ACM MemberNet - October 29, 2015

Welcome to the October 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.

October 29, 2015

TOP STORIES

Organize an Hour of Code in Your Community During CSEdWeek, December 7-13

Computer Science Education Week is aiming to fuel the trend of integrating Computer Science into every school curriculum with the Hour of Code, December 7-13.

The concept behind Hour of Code is simple: try learning to code for just one hour. Anyone, anywhere can organize an Hour of Code event, and anyone from ages 4 to 104 can try the one-hour tutorials, which are available in 40 languages.

This year the Hour of Code has set a goal of 100,000 events worldwide, with new tutorials and prizes. Learn more about how to teach an Hour of Code.

ACM (a partner of Code.org, a coalition of organizations dedicated to expanding participation in computer science) invites you to host an Hour of Code in your community and give students an opportunity to gain the skills needed for creating technology that's changing the world. Please post activities you are hosting/participating in, pass along this information, and encourage others to post their activities. Tweet about it at #HourOfCode.

SIG 2016 Elections

In accordance with ACM Bylaw 6, the following ACM Special Interest Groups will hold elections in 2016: SIGAI, SIGCSE, SIGDOC, ACM SIGGRAPH, SIGHPC, SIGIR, SIGLOG, and SIGSIM.

AWARDS

UC Berkeley Professor to Receive ACM/IEEE-CS Kennedy Award at SC15

ACM and IEEE Computer Society have named Katherine Yelick as the recipient of the 2015 ACM/IEEE Computer Society Ken Kennedy Award for innovative research contributions to parallel computing languages that have been used in both the research community and in production environments. She was also cited for her strategic leadership of the national research laboratories and for developing novel educational and mentoring tools. The award will be presented at the SC 15 International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis November 17 in Austin, Texas.

Yelick is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley and Faculty Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she is currently the Associate Laboratory Director for Computing Sciences. An ACM Fellow, Yelick was named the 2013–2014 Athena Lecturer by the ACM Women's Council (ACM-W). She is a member of the National Academies of Computer Science and Telecommunications Board and previously served on the California Council on Science and Technology and the University of California Science and Technology Council. Yelick participated in the National Research Council report, "The Future of Computer Performance: Game Over or Next Level?" on opportunities and challenges for sustaining growth in computing performance.
Read the ACM news release.

Christopher Ré Named 2015 MacArthur Fellow

Christopher Ré joins a diverse group of 24 luminaries who were named 2015 MacArthur Fellows. Ré, an assistant professor at Stanford University's Computer Science department, was recognized for democratizing big data analytics through theoretical advances in statistics and logic and groundbreaking data processing applications for solving practical problems. He has leveraged his training in databases and deep knowledge of machine learning to create an inference engine, DeepDive, that can analyze data of a kind and at a scale that is beyond the current capabilities of traditional databases. His work has also been recognized with best paper awards from PODS (ACM Symposium on Principles of Database Systems) and SIGMOD (ACM International Conference on Management of Data) and has appeared in such proceedings and journals as SIGMOD, VLDB (Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Very Large Data Bases), and Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS).

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
  • ACM Policy Award
  • Distinguished Service Award
  • Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award

Other Award deadlines:

  • Doctoral Dissertation Award: October 31

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

MEMBER RECOGNITION

Call for ACM Senior Member Nominations

The Senior Member advanced grade of membership recognizes ACM members with at least 10 years of professional experience and 5 years of continuous ACM Professional membership who have demonstrated performance and accomplishment that set them apart from their peers. Nominations are accepted on a quarterly basis. The deadline for nominations is December 3. Please read Advice to Those Seeking ACM Senior Members by former 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

ACM to Celebrate Bicentennials of Ada Lovelace and George Boole

ACM is joining with the University of Oxford and the Computer History Museum to celebrate the 200th birthdays of Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) and George Boole (1815–1864). The bicentennial events will feature exhibits, lectures and a symposium on their lives and fundamental contributions to computing and computer programming.

