ACM MemberNet - Jan. 31, 2008
Welcome to the January 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 MemberNet online at http://membernet.acm.org/
Read TechNews, ACM's digest of news and information for IT professionals published three times a week.
Published biweekly, ACM CareerNews provides summaries of articles on career-related topics in the computing field.
Awards
- Call for ACM Fellows and Advanced Member Level Nominations
- ACM SIG Awards Recognize Achievements in Diverse Fields
Member Benefits - Get More Safari Books Online at Special Member Rates!
- New Online Courses Added to ACM's SkillSoft Collection
- ACM's Career & Job Center: More than Just Jobs
- ACM Member-Get-A-Member Drive
- ACM Adds Four New Offerings to Insurance Program
- Take Advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership Plan
Conferences and Events - SIGCSE 2008 to Focus on Underserved Groups in CS Education
- SIGCHI 2008 Seeks to Achieve Balance of Art and Science
- Grace Hopper Celebration 2008 Call for Participation
- SIGGRAPH 2008 to Feature Expanded Animation Fest
Public Policy - ACM Groups Urge Actions to