ACM Honors International Leaders Who Helped Advance Computer Science in the Digital Age

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The Association for Computing Machinery
Advancing Computing as a Science & Profession

Contact: Virginia Gold
212-626-0505
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NEW YORK, April 23, 2014 – ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) today honored the achievements of leaders from international academic and community organizations who helped build the infrastructure of computer science as a critical discipline in the digital era.  As innovators, overseers and educators in their respective positions and institutions, they made possible the dramatic progress that has enabled computer science to contribute to science and society and change the course of history.  The honorees will be recognized with ACM Awards for leadership and service, to be presented at the ACM Awards Banquet on June 21 in San Francisco.

Gerhard Goos of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Juris Hartmanis of Cornell University, and Jan van Leeuwen of Utrecht University, recipients of the ACM Distinguished Service Award for their definitive role in establishing computer science as a vibrant subject.  Their stewardship as series editors of the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), published since 1973, launched this series into a highly visible platform for disseminating research results from all areas of the nascent computing field.  At a time when researchers often worked in isolation, they provided a widely read forum for exploring new areas, enabling dissemination of ideas, and offering initial exposure to young researchers.

Donna Cappo, ACM Director of Special Interest Group Services and Russell Harris, ACM Director of Financial Operations and Budgeting, recipients of the Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award. Cappo was recognized for leadership in guiding ACM Special Interest Groups, related conferences, events and the countless volunteers who organize and run them.  Harris was honored for his long tenure as ACM’s financial leading light, whose keen business acumen is responsible for accounting practices that continue to strengthen ACM’s fiscal structure.

Mehran Sahami of Stanford University, recipient of the ACM Presidential Award for leading the revision of an innovative computer science curriculum that reflects the application of computing tools in a wide variety of disciplines.  Sahami led the effort by ACM and the IEEE Computer Society to develop guidelines for undergraduate degree programs that redefine essential computing topics and set the standards for computer science education worldwide for the next decade.  The report includes examples of flexible courses and curricula models for a broad range of higher education institutions worldwide.