Mary Lou Soffa
Chair, Department of Computer Science
Owen R. Cheatham Professor of Sciences
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA, USA

BIOGRAPHY

Mary Lou Soffa is the Chair of the Department of Computer Science and the Owen R. Cheatham Professor of Sciences at the University of Virginia. She received her Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977.  Prior to her current appointment, she was a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and also served as the Graduate Dean in Arts and Sciences. Mary Lou’s general research interests are in programming languages/compilers and software engineering.  Her current focus is on optimizing compilers, program analysis, virtual execution environments, testing and debugging.

In 1999, Mary Lou was selected as an ACM Fellow and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.  She received the SIGPLAN Service Award in 2003 and the Nico Habermann Award from the Computer Research Association (CRA) in 2006.

Mary Lou has been active in ACM for many years.  She is currently serving on the Publications Board. She was the ACM SIG Board Council Representative from 2000- 2002 and served as SIGPLAN Chair, Vice-Chair and Treasurer.  She also served as member-at-large on the SIGSOFT executive committee.

Mary Lou served on the CRA Board for ten years. She has worked to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities for many years.  She serves on the CRA-W Committee and was the co-chair from 1999-2002.  She co-founded the CRA-W Graduate Cohort Program and the CRA-W Cohort for Associate Professors.  She serves on the Leadership Team for NCWIT.  She has been a member of a number of Editorial Boards, and conference chair, program chair, and on the program committee for numerous conferences.  She recently was the Program Co-Chair for ICSE2006 and is currently the Conference Chair for CGO-08 and ASPLOS-09.

STATEMENT

ACM has a tremendous influence on computing research, development, education and public policy.  Much of this influence has come from the SIGS, through their high quality journals and conferences and the digital library, a most important resource. ACM has also developed excellent services through the Professional Development Center and the Career Resource.  It is imperative that we continue to support and enhance these important activities.

ACM should make a greater effort in other areas, including providing services to practitioner members and students, and improving the diversity of our community. ACM should expand its leadership role by carefully considering and implementing the types of publications, conferences and services that would be useful for practitioners. Students are a critical component of ACM membership. It is imperative that ACM works with academia, industry and government to demonstrate the excitement and relevance of our field to students. We need to nurture and support our students, including our international students. We can do more to create opportunities for interaction between students from different countries, especially by providing resources enabling them to attend meetings and conferences. ACM should work hard to become a truly international society and enhance the presence of ACM in other countries.  One strategy is to determine how ACM can be an important resource for each country’s needs.

We need to continue the efforts that ACM already has in place to attract more women and underrepresented minorities and to mentor those who are in the field. Various support strategies and activities are needed at all stages of education, in industry, and in the government.

I will work to continue to support, enhance, and develop these vital activities.