinnell College ACM Student Chapter; Hanoi University of Technology ACM Student Chapter; Howard University; Indiana University; Informatica—Northern Kentucky University Student Chapter of the ACM; Instituto Technologico de Matamoros ACM Student Chapter; Instituto Tecnologico de Culiacan ACM Student Chapter; ITSLPSIC ACM Student Chapter; IUPUI ACM Student SIGGRAPH; MAE ACM Student Chapter; Maryville College ACM Student Chapter; Mount Vernon Nazarene University; NCC ACM Student Chapter; Northwestern Undergraduate Computing Society; NU ACM Student Chapter; Politehnica University of Bucharest ACM Student Chapter; Purdue Univ. Calumet Student ACM SIGGRAPH; Ramapo College of New Jersey ACM Student Chapter; Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology ACM Student Chapter; SREC ACM STUDENT CHAPTER; State University of NY/Stony Brook; Treston ACM Student Chapter; UCLAve ACM Student Chapter; UET ACM Student Chapter; Univ. of Saint Francis Student ACM SIGGRAPH; Universidad de Guadalajara ACM Student Chapter; Universidad Privada del Norte ACM Student Chapter; University of Delaware; University of Florida; University of Houston-Downtown; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ACM-W Student Chapter; University of Michigan/Flint ACM Student Chapter; University of Mobile ACM Student Chapter; University of North Carolina/Charlotte Student ACM-W Chapter; University of Virginia's College at Wise ACM Student Chapter; UPR-Rio Piedras ACM Student Chapter; Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune, ACM Student Chapter; Webster University ACM Student SIGGRAPH Chapter; Wichita State University Chapter of ACM; Wittenberg University; Wytheville Community College

ACM Professional Chapters:
Baltimore ACM Chapter; Bangalore ACM Chapter; Bangalore ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter; Beijing SIGSPATIAL Chapter; Central Israel ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter; Chengdu ACM Chapter; Hadath ACM SIGSAC Chapter; Jakarta, Indonesia ACM Chapter; Jeju ACM Chapter; Kampala ACM Chapter; Macao ACM Chapter; Melbourne ACM Chapter; Mexico ACM Chapter; Moscow ACM SIGPLAN Chapter; Taif ACM Chapter; Thailand ACM Chapter; Thapar University ACM Chapter; Timisoara ACM Chapter; Vienna ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter

ACM-W NEWS

Northwest Regional Women in Computing Event Explores Future of Technology

By Pamela Harrison, Co-chair, NWrWIC

On October 19, we held our second annual conference for college computer science students in Portland, Oregon. We, on the planning committee, were exhausted but ecstatic after the event. We could not have hoped for a better day. Our photographer captured more than 300 images during the conference. We look back at those images, and see that the entire day was full of smiles, laughter, focus and interest. Students, as well as professionals, were engaged throughout the entire day.

Of our attendees, 107 of our 171 were college students from 17 universities in Oregon and Washington. Seventy-five percent of the students were computer science majors, with the remainder from other engineering disciplines. They were truly grateful to have the opportunity to attend such an event.

One highlight, at our mid-morning talk, was learning both advantages and difficulties of working in an interdisciplinary team. Cultural anthropologist Alex Zafiroglu and engineer Jennifer Healey talked about their fascinating work together for Intel. Their research is interesting and apropos to the future of technology. Although they differ in their understanding of the world and how things work, they were able to easily laugh about their sometimes difficult communication.

Our lunch panel had insightful information about current and future technology jobs and what employers are looking for. We were excited to have an amazing panel of hiring professionals from Tripwire, Thomson Reuters, Adobe, and Salesforce. Following lunch, the finale talks by PhD students from the University of Washington revealed fascinating research from the Ubiquitous Computing Lab, and car security—how the student researchers were able to hack into car systems and prove to car manufacturers that car security must be addressed.

Our career fair included the red chair from NCWIT's Sit with Me campaign, mock interviews, and résumé reviews. We learned that we need more résumé reviewers next time, as demand was very high. We ended the day with a high level of enthusiasm. I spoke with most of the schools and companies that had tables at the career fair; they were excited to be there and are looking forward to coming back in the spring.

To learn more about NWrWIC, visit the web site and view the photos.

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. The regional conferences are run with almost 100% volunteer effort and involve considerable fundraising. If you are interested in working on or supporting any of the regional conferences, please contact Valerie Barr or Jodi Tims. We'd love to have you join our conference committees or become a sponsor of this important effort to encourage and increase the participation of women in computing.