The exhibit "Ada Lovelace: Computer Pioneer" will be on view at Weston Library in Oxford, UK from October 13 to December 20. The exhibit is based on collections held in the Bodleian Library and the Oxford Museum of the History of Science. The Ada Lovelace 200 Symposium: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Ada Lovelace will take place December 9 to 10, with ACM President Alexander Wolf, ACM Vice President Vicki Hanson, Communications of the ACM Editor-in-Chief Moshe Vardi and ACM-W Chair Valerie Barr participating. Please register for the symposium before November 23. A special interdisciplinary workshop for graduates and early-career researchers will take place December 8. Check the events calendar for more lectures and other events.

ACM will fund live streaming of the Lovelace symposium on December 9 from 6:00 AM to 11:30 AM EST.

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California will open its exhibit Thinking Big: Ada, Countess of Lovelace to the public on December 12. On December 13, the Museum will host Adafest, a community day focused on Ada Lovelace that includes opportunities to meet local artisans, uncover the sights and styles of Victorian England, and explore Ada's life through storytelling, live demonstrations, and tours. A special ACM weekend (January 23-24, 2016) will offer ACM members, their families and guests free admission to the Museum. In addition, ACM members can receive a 10% discount on admission to the Computer History Museum, as well as on Museum membership.

Sloan/NYU School of Engineering Lecture with ACM Past President Vint Cerf, November 4

Sign up to attend The Coming Age of the Internet of Things, sponsored by ACM, with Vinton G. Cerf on November 4 at 9 to 11:30 a.m. EST. The event is free and open to the public and will be simulcast on the web. If you can't attend in person, watch it live. (You must register to receive the Livestream link.) Panelists include Deborah Estrin, recipient of the first ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award. For more information, visit the lecture series website.

SC15, November 15 to 20, Austin, Texas

SC15 is dedicated to showcasing work in high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis by the international HPC community. The core of the conference is the technical program with peer-reviewed content for every track; a series of student programs to engage and foster the next generation of HPC professionals; community awards to honor researchers in the field; and the fastest research network, SCinet, built to support high performing applications and demonstrations during the conference. Actor and science advocate Alan Alda will open the conference; Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel's Data Center Group Diane Bryant will be the plenary speaker for HPC Matters.

SXSW 2016 Interactive, March 11 to 15, Austin, Texas

The SXSW Interactive Festival is a dynamic blend of cutting-edge technologies and digital creativity, featuring compelling presentations and panels from the brightest minds in emerging technology, networking events hosted by industry leaders, and the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer. This year ACM makes its debut with three sessions that were selected in part by public voting:

Early registration rates are available now.

L@S 2016, April 25 to 26, 2016, Edinburgh, UK

The third annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale is at the intersection of computer science and the learning sciences, seeking to improve practice and theories of learning at scale. Strong submissions typically build on relevant research and frameworks beyond a single home discipline. Co-located with the 6th International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference (LAK 2016), this year's conference is seeking paper submissions reporting on rigorous research on methodologies, studies, analyses, tools, or technologies for learning at scale. Learning at Scale includes MOOCs, games (including massively multiplayer online games), citizen science communities, and other types of learning environments which provide learning experiences to large number of learners, and/or produce detailed, high-volume data about the learning process. Full paper submissions are due October 31; see the Calls page for more deadlines and submission details.

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 2015–2016 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.

What is long-term care insurance? Do I qualify for coverage? As an ACM member, am I entitled to any special discounts? Find out the answers to these questions and more by visiting the Long Term Care Education Resources Center.

LEARNING CENTER

Register to Watch November 4 Webcast on Entrepreneurship for Computing Professionals, "Innovation Colonies; Disrupting the Fortune 500"

Register to watch the next free ACM webinar, Innovation Colonies; Disrupting the Fortune 500, to be presented on Wednesday, November 4 at 2 pm ET Dominic Holt, Co-Founder and CEO of Divine Intervention Software, Director of Advanced Concepts at Solute, Inc., and member of the ACM Professional Development Committee.

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

New Skillsoft Learning Collections Offer More Books and Courses, Mobile Platform

The new Skillsoft Learning Collections are an improved professional development offering available to all ACM members as part of ACM's continued commitment to lifelong learning. The Collections include more than 1,000 online courses (more than doubling the previous collection), over 3,000 eBooks, and thousands of short videos with comprehensive coverage of today's hottest skills, technologies, and certifications. Knowledge areas with deep emphasis include software development, cybersecurity, big data and databases, networking, and project management, as well as custom series in business analysis, service management, and operating systems.

