ACM MemberNet - May 28, 2015

Welcome to the May 2015 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.

May 28, 2015

TOP STORIES

Creator of Advanced Data Processing Architecture Wins ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award

Matei Zaharia has won the 2014 ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award for his innovative solution to tackling the surge in data processing workloads, and accommodating the speed and sophistication of complex multi-stage applications and more interactive ad-hoc queries. His work proposed a new architecture for cluster computing systems, achieving best-in-class performance in a variety of workloads while providing a simple programming model that lets users easily and efficiently combine them. Zaharia developed Resilient Distributed Datasets (RDDs). As described in his dissertation, An Architecture for Fast and General Data Processing on Large Clusters, RDDs are a distributed memory abstraction that lets programmers perform computations on large clusters in a fault-tolerant manner. He will receive the Doctoral Dissertation Award and its $20,000 prize at the annual ACM Awards Banquet on June 20 in San Francisco. Financial sponsorship of the award is provided by Google Inc.

Honorable Mentions went to John Criswell of the University of Rochester for Secure Virtual Architecture: Security for Commodity Software Systems, and John C. Duchi of Stanford University for Multiple Optimality Guarantees in Statistical Learning. Criswell and Duchi will share a $10,000 prize, with financial sponsorship provided by Google Inc.

Read the ACM news release.

Russian, Japanese and Chinese Universities Take Top Spots in ACM International Programming Contest

At the finals of the 2015 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM-ICPC), St. Petersburg National Research University of IT, Mechanics and Optics placed first, the only competitor to solve all the problems to win the contest. Second place went to Moscow State University, followed by the University of Tokyo in third place. Two Chinese universities, Tsinghua and Peking, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. In sixth place was the University of California, Berkeley. The competition pits teams of three university students against 13 complex, real-world problems and a demanding five-hour deadline. It showcases the analytical and coding skills of the contenders from 128 teams competing in the final round.

Other top 12 medal finishers included the University of Zagreb, Charles University in Prague, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Earlier rounds of the competition included a record number of more than 38,000 contestants representing over 2,500 universities from 101 countries. The top four teams won gold medals as well as employment or internship offers from IBM. Full results are available here.

Read the ACM news release.

AWARDS

ACM SIGACT Recognizes Innovations with Knuth and Gödel Prizes

With the emergence of massive computing tasks that arise in the world of web applications and networks, ACM SIGACT will recognize László Babai, Daniel A. Spielman, and Shang-Hua Teng for advancing the power of computing. Babai (University of Chicago) will receive the Donald E. Knuth Prize for his fundamental contributions to algorithm design and computational complexity, including pioneering a new understanding of the notion of mathematical proof. Spielman (Yale University) and Teng (University of Southern California) will receive the Gödel Prize for improvements in the running time for core problems in algorithmic graph theory. The awards will be presented at the ACM Symposium on the Theory of Computing (STOC 2015), June 14-17, in Portland, Oregon.

The Knuth Prize is named in honor of Donald Knuth of Stanford University, who has been called the "father" of the analysis of algorithms. It is presented annually by ACM's Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT) and the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on the Mathematical Foundations of Computing (TCMF). The Gödel Prize is named in honor of Kurt Gödel, whose work has had immense impact upon scientific and philosophical thinking in the 20th century. It is presented annually by SIGACT and the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS).
Read the ACM news release.

Vint Cerf Receives Genius Award from Liberty Science Center

ACM Past President and Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf was one of three honorees celebrated at a gala event at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey on May 1. Along with Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, and Jill Tarter, the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI Research (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, Cerf received a Genius Award, adding to his numerous honors including the 2004 ACM A.M. Turing Award, the US National Medal of Technology, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Ken Kennedy Award Nominations Due July 1

Established in memory of Ken Kennedy, the founder of Rice University's nationally ranked computer science program and one of the world's foremost experts on high-performance computing, this award, consisting of a certificate and $5,000 honorarium, is awarded jointly by the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society for outstanding contributions to programmability or productivity in high-performance computing together with significant community service or mentoring contributions. Nominations are due July 1.

