ACM MemberNet - December 19, 2013

Welcome to the December 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.

December 19, 2013

TOP STORIES

ACM Names 50 Fellows for Computing Advances

ACM has recognized 50 of its members as ACM Fellows for their contributions to computing. The 2013 ACM Fellows, from the world's leading universities, corporations, and research labs, have achieved advances in computing research and development that are accelerating the digital revolution and impacting every dimension of how we live, work, and play. ACM President Vinton G. Cerf celebrated the impact of innovations achieved by this year's Fellows. "We recognize these scientists and engineers, creators and builders, theorists and practitioners who are making a difference in our lives," he said. "They're enabling us to listen, learn, calculate, and communicate in ways that underscore the benefits of the digital age. Their advances have led to opportunities for improved healthcare, enhanced security, expanded interactions, and enriched lifestyles. Some recipients have also led efforts to extend computing across continents and countries including Brazil, China, and Germany." ACM will formally recognize the 2013 ACM Fellows at its annual Awards Banquet on June 21, 2014, in San Francisco.

Young Scientists Invited to Apply for Second Heidelberg Laureate Forum in 2014

The preparations for the second Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) are in full swing, and applications from young researchers to attend the second Forum are being accepted now. The Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (HLFF) is looking for outstanding young mathematicians and computer scientists from all over the world who would like to get the chance to personally meet distinguished experts from both disciplines and find out how to become a leading scientist in their field. Applications will be accepted until February 28, 2014. Successful candidates will be selected by an international committee of experts that will ensure only the most qualified candidates are invited. Submit applications online here. Nominations are also being accepted.

The second Forum will take place September 21–26, 2014. It will once again bring together winners of the Abel Prize and Fields Medal (mathematics), as well as the Turing Award and Nevanlinna Prize (computer science) for an inspiring week in Heidelberg. The young researchers attending the first Forum were from 49 countries. There are 100 spaces available for each discipline of mathematics and computer science. For more information on the program, visit the HLF website.

AWARDS

Record-Shattering Supercomputing Performance Wins ACM Gordon Bell Prize at SC13

Scientists from Switzerland, Germany and the US have set a new supercomputing simulation record in fluid dynamics by reaching 14.4 petaflops of sustained performance to win the 2013 ACM Gordon Bell Prize. The simulation, which represents a 150-fold improvement over current state-of-the-art performance levels for this type of application, has potential utility for improving the design of high-pressure fuel injectors and propellers, shattering kidney stones, and therapeutic approaches for cancer treatment. The research was conducted by scientists at ETH Zurich in collaboration with IBM Research, as well as the Technical University of Munich and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The results were presented by the team at SC2013 in Denver, where the winner of the ACM Gordon Bell Prize was announced on November 21. The ACM Gordon Bell Prizes are awarded each year to recognize outstanding achievement in high-performance computing.
Read the news release.

Eckert-Mauchly Award Nominations Due March 30

The ACM/IEEE-CS Eckert-Mauchly Award honors recipients with a certificate and $5,000 given jointly by the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society for outstanding contributions to the field of computer and digital systems architecture, where the field of computer architecture is considered to encompass the combined hardware-software design and analysis of computing and digital systems. Nominations are due March 30.

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 March 3, 2014. 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

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, March 4 to 5. 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.

PUBLIC POLICY

The December issue of Communications of the ACM (CACM) includes an article co-authored by USACM Accessibility Committee Chair Harry Hochheiser and committee member Jonathan Lazar, Legal Aspects of Interface Accessibility in the U.S. Their article responds to ACM President Vint Cerf's article from November 2012 CACM, Why Is Accessibility So Hard? Hochheiser and Lazar say the challenge of technical hurdles is matched by a "daunting regulatory and legal framework." They discuss the role of standards, guidelines, and practices to support accessibility and usability, and how the legal landscape can create perceptions of accessibility as difficult to implement. They conclude with a call to action for computing professionals to be involved in public policy discussions on accessibility, and a list of informative articles, websites, and other resources. (Note: ACM membership or subscription is needed to access CACM articles.)

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 Ambassador for November was Mike Henry.

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.