Beyond increased breadth and currency of content, these Collections are hosted in Skillsoft's latest learning management system, Skillport 8. This new platform offers "anywhere access" to books and short videos for mobile devices, and access to a standalone Skillsoft app for Android and iOS users. It is also Java-free (with the exception of offline downloads via Skillsoft Course Manager). Automatic content updates pushed automatically to our collections ensure that members have access to the latest technologies, standards, and frameworks. To start exploring the new Skillsoft Learning Collections, visit the ACM Learning Center, log in with your member credentials, and click on "Skillsoft Learning." To jump directly to particular subject areas, visit the Books, Courses, and Videos page. For more information and frequently asked questions, check out the Skillsoft FAQ.

New eBooks from Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress

More than 140 new titles have been added to the Learning Center catalog of Morgan Kaufmann and Syngress eBooks in 2015, which now numbers more than 420. Recently added titles include: The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing (Second Edition); The Basics of Web Hacking; Big Data Analytics; Commonsense Reasoning: An Event Calculus Based Approach; Computer Architecture, Fifth Edition; Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques; Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques; Distributed Algorithms; Multicore and GPU Programming; and Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming. See all the newly added titles here.

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!

EDUCATION

SE2014 Update of Undergraduate Curricular Guidelines in Software Engineering Now Available

The Software Engineering 2014 Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Software Engineering (SE2014) is completed and available for public distribution. SE2014, a Volume of the Computing Curricula Series, is a revision of the SE2004 volume, developed and refined by a joint task force of ACM and the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS). SE2014 was recently endorsed by both sponsoring societies. Mark Ardis (Stevens Institute), chaired the effort and led the IEEE-CS delegation on the steering committee, which also includes Greg Hislop (Drexel University) and Mark Sebern (Milwaukee School of Engineering). The ACM delegation consisted of David Budgen (University of Durham), Jeff Offutt (George Mason University), and Willem Visser (University of Stellenbosch).

STUDENT NEWS

Enter Appreneur Scholar Contest—Deadline November 15

ACM has partnered with the Kay Family Foundation to support the 2016 Appreneur Scholarship Award. The competition recognizes outstanding high school and college student-created apps and culminates in a reception for the awardees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2016) in Las Vegas. A panel of experts from technology, education, and financial communities, will select the two winning Appreneur Scholars, who will receive a $5,000 scholarship and be recognized at the Mobile Apps Showdown and TransformingEDU Summit of CES. Mobile app entries are due November 15.

US High School Students Encouraged to Apply for New ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize

The ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing recognizes talented high school students in computer science. The intent of the program is to promote and encourage the field of computer science, as well as to empower young and aspiring learners to pursue computing challenges outside of the traditional classroom environment.

The application process involves a Challenge that focuses on having the student develop an artifact that engages modern computing technology and computer science. Judges will be looking for submissions that demonstrate ingenuity, complexity, relevancy, originality, and a desire to further computer science as a discipline. The application period closes January 1, 2016.

Four winners will be selected annually and each will be awarded a $10,000 prize and cost of travel to the annual ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing Reception, where students will demonstrate their programs and discuss their work. The prizes will be funded by a $1 million endowment established by David Cutler and Gordon Bell. The inaugural awards will be announced in February 2016.

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 ICCAD 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 2015-2016 scholarships are made possible by generous support from Google, Microsoft Research, and Oracle.

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 Brian Barsky. Brian is Professor of Computer Science and Vision Science, and Affiliate Professor of Optometry, at the University of California, Berkeley. He is an Affiliate Member of the Graduate Group in Bioengineering, an interdisciplinary and inter-campus program, between UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. He has been a visiting professor or researcher at institutions in Singapore, Czech Republic, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, France, Canada, and Norway. He holds a DCS and a BSc from McGill University, an MS from Cornell University, and a PhD from the University of Utah.