MEMBER RECOGNITION

Call for ACM Senior and Distinguished Member and Fellows 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 June 3. Please read Advice to Those Seeking ACM Senior Members by former Senior Member Committee Chair Susan Rodger on how to submit a strong nomination package.

The Distinguished Member designation recognizes ACM members with at least 15 years of professional experience and 5 years of continuous ACM Professional membership who have demonstrated significant accomplishments or made a significant impact on the computing field. The deadline for nominations is August 3. Please read Advice to Members Seeking ACM Distinction, by past Committee Co-chairs Marc Snir and Telle Whitney.

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

FCRC 2015, June 12 to 19, Portland, Oregon

FCRC 2015 assembles a spectrum of affiliated research conferences and workshops into a week-long coordinated meeting held at a common time in a common place. This model retains the advantages of the smaller conferences, while at the same time, facilitates communication among researchers in different fields in computer science and engineering. Mornings of FCRC week will begin with joint plenary talks on topics of broad appeal to the computing research community. Scheduled plenary speakers are 2014 ACM A.M. Turing Award Michael Stonebraker, delivering the Turing Lecture; Andrew Yao, dean and professor at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences, Tsinghua University; Olivier Temam, engineer, Google; Don Syme, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research, Cambridge; Kathy Yelick, professor, electrical engineering and computer sciences, University of California, Berkeley, and 2013-2014 ACM-W Athena Lecturer; and Balaji Prabhakar, professor, electrical engineering and computer science, Stanford University. FCRC includes conferences, workshops and symposia on Computational Complexity, Computer Architecture, Programming Language Design and Implementation, Theory of Computing, and much more.

C&C 2015, June 22 to 25, Glasgow, Scotland, U

C&C 2015, the ACM conference on Creativity and Cognition, presents research investigating computing's impact on human creativity in a broad range of disciplines, including the arts, design, science, and engineering. The program will include an art exhibition and performances, in addition to a graduate symposium, papers and workshops exploring ways in which interactive computing systems and sociotechnical processes affect creativity. Keynotes will be delivered by Steve Benford, Professor of Collaborative Computing in the Mixed Reality Laboratory at the University of Nottingham; Marcos Novak, Professor and Vice Chair of the Media Arts and Technology Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Stephen Scrivener, Professor of Design at University of the Arts London.

SIGIR 2015, August 9 to 13, Santiago, Chile

SIGIR 2015 is the major international forum for the presentation of new research results and for the demonstration of new systems and techniques in information retrieval. Technical papers will address a host of topics, from Learning to Extract Local Events from the Web to Evaluating Streams of Evolving News Events. SIGIR also includes demonstrations, a Doctoral Consortium, tutorials, and short papers. Workshops will address Graph Search, Neuro-Physiological Methods in IR Research, Privacy-Preserving IR, and more. Early bird registration ends June 17.

SIGGRAPH 2015, August 9 to 13, Los Angeles, California

At SIGGRAPH 2015, the annual educational and interdisciplinary conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, industry professionals, researchers, artists, software developers and enthusiasts will come together to learn about current developments in graphics. Programs include Emerging Technologies, a Makers session, and Real-Time Live! showcasing the latest trends and techniques for pushing the boundaries of interactive visuals, as well as the Art Gallery and Computer Animation Festival. The keynote speaker is Joi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab, and an activist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and advocate of democracy and freedom of the Internet.

