2016 ACM Student Research Competition Winners Announced
Microsoft Grant Helps Computer Science Students Present Research at Conferences around the World
NEW YORK, June 9, 2016 – Swarnendu Biswas, Thomas Degueule, Christopher Theisen and Jeevana Priya Inala were the 2016 Grand Finals winners of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)’s Student Research Competition. The SRC Grand Finals are the culmination of a year-long competition that involved more than 200 computer science students presenting research projects at 22 major ACM conferences. The SRC program, sponsored by Microsoft, provides travel grants of up to $500 to allow tomorrow’s computing professionals the unique opportunity to present their work at major conferences. For many students, participation in the SRC is their first experience conducting research. Competition entrants exchange ideas with other students, judges and conference attendees, while gaining a new understanding of the practical applications of computer science scholarship.
Evaluations are based on the presenter’s demonstrated knowledge of his/her research area, research contribution, and quality of oral and visual presentation. The first round of the competition is the poster session. Judges review posters students develop to illustrate their ideas and, after speaking to the participants to learn more about their work, decide who will move on to the semifinals. Judging continues in the semifinals as participants give a short explanation and Power Point presentation of their research. Those selected to move on to the Grand Finals are required to include a written 4,000-word description of their work. A new panel of judges compares the final project submissions online before selecting the overall winners. SRC winners are invited to the annual ACM Awards Banquet, to be held this year on June 11 in San Francisco.
The 2016 Student Winners are:
Graduate Category
First Place: Swarnendu Biswas, Ohio State University, ACM PLDI 2015 Conference, for his research project, Valor: Efficient, Software-Only Region Conflict Exceptions
Second Place: Thomas Degueule, French National Institute for Computer Science (INRIA), ACM Modularity 2015 Conference, for his research project, Interoperability and Composition of DSLs with Melange
Third Place: Christopher Theisen, North Carolina State University, ACM ESEC/FSE 2015 Conference, for his research project, Risk-Based Attack Surface Approximation
Undergraduate Category
First Place: Jeevana Priya Inala, MIT, ACM PLDI 2015 Conference, for her research project, Type Assisted Synthesis of Recursive Transformers on Algebraic Datatypes
“Every year students tell us what a valuable experience participating in the Student Research Competition has been,” explains Judith Bishop, Director of Computer Science, Microsoft Research Connections. “Throughout the entire competition, students gain insights, from the official judges, established professionals and their student peers. The competition also encourages students to hone their communication skills. Developing the facility to communicate ideas verbally and in writing is a critical skill for computing professionals that will benefit them throughout their careers.”
A full list of competition judges and grand finalists is available here.
About the ACM Student Research Competition
The ACM Student Research Competition (SRC), sponsored by Microsoft, offers 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 SRC is s a joint venture of ACM and Microsoft, which has provided generous funding of $120,000 per competition year for this event since 2003. The top three undergraduate and graduate winners at each SRC receive prizes of $500, $300, and $200, respectively (USD), an award medal and a one-year complimentary ACM student membership with a subscription to ACM’s Digital Library.
About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.
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