His research interests include computational aesthetics, computational photography, methods for the design and fabrication of contact lenses, computer methods for optometry and ophthalmology, image synthesis, spline curve/surface representations, computer aided geometric design and modeling, CAD/CAM/CIM, interactive and realistic three-dimensional computer graphics, visualization in scientific computing, computer-aided cornea modeling and visualization, videokeratography techniques, corneal topographic mapping, medical imaging, virtual environments for surgical simulation, and display technology. Brian was the Technical Program Committee Chair for the ACM SIGGRAPH 1985 conference. He has published a book on Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling Using Beta-splines and 160 technical articles, and has been a speaker at many international conferences.

For more information on Brian, please visit his DSP speaker information page.
Brian Barsky'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 September 10 to October 13, 2015:

ACM Student Chapters:

  • Florida Atlantic University ACM-W Student Chapter, Boca Raton
  • GHRCE ACM Student Chapter, G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur, India
  • High Point University ACM Student Chapter, High Point, North Carolina
  • Miami Dade College ACM-W Student Chapter, Miami, Florida
  • Montana State University ACM-W Student Chapter, Bozeman
  • Randolph-Macon College ACM Student Chapter, Ashland, Virginia
  • Salisbury University ACM Student Chapter, Salisbury, Maryland
  • Southeastern Louisiana University ACM Student Chapter, Hammond
  • St. Thomas Aquinas College ACM Student Chapter, Sparkill, New York
  • Sunny Hills High School ACM Student Chapter, Fullerton, California
  • SVIET ACM Student Chapter, Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India
  • UAlbany ACM-W Student Chapter, University of Albany, New York
  • UESTC ACM Student Chapter, University of Electronic Science and Technology, Chengdu, China
  • UNC Asheville ACM Student Chapter, University of North Carolina, Asheville

ACM Professional Chapters:

  • CNSys ACM SIGOPS Chapter, Beijing, China
  • Harbin ACM Chapter, Harbin, China
  • Khartoum ACM Chapter, Khartoum, Sudan

ACM-W NEWS

MINK WIC Encourages Midwest Tech Women to Reach for the Stars

By Carol Spradling (Northwest Missouri State University)
The Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas Women in Computing Celebration (MINK WIC 2015) held October 15 and 16 in Kansas City, Missouri drew 237 attendees, including 159 undergraduate and graduate students, 51 faculty from 28 colleges and universities from the four states, and industry speakers.

Conference highlights included two keynote addresses. "Unleashing Your Potential: Innovation & Life" was delivered by Duy-Loan Le, a highly accomplished semiconductor industry expert and technology consultant who was the first and only woman at Texas Instruments to be elected Senior Fellow, the highest rank for technology employees. The second keynote speaker was Alicia M. Dwyer Cianciolo, an aerospace engineer for NASA who has participated in nearly every mission to Mars in the past decade, with "From the Sandhills of Nebraska to the Sand Dunes of Mars, Anything Can Happen if You Let It." The conference also offered workshops and talks on Raspberry Pi, Swift, Creating Your Own Virtual Lab, and a Microsoft resume workshop. A variety of tech talks and panel discussions were available on topics such as entrepreneurship, internships and launching your career, and the imposter syndrome.

Another conference highlight was the career fair, which where 11 national and local companies were represented: American Century, Cerner Corporation, Commerce Bank, Federal Reserve Bank, Garmin International, KCP&L, Lexmark, Microsoft, NetApp, Target, and Technology Services Group.

Many generous sponsors supported the MINK WIC conference. The Kauffman Foundation contributed the use of their Kauffman Conference Center while other generous sponsors donated $20,000 which allowed us to charge a $25 conference fee for all students and faculty, covering the cost of conference meals and lodging.

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 Wendy Powley 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

New acmqueue App Launches

There's a new way to enjoy acmqueue, ACM's magazine by and for practitioners. You can now download the mobile app via Google play and the Apple App Store. The new acmqueue is also available as a desktop digital edition. Find out more about these options on the Apps page.

After more than a decade of providing unique perspectives on how current and emerging technologies are being applied in the field, the new acmqueue has evolved into an interactive, socially networked, electronic magazine, bridging the gap between academics and practitioners of the art of Computer Science.