SPLASH 2015, October 25 to 30, Pittsburgh

SPLASH 2015, the ACM SIGPLAN conference on Systems, Programming, Languages and Applications: Software for Humanity (incorporating OOPSLA) explores all aspects of software construction and delivery. Paper submissions are invited in several tracks: Pattern Languages of Programs, Software Language Engineering, Dynamic Languages, Generative and Component Approaches, Databases and Programming Languages, and more. See the Important Dates page for a complete list of deadlines.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2015, November 2 to 5, Kobe, Japan

SIGGRAPH Asia 2015 invites you to submit your works and showcase your outstanding creative ideas and innovations at the 8th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia. The eighth edition of the event, back for the second time in Japan, expects to draw conference attendees, exhibition visitors, and exhibitors from more than 50 countries worldwide. This is anticipated to be the largest SIGGRAPH Asia event organized since 2008. Programs open for submissions include Computer Animation Festival, Emerging Technologies, Technical Papers, Workshops, Posters, and more. Visit the submitters page for a complete list of deadlines. Student volunteers are also encouraged to apply; the deadline is June 30.

PUBLIC POLICY

USACM submits comments on NIST Roadmap for Election Systems' Usability and Accessibility

On April 30 USACM submitted comments on the NIST roadmap for usability and accessibility of future voting technologies and systems. USACM's comments highlight the importance of usable and accessible voting technologies and systems and the need to improve and ensure the right of all voters to cast their votes independently and privately using secure, reliable, usable, and trustworthy computer-based systems.

Vint Cerf Speaks on Internet Policy at National Press Club Event

Vint Cerf, ACM Past President and Google Chief Internet Evangelist, spoke on the growth of Internet-connected devices, IPv6, Internet governance, Internet security, net neutrality, encryption, and societal benefits of the Internet at an event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on May 4. Among his remarks, he highlighted technical issues, voluntary initiatives to promote further growth of the Internet, and policy issues, including:

  • Implementation of IPv6 by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) is "absolutely vital" to the continued growth of the Internet and the Internet of Things.
  • The IANA transition of Internet governance to the multistakeholder oversight and management model will bring benefits. Such a transfer was envisioned when ICANN was created in 1998.
  • ISPs should be required to adhere to nondiscrimination of lawful Internet traffic.
  • Equal access to performance features preserves consumer choice and is fundamental to the Internet's utility.
  • Privacy and security are "really important," and encryption helps preserve privacy. In discussing the need for policy leaders to address both privacy and security needs, he cautioned that backdoors to encryption are "really, really risky."
  • Governments around the world need public policies that will encourage the development of the Internet and that will help realize the benefits of the Internet for their citizens.

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. The 2014–2015 Ambassadors for ACM program offers opportunities for you to earn new prizes, rewards and bonus gifts with each referral.

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. Please consider becoming an Ambassador for ACM.

The ACM Group 10-year Level Term Life Plan, administered by Mercer Consumer, a service of Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC, is an important member benefit available to ACM members and their families at affordable group-negotiated rates. ACM members and their spouses are eligible to apply for up to $1,000,000 in benefit amounts. 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. Click here to learn more about ACM Group Level Term Life Insurance Plan today, or call 1-800-503-9230.

LEARNING CENTER

Register to Watch Four SIGSOFT Webcasts in June

Register to watch four free ACM SIGSOFT webcasts in June. A series of SIGSOFT webinars will cover cutting-edge topics in software engineering:

  • Agile and Evolutionary Software Development, presented on Tuesday, June 2, at noon ET by Václav Rajlich, Professor and former Chair of Computer Science at Wayne State University. Moderated by Will Tracz, Lockheed Martin Fellow Emeritus and Chair of ACM SIGSOFT.
  • ACM SIGSOFT Town Hall Webinar, presented on Monday, June 8, at 3 pm ET by Will Tracz. Moderated by Laura Dillon, Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State University and Vice Chair of ACM SIGSOFT.
  • End-User Software Engineering: Beyond the Silos, presented on Thursday, June 18, at 1 pm ET by Margaret Burnett, Professor of Computer Science at Oregon State University, and Brad Myers, Professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • Are You Getting Traction? Tales from the Tech Transfer Trenches, presented on Thursday, June 25, at noon ET by Satish Chandra, Senior Principal Engineer at Samsung Electronics. Moderated by Will Tracz.