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

New ACM Journal ACM Transactions on Spatial Algorithms Accepting Submissions

The new ACM journal, ACM Transactions on Spatial Algorithms and Systems (TSAS), is now accepting submissions. TSAS is a new scholarly journal that publishes the highest quality papers on all aspects of spatial algorithms and systems and closely related disciplines. Visit the submissions site for more information.

ACM Queue Presents: Leaking Space

In Leaking Space, Neil Mitchell describes how to identify and eliminate "space leaks"; in contrast to memory leaks, where the leaked memory is never released, the memory consumed by a space leak is released, but later than expected. Eliminating space leaks is about controlling when evaluation occurs, reducing the time between allocating memory and discarding it. Unsurprisingly, features that complicate evaluation order are particularly vulnerable to space leaks. The two examples this article focuses on are lazy evaluation (where evaluation of an expression is delayed until its value is needed) and closures (a function value combined with its environment). Both these features are found in lazy functional languages such as Haskell.

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

"Google's Vint Cerf Defines Internet of Things Challenges"

Network World, November 19, 2013
Speaking at the recent Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) workshop on the Internet of Things (IoT), Google chief Internet evangelist and ACM president Vint Cerf said the industry is going to have to live through a period of mistakes and challenges before making strong regulations about the privacy issues and other challenges the IoT presents.

"Supercomputing's Big Problem: What's After Silicon?"

Computerworld, November 19, 2013

"We don't have a technology that is ready to be adopted as a replacement for CMOS," says University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor and ACM Fellow William Gropp.

"Chinese Supercomputer Still No. 1, ORNL's Titan No. 2"

Oak Ridge Today, November 18, 2013
China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer, which is housed at that nation's National University of Defense Technology, placed first on the Top500 supercomputer rankings released at the SC13 Conference in Denver, and the US's Titan system housed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory ranked second, mirroring the top two spots from the previous rankings in June.

"ICANN Sets Up 'Coalition' to Address New Internet Governance Challenges"

em>Network World, November 18, 2013
ICANN's new Panel on the Future of Global Internet Cooperation consists of 19 members, including Google Chief Internet Evangelist and ACM President Vint Cerf, who will serve as vice chair.

"Improved Ranking Test for Supercomputers to Be Released by Sandia"

Sandia National Laboratories, November 15, 2013
Sandia National Laboratories is releasing a new benchmark that it says more accurately gauges the power of supercomputers for scientific and engineering applications. The benchmark was formally released at the SC13 Conference in Denver.

HPC Wire, November 13, 2013
University of California, San Diego researchers discussed contention-aware fair pricing, in which a user pays progressively less as their job is degraded more, at the SC13 Conference in Denver.

"How Code.org Is Extending Computer Science Beyond 'the Lucky Few'"

VentureBeat, November 9, 2013
The Hour of Code is on track to be the largest online education event in history, as more than 1.5 million students have already registered across 140 countries.

"It's Official: Computer Scientists Pick Stronger Passwords"

Ars Technica, November 8, 2013
Carnegie Mellon University researchers found that CMU's computer science and technology schools chose passwords that were more than 1.8 times stronger than those used by people in the business school. They presented their study at the ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security in Berlin.

"Researchers Dare AI Experts to Crack New GOTCHA Password Scheme"

Network World, November 7, 2013
Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed Generating panOptic Turing Tests to Tell Computers and Humans Apart (GOTCHA), a password system based on visual cues that typically only a human can decipher. They presented their research at ACM's Workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Security in Berlin.

"How to Program Unreliable Chips"

MIT News, November 4, 2013
Martin Rinard's research group at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory has created a framework that enables coders to specify when errors are permissible, then calculates the probability that the software will run as intended. Last week the group won a best-paper award at ACM's Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages, and Applications (OOPSLA) conference.

"Researchers Draw Romantic Insights from Maps of Facebook Networks"

New York Times, October 28, 2013
The shape of a person's social network is a powerful signal that can identify one's spouse or romantic partner, according to Cornell University's Jon Kleinberg (recipient of 2008 ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences) and Facebook engineer Lars Backstrom.

"Lessons From the First Major Computer Virus"

Intel Free Press, October 25, 2013
The first major computer virus, the Morris Worm, in 1988 brought down about 10 percent of computers connected to the Internet, introducing widespread security concerns about networked computers for the first time, says Purdue University professor and USACM Chair Eugene Spafford in an interview coinciding with the 25-year anniversary of the virus.