Broaden your knowledge with technical articles focusing on today's problems affecting CS in practice, video interviews, roundtables, case studies, and lively columns. The bimonthly issues are free to ACM Professional Members. (One-year subscription cost is $19.99 for non-ACM members.)

And check out the acmqueue cover story, How to De-identify Your Data, in the September-October issue. Big data is all the rage, especially in the fields of medicine and the social sciences, where privacy has to be considered. Olivia Angiuli, Joe Blitzstein, and Jim Waldo of Harvard University look at a data set from student use of online courses and examine which aspects of the de-identification process caused it to change. And they present a different approach to de-identification that shows promise to allow both sharing and privacy.

ACM Transactions on Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems Seeks New EIC

ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems (TIIS) is seeking a new Editor-in-Chief. Nominations are due November 30.

ACM Publications Welcome New Editors-in-Chief

ACM Inroads has named Mark W. Bailey and Laurie Smith King as Co-Editors-in-Chief, effective October 1. Bailey, a professor of computer science at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, is a former editor of SIGPLAN Notices. Smith King, a professor of computer science at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, has served as session and symposium chair for many SIGCSE conferences. Bailey and Smith King assume the position from John Impagliazzo, who has served as Inroads' editor since the magazine's debut in 2010 (and as EIC of its previous iteration, SIGCSE Bulletin, since 1997).

ACM Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications and Applications (TOMM) welcomes Alberto del Bimbo as its new Editor-in-Chief, effective January 1, 2016. Alberto is Professor of Computer Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Firenze.

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.

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

"STEM Definition Expanded to Include Computer Science"

SD Times, October 26, 2015
President Barack Obama has officially signed the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education Act of 2015 into law, expanding the STEM definition to include computer science. Officially including computer science in the definition of STEM signals the importance of a computer science education, says Della Cronin, who handles federal affairs for Code.org (of which ACM is a partner).

"Manipulating Faces from Aafar in Real Time"

The New York Times, October 26, 2015
Computer scientists from Stanford University and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany say they have created a process dubbed "live facial re-enactment" that can instantaneously transfer facial expressions. They will present their work at SIGGRAPH Asia 2015 next month.

"The Future of Encryption"

National Science Foundation, October 22, 2015
National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported researchers are developing new methods to ensure the security of important data. One technique is called fully homomorphic encryption, developed by ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award recipient Craig Gentry in 2010 while he was a graduate student.

"What It Will Take to Make Computer Science Education Available in All Schools"

The Conversation, October 22, 2015
On average, as of 2010, states had adopted only 55% of the 35 recommended learning standards developed by the Computer Science Teachers Association. A 2013 report by ACM and CSTA states that only two states and the District of Columbia specifically require CS certification to teach computer science classes.

"White House National Strategic Computing Initiative Workshop"

CCC Blog, October 22, 2015
At the workshop, Kathy Yelick (2013–2014 ACM-W Athena Lecturer and 2015 Ken Kennedy Award recipient) gave a presentation titled "More Data, More Science, and Moore's Law."

"'Our Time to Lead': An Interview With Telle Whitney at Grace Hopper 2015"

The Huffington Post, October 19, 2015
In an interview at the 2015 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology CEO (and former ACM Secretary/Treasurer) Telle Whitney said 2015 is "our time to lead," noting this theme is highlighted at GHC so women can avail themselves of leadership training tools.

"Hilary Mason: Use Data Science and Machine Intelligence to Build a Better Future"

TechRepublic, October 14, 2015
Algorithms are enabling machines to perform increasingly "creative" functions that people previously thought only humans could do, such as re-imagining artwork like the Mona Lisa, said Fast Forward Labs CEO Hilary Mason this week in her opening keynote at the 2015 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

"Vint Cerf and 260 Experts Give FCC a Plan to Secure Wi-Fi Routers"

Computerworld, October 14, 2015
A group of 260 network and cybersecurity experts, including Google chief Internet evangelist and ACM past president Vint Cerf, have sent an open letter to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) critiquing the agency's recently proposed rules for Wi-Fi routers and RF devices and offering an alternative proposal.