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

Watch May 15 Webcast on Demand: "Making the Digital and Physical Worlds Accessible for People with Disabilities"

Register now for the ACM July 30 webcast by George Neville-Neil, What Time Is It? A Guide to Time for Software Developers. Neville-Neil reprises the talk he gave at ACM's Applicative conference in February, in which he discussed the role of timekeeping in keeping deployed systems running smoothly. Neville-Neil works on networking and operating system code, teaches courses computer programming-related subjects, and is the columnist behind ACM Queue's "Kode Vicious." The webcast will be moderated by Terry Coatta, CTO, Marine Learning Systems, and member of the ACM Practitioners Board.

New eBooks from Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress

Recently, new titles have been added to the Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress books collection, with coverage spanning Artificial Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Computer Human Interaction, Computing for Engineering, Computer Organization and Architecture, Data Management, Development Tools and Programming, Embedded Systems and Computer Engineering, Information Technology Networking, Professional and Career Development, Security, and Software. A total of 50 new titles have been added to the Learning Center catalog, including: There's Not an App for That, Forms that Work, Geometric Algebra for Computer Science, SQL Injection Attacks and Defense, and Next Generation Knowledge Machines. See all the newly added titles here.

New Skillsoft Courses

Recently, the Learning Center updated its collection of Skillsoft online courses, with significant enhancement to coverage of software and web development skills. New course packages include AngularJS, Building Apps with jQuery Mobile, C++11 Programming Essentials, Developing with Kendo UI, Developing With Python, Fundamentals of Eclipse, Java Hibernate, JavaScript Essentials, JavaScript—Ember.js, JavaScript Sencha, JavaScript Single Page Apps, MySQL Essentials, Programming in C#, Programming in C++, Ruby On Rails, Ruby Programming, Selenium Automated Web Testing, and Software Development Fundamentals. To access these courses, log into Skillport while logged into the Learning Center with your ACM member credentials and browse the course catalog. See all the newly added titles here.

Recent Additions to Skillsoft IT and Desktop Video Library

Did you know that ACM members have access to thousands of IT and productivity videos from Skillsoft in the ACM Learning Center? Covering a variety of today's hottest topics, these videos offer "on-the-job" support and solutions for busy practitioners.

Recently, Skillsoft added significant video content in the following knowledge areas: CICD 1.0, CISSP 2015, CSSLP, Cucumber Fundamentals, DCICT 1.0, Defensive Programming, Java SE 8 Fundamentals, JSON Fundamentals, Mac OS X Yosemite, Microsoft Azure and SQL Server 2014, RavenDB, and Wordpress. To access these and other videos, visit the Learning Center, log into Skillsoft and Books 24x7 with your ACM member credentials, then browse by IT and Technical Video Topics. See the videos page for more video listings.

New Member Discount on EMC Courseware

ACM has partnered with EMC to bring members a 15% discount on practical training in some of today's most vital IT knowledge areas, such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, Information Storage and Management, Virtualization, and more. These EMC courses focus on technology, not products, to teach technology topics applicable to any vendor environment. Training is available in various modalities, including eLearning, instructor-led (ILT), online ILT, video ILT, and video ILT-stream. For the list of eligible courses and the discount code, visit the EMC courses page.

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.

CSTA JOB BOARD

Computer Science Teachers Association Job Board Matches Job Seekers, Employers

The Computer Science Teachers Association's CSTA Job Board is the career hub for K-12 Computer Science teachers. The career center provides access to 100% computer science K-12 teaching-related job postings.

The CSTA Job Board will allow you to manage your career:

  • Search and apply to K-12 computer science related jobs
  • Upload your anonymous résumé and allow employers to contact you
  • Set up job alerts specifying your skills, interests, and location to receive email notifications when a job is posted that matches your criteria

or recruit for open positions:

  • put job openings in front of the most qualified group of K-12 computer science-focused professionals
  • Simply create an employer account on the CSTA Job Board and choose from three levels of online job postings options: Basic 30-Day Online Job Posting ($190); Enhanced 30-Day Online Posting ($250); or Premium 30-Day Online Posting ($310).