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 December 17 Webcast with Barry Boehm: "The Incremental Commitment Spiral Model (ICSM): Principles and Practices for Successful Systems and Software"

Watch The Incremental Commitment Spiral Model (ICSM): Principles and Practices for Successful Systems and Software, presented December 17 by Barry Boehm, TRW Professor in the University of Southern California Computer Sciences and Industrial and Systems Engineering Departments and an ACM Fellow. Boehm covers the essential principles of ICSM, various process views and tools, and examples of successful ICSM use as well as pitfalls to avoid. LiGuo Huang, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Southern Methodist University (and a former student of Boehm), moderates.

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

New titles that were added to our online book collection as part of the ACM Learning Center Book Swap are now available. 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:

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 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.

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 November 14 to December 9, 2013:

ACM Student Chapters:

  • Buena Vista University ACM Student Chapter, Storm Lake, Iowa
  • FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences Islamabad ACM Student Chapter, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • GHRIET (G.H. Raisoni Institute of Engineering & Technology) Pune ACM-W Student Chapter, Pune, India
  • Holy Family University ACM Student Chapter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • ITSEC (ITS Engineering College) Student Chapter, Gautam Budha Nagar, India
  • MIT Academy of Engineering ACM Student Chapter, Pune, India
  • Rochester Institute of Technology ACM SIGGRAPH Student Chapter, Rochester, New York
  • University of Chicago ACM-W Student Chapter, Chicago, Illinois

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

First Southeast Women in Computing Conference Sparks Enthusiasm for Tech Careers

By Ambareen Siraj and Martha Kosa, Co-chairs, SEWiC

Lake Guntersville State Park in north Alabama was the beautiful setting for the First Southeast Women in Computing Conference (SEWiC) on November 15–17. SEWiC is the successor to 2011's TNWiC. Jennifer Whitlow (Georgia Tech) joined TNWiC co-chairs Martha Kosa and Ambareen Siraj (Tennessee Tech) to co-organize SEWiC, a full weekend for Southeast technical women. Like TNWiC, SEWiC mixed southern hospitality with inspirational speakers and approximately 225 registered participants to spark the computing flame in the region. The conference began and ended with student workshops (resumes, cybersecurity, mobile application development, and workplace insider tips). One student commented, "I attended one of the workshops, and it really did help me out a fair bit. I think I finally have a more solid plan of action for my future!" Tracy Camp's dynamic opening keynote, "What I Know Now…That I Wish I Knew Then," highlighted the importance of persistence and community for a successful career. A poster session followed, with creative presentations, such as "Developing an Android Application for School Emergencies." The first day ended with an exciting "Truth or Dare" game focusing on CS student life. Michele Weigle of Old Dominion University keynoted the next morning with "Telling Stories with Web Archives," in which her research reconstructed Hurricane Katrina's harrowing story. Technical talks, panels, lightning talks, and Birds of a Feather sessions were next, with topics such as "Using the Raspberry Pi in Education" and "Pay No Attention to the Man in the Power Suit." A career and college fair, including a Graduate School FAQ booth, followed, along with a faculty workshop on security. IBM Master Inventor Valentina Salapura keynoted in the evening with "Cloud Computing: 24/7." The day ended with a bonfire and s'mores by the lake. On the last day, the eclectic and extensive morning menu included encouragement for women in computing, entrepreneurial advice, Lean In circles, Windows Eliza psychotherapy application programming, and open source community building. Another student summarized the conference: "I really enjoyed meeting new people and being in an environment where everyone understands what I'm going through. I met a lot of new friends and I found a lot of new connections." This was just a taste of the first jam-packed SEWiC!

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

ACM Books Series to Launch in 2014

ACM is accepting proposals for a new publishing venture aimed at filling the need for scholarly computer science literature. This new series, called ACM Books, will complement other recent additions to scientific publications, but will present its computing topics in far greater depth and detail, and address areas not covered by monographs or papers from other publishers. The books, to be published beginning in the first half of 2014, will also be available on multiple devices including mobile applications, and in print format.

All of the titles will be accessible from the ACM Digital Library and available from ACM partner Morgan & Claypool as well as a wide range of commercial eBook platforms including Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble. The books will use a digital-first model to appeal to the growing computing community, including authors, researchers, practitioners, educators, and students.