"Flowing Toward Red Blood Cell Breakthroughs"

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, October 13, 2015
A team of researchers from Brown University, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Center is using Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Cray XK7 Titan supercomputer to help understand and fight diseases affecting red blood cells. The team's research has made it a finalist for this year's ACM Gordon Bell Prize—one of the most prestigious awards in high performance computing—to be presented at the SC15 supercomputing conference.

"Obama Won't Seek Access to Encrypted User Data"

The New York Times, October 10, 2015
Peter G. Neumann (Chair of ACM's Committee on Computers and Public Policy and founder of ACM RISKS Forum) lauds the decision, but warns law enforcement will still exert heavy pressure to allow access.

"New Programming Approach Seeks to Make Large-Scale Computation More Reliable"

UChicago News, October 7, 2015
ACM Fellow Andrew Chien and his colleagues at Univeristy of Chicago's Computation Institute are experimenting with a new technique that enables applications to not only save work that is underway, but also to offer flexible error-check and self-repair while in operation.

"MIT Prof. Constantinos Daskalakis Solves Life's Equations"

The National Herald, October 6, 2015
2008 ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award recipient talks about the Nash Equilibrium and meeting John Nash.

"For the Real Hits of Fashion Week, Look to Computer Science"

Science News, October 5, 2015
Researchers from Taiwan and University of Rochester presented algorithms that enable a computer to identify trends that make their way from the runway to the street at the ACM Multimedia Conference.

"Defining Scalable OS Requirements for Exascale and Beyond"

HPC Wire, October 5, 2015
Robert Wisniewski, chief software architect for extreme scale computing at Intel and an ACM Distinguished Scientist, says system software for exascale systems is becoming more complex, and the compute node operating system (OS) will play a critical role in helping to realize the potential of exascale systems.

"Microsoft, Tesla Say Software-Defined Batteries Could Mix and Match Power on the Fly"

PC World, October 2, 2015
Researchers from Microsoft, Tesla, and other organizations presented a paper at the ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles, advocating for what they call software-defined batteries.

"Stanford Computer Scientist Christopher Ré Named MacArthur Fellow"

Stanford Report, September 30, 2015
MacArthur Foundation recognizes Ré (an ACM SIGMOD/PODS Best Paper Award recipient) with "genius grant" for his work in big-data analytics.

"Soft Robotic Hand Can Pick Up and Identify a Wide Array of Objects"

MIT News, September 30, 2015
"Grasping is an important step in being able to do useful tasks; with this work we set out to develop both the soft hands and the supporting control and planning systems that make dynamic grasping possible," says MIT professor and 2014 ACM Fellow Daniela Rus.

"Scientists Stop and Search Malware Hidden in Shortened URLs on Twitter"

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, September 25, 2015
Cardiff University researchers presented a technique for detecting tweets containing malicious links at the 2015 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining.

ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS 2015):

"UMD Researchers Present Paper on Innovative Work for Ensuring Integrity in Cloud-Hosted Databases"

University of Maryland, October 8, 2015
Researchers at the University of Maryland presented a new method for verifying the integrity and completeness of cloud data.

"UAB Research Studies Cyberattacks Through the Lens of EEG and Eye Tracking"

UAB News, October 22, 2015
Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham presented a study about users' susceptibility to, and ability to detect, certain cyberattacks.

"Researchers Find 85 Percent of Android Devices Insecure"

Threatpost, October 14, 2015
University of Cambridge have developed a scorecard for Android devices dubbed FUM, a number from 0 to 10 that breaks down how often manufacturers and network operators patch their devices. They presented their research at the ACM CCS Workshop on Security and Privacy in Smartphones and Mobile Devices.

ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2015):

"Deep Learning Machine Predicts Human Activity"

R&D Magazine, October 13, 2015
Model that allows a computer to predict with over 83% accuracy the activities a human engages in during the day presented by Georgia Tech researchers.

"Affordable Camera Reveals Hidden Details Invisible to the Naked Eye"

University of Washington News and Information, October 13, 2015
Researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft Research are developing HyperCam, affordable camera technology that could soon enable consumers to tell if fruits or vegetables are ripe or starting to rot underneath the surface.

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