CSTA Members: be sure to visit the CSTA Job Board directly (or click the Job Board link from the CSTA homepage) to create and upload your résumé to the Résumé Bank so that employers find you, or keep it private and use it when applying online for jobs. Log in and post your résumé today!

STUDENT NEWS

ACM Presents Special Awards to 2015 Intel Science Fair Finalists

ACM presented seven Special Awards to finalists in the 2015 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world's largest high school science research competition, held May 10-15 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. More than 1,700 young entrepreneurs, innovators and scientists from more than 75 countries, regions and territories competed to reach the finals. All winners receive complimentary ACM student memberships for the duration of their undergraduate education. Here are ACM's ISEF Special Award winners and their breakthrough research topics:

First Award of $1,000:
"Image Processing Algorithms towards Optical Detection of 2D Nanomaterials"
Onkar Singh Gujral, 18, La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata, Kolkata, India
 
Second Award of $500:
"A Novel Algorithm for #SAT"
Elliot Gorokhovsky, 16, Fairview High School, Boulder, Colorado
 
Third Award of $300:
"Development of a Rapid, Accurate, and Private Contact Tracing System Utilizing Smartphone Proximities"
Clarissa Sophie Scoggins, 16, and Rohan Suri, 16, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
 
Fourth Award of $200:
"Approximating the Maximum k-Colorable Subgraph Problem on Dotted Interval Graphs"
Alexander Lin, 17, Millburn High School, Millburn, New Jersey
 
"Composing Music with Sign Language Pattern Recognition"
Amina Mustafa, 15, Dearborn Center for Math, Science, and Technology, Dearborn Heights, Michigan
 
"Generation via Embedding of Quasi-Optimal Networks for Application in High Performance Computing"
Sahil Abbi, 16, Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, New York, and Arjun Kapoor, 17, The Wheatley School, Old Westbury, New York

ACM Student Research Competition Grand Finals Winners

The ACM Student Research Competition (SRC), sponsored by Microsoft Research, has announced its Grand Finals winners. There are two rounds of competition at each conference hosting an SRC, which culminates in a Grand Finals competition. All undergraduate and graduate student winners from the SRCs held during the year advance to the SRC Grand Finals, where they are evaluated by a different panel of judges via the Web. This year's SRC Grand Finals winners are, in the Graduate Division: Lu Xiao, Drexel University (FSE 2014); Shupeng Sun, Carnegie Mellon University (ICCAD 2014); and Omid Abari, MIT (MobiCom 2014). In the Undergraduate Division the winners are: Thomas Effland, SUNY, University of Buffalo (SIGCSE 2015); Mitchell Gordon, University of Rochester (ASSETS 2014); and Shannon Lubetich, Pomona College (GHC 2014). The winners are invited, along with their advisors, to attend the annual ACM Awards Banquet in San Francisco, California on June 20, where they will receive formal recognition.

Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions: Submission Deadlines

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 CHI 2015. 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 Vibeke Sorensen. Vibeke is Professor and Chair of the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is an artist working in digital multimedia and computer animation, interactive architectural installation, and visual music performance. Her work in experimental new media spans three decades and has been published and exhibited worldwide, including in books, galleries, museums, conferences, performances, film festivals, on cable and broadcast television, and the internet. She has collaborated with scientists in developing new technologies, including at California Institute of Technology, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and the Neurosciences Institute of La Jolla. She has been a consultant for Disney and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA, and her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and Intel. She was Founding Director of the Computer Animation Laboratory in the School of Film and Video at the California Institute of the Arts, and also was Professor and Founding Chair of the Division of Animation and Digital Arts in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She is a 2001 Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in Film/Video/Multimedia.