M. Tamer Özsu is Editor-in-Chief of the ACM Books Series. He will be aided by an international Editorial Board of computing luminaries from prestigious institutions of higher learning, who represent major subject areas in computer science and engineering. As topic editors, they will review all proposals relevant to their respective fields.

For authors interested in submitting proposals, see http://books.acm.org/authors for publishing process, policy, and promotion details.
Read Tamer Özsu's editorial in December Communications of the ACM.

New 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.

CACM Reports: Big Data's Promises for Humans and Computers

In adapting to the new world of data, a fundamental shift in the culture of organizations and managers is required, according to Vasant Dhar of New York University's Stern School of Business in Communications of the ACM's December cover story. Most data generated by humans and computers today relies on computers increasingly to make decisions automatically. This scalability is possible because big data serves as the raw material for creation of new knowledge, he says, citing Watson, IBM's Jeopardy! champion, as a prime illustration of an emerging machine intelligence fueled by data and state-of-the-art analytics. This data revolution requires a shift in managers' mindsets toward data-driven decision making to replace or augment intuition and past practices. It also requires problem-formulation skills, a type of computational thinking, for data scientists over the next decade.

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 news release.

ACM Queue Presents: The Challenge of Cross-language Interoperability

David Chisnall, of the University of Cambridge, describes in his ACM Queue article how interfacing between languages is increasingly important. You can no longer expect a nontrivial application to be written in a single language. High-level languages typically call code written in lower-level languages as part of their standard libraries (for example, GUI rendering), but adding calls can be difficult. In particular, interfaces between two languages that are not C are often difficult to construct. Even relatively simple examples, such as bridging between C++ and Java, are not typically handled automatically and require a C interface. The problem of interfacing between languages is going to become increasingly important to compiler writers over the coming years.

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

"Week-Long 'Hour of Code' Campaign Lures Millions of U.S. Students to Computer Coding"

Washington Post, December 12, 2013
More than 11 million students in 167 countries this week have taken a free programming tutorial as part of the "Hour of Code" initiative, a worldwide campaign to encourage computer science in education.

"Leaner Fourier Transforms"

MIT News, December 11, 2013
ACM Kanellakis Award co-recipient Piotr Indyk and Hopper Award recipient Dina Katabi to present improved algorithm capable of performing Fourier transforms hundreds of times more quickly than the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm, at ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms in January.

"Computer Science Education Week Starts"

I Programmer, December 8, 2013
The level of participation and the number of activities of CSEdWeek this year far exceeds previous years, largely due to the Hour of Code initiative from Code.org, which aims to ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn to code.

"Coding Kids"

New York Magazine, November 29, 2013
"We have a clear disparity between the needs of industry and the number of computer-science graduates we produce," Harvey Mudd College president and former ACM president Maria M. Klawe recently told a Senate committee. "We simply do not have enough students graduating high school with an interest in pursuing computer science."

"Inexpensive 'nano-camera' can operate at the speed of light"

MIT News, November 26, 2013
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Media Lab and the University of Waikato have created a $500 "nano-camera" that operates at the speed of light and could have applications in areas such as medical imaging and vehicle collision avoidance detectors. The research was presented at SIGGRAPH Asia in November.

"SC13 Student Cluster Competition Results Are In"

HPC Wire, November 25, 2013
The 2013 Student Cluster Competition (SCC) at the recent SC13 Conference in November was a two-day competition in which student teams from around the world built a cluster on the exhibit floor and vied to demonstrate the highest sustained performance across a series of scientific tasks without exceeding a set power limit.

"Interview: Peter Denning"

Infosecurity, November 21, 2013
Computer scientist and former ACM president Peter Denning details in an interview how fundamental security principles compiled by computing innovators were lost with the advent of the PC era.

"Heterogeneous Systems Dominate the Green500"

HPC Wire, November 20, 2013
This year's Green500 list announced at the SC13 Conference in November includes a prevalence of heterogeneous supercomputing systems in the top 10 spots, representing a continuation of last year's trend. The list is topped by the Tokyo Institute of Technology's TSUBAME-KFC, with an efficiency of 4.5 gigaflops/watt.

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