For more information on Vibeke, please visit her DSP speaker information page.
Vibeke Sorensen'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 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 April 17 to May 13, 2015:

ACM Student Chapters:

  • COMSATS IIT Abbottabad ACM Student Chapter, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, Pakistan
  • CUIT ACM Student Chapter, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, China
  • DYPIMCA ACM Student Chapter, D.Y. Patil Institute of MCA, Pune, India
  • George Fox University ACM-W Student Chapter, Newberg, Oregon
  • Helwan University BIS ACM Student Chapter, Cairo, Egypt
  • Oregon State University ACM Student Chapter, Corvallis
  • Southern New Mexico ACM Student Chapter, Las Cruces
  • The Catholic University of America ACM Student Chapter, Washington, DC
  • UAdeC ACM Student Chapter, Autonomous University of Coahuila, Saltillo, Mexico
  • UESTC ACM Student Chapter, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu
  • University of Maryland/College Park ACM-W Student Chapter
  • University of the People ACM Student Chapter, Pasadena, California
  • Washington State University ACM-W Student Chapter, Pullman

ACM Professional Chapters:

  • Brisbane ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter, South Brisbane, Australia
  • Southern New Mexico ACM Chapter, Las Cruces

ACM-W NEWS

5th Michigan Celebration of Women in Computing Inspires Undergrads to "Think outside the Box"

By Laura Dillon, Michigan State University

On March 20 and 21, more than 220 women convened on the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor campus for the Fifth Michigan Celebration of Women in Computing (MICWiC 2015). Geared primarily for undergraduate women in computing fields, the event was organized by women from nine Michigan colleges and universities and two Michigan-based companies. A poster session, banquet, and keynote, "Talking to R2D2" by Joyce Chai from Michigan State University's Department of Computer Science and Engineering kicked off the conference. As stated by one attendee, "[Joyce] was clearly an expert in her field and displayed passion in her academic and out-of-work activities!" The first evening also featured two Birds of a Feather sessions and speed interviewing.

The following day started with a keynote from Heidi Musser of USAA on leadership, diversity, innovation and transformation. The talk was very well received. One student commented, "[Heidi's] talk motivated me to not be afraid of the difficult tasks in the future. It was refreshing to not have to 'be perfect' as I feel I have to be in classes a lot. The focus here was on learning." The day's events also included several parallel panel sessions, lightning talks, a poster session and a session on outreach. MICWiC 2015 concluded with a career fair that connected student attendees with several area employers.

ACM-W Celebrations are local events that showcase female role models, encourage mentoring and networking, supply accurate information about computing careers, and create opportunities for women to present their research, often for the first time in their careers. Many of the ACM-W Celebration events include poster competitions for undergraduate and graduate students to present their research and project work. You can find information on starting new Celebrations and conference planning resources on the ACM-W Celebrations site. Please contact Jodi Tims for any additional assistance.

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.

Also read the ACM-W Connections newsletter for updates on ACM-W programs: local celebrations, scholarships and awards, chapters, and more.

PUBLICATIONS NEWS

ACM Transactions on Intelligent Systems and Technology Welcomes New Editor-in-Chief

ACM Transactions on Intelligent Systems and Technology (TIST) welcomes Yu Zheng as its new Editor-in-Chief. Yu is a lead researcher at Microsoft Research and a Chair Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His term begins June 1.

ACM Inroads, ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, Journal of the ACM, and ACM Transactions on Information and System Security Calls for New Editor-in-Chief

ACM Inroads is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Nominations are due May 31.

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Nominations are due July 1.

Journal of the ACM (JACM) is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Nominations are due July 1.

ACM Transactions on Information and System Security (TISSEC) is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Nominations are due July 15.

ACM Transactions on Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Computing Systems and ACM Transactions on Cyber-Physical Systems Accepting Submissions

The new ACM journal ACM Transactions on Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Computing Systems (TOMPECS) is now accepting submissions. Visit the submissions site for more information.

The new ACM journal ACM Transactions on Cyber-Physical Systems (TCPS) is now accepting submissions. Visit the submissions site for more information.

Information Systems Category Editor Needed for Computing Reviews

Computing Reviews, the post-publication review and comment journal of ACM, is seeking a volunteer interested in serving as a category editor for a segment of the information systems area. Please see the Information Systems Category Editor search page for more information.

ACM Queue Presents: Evolution and Practice: Low-latency Distributed Applications in Finance

In his article for ACM Queue, Andrew Brook, CTO at Selerity, describes the finance industry's unique demands for low-latency distributed systems. In recent years the automation of financial trading has driven requirements for distributed systems with challenging latency requirements and global geographic distribution. Automated trading provides a window into the engineering challenges of ever-shrinking latency requirements. Brook focuses on applications where latency is one of the primary design considerations. Phrased differently, "low-latency systems" are those for which latency is the main measure of success and is usually the toughest constraint to design around.

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ACM IN THE NEWS

"To Handle Big Data, Shrink It"

MIT News, May 20, 2015
MIT researchers will present an algorithm that finds the smallest possible approximation of a matrix that guarantees reliable computations at the 47th ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC 15).

"Tech Giants Don't Want Obama to Give Police Access to Encrypted Phone Data"

The Washington Post, May 19, 2015
A group of more than 140 technology companies, prominent technologists, and civil society groups have signed a letter addressed to President Barack Obama urging him to reject any government proposals that might allow law enforcement to force technology companies to install backdoors or otherwise weaken the encryption they use to secure their devices and data. The signatories include USACM, as well as policy experts such as SRI International Computer Science Lab principal scientist Peter G. Neumann, moderator of the ACM Risks Forum.

"Code.org Targets High School Computer Science"

USA Today, May 14, 2015
Code.org (of which ACM is a partner) is collaborating with College Board to work to expand computer science in US high schools and increase the number of female and minority students taking computer science courses. Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi says the nonprofit will provide the curriculum, tools, training, and funding to school districts that qualify.

"Self-driving cars getting dinged in California"

msn.com, May 11, 2015
A higher priority is teaching cars to avoid causing a serious accident that could set public and political acceptance of the technology back years, says ACM SIGBED Chair Raj Rajkumar.

"Girls Just Want to Code. The Trick Is Making Sure They Don't Stop"

CNet, May 8, 2015
Harvey Mudd College president and former ACM president Maria Klawe cites the trend of intimidation by a classroom where males are a majority discouraging girls' pursuit of STEM degrees as a clear argument for changing how schools teach computer science.

"Nepal: CRICIS Computing Is Needed"

CCC Blog, May 7, 2015
Texas A&M University computer science professor and ACM 2014 Lawler Award recipient Robin Murphy says the recent earthquake in Nepal illustrates the need for critical real-time computing and information systems (CRICIS) computing.

"Internet Pioneer Vint Cerf Calls for Rapid Web Security Enhancements"

eWeek, May 5, 2015
The need for security was a recurring theme of the remarks made by Internet pioneer and past ACM president Vint Cerf at the National Press Club.

"One Way to Reduce Email Stress: Re-Invent the Mailing List"

MIT News, April 27, 2015
MIT CSAIL researchers present prototype system Murmur—which they hope will improve the experience of using email mailing lists by incorporating popular social media features such as upvoting, following, and blocking—at CHI 2015.

"RSA: Panel Calls NSA Access to Encryption Keys a Bad Idea"

Network World, April 22, 2015
Panelists at the RSA 2015 security conference's cryptography panel this week expressed skepticism about the encryption key escrow schemes being put forward by the US government to ensure it has access to encrypted communications data. On the panel were 2002 ACM A.M. Turing Award co-recipients Ron Rivest and Adi Shamir, and Whitfield Diffie, co-recipient of the ACM 1996 Paris Kanellakis Award.

"Vigilance Is the Price of Secure Computing"

Chronicle of Higher Education, April 20, 2015
ACM SIGACCESS Chair Andrew Sears believes that a serious and sustained investment in cybersecurity education is key to keeping the US safe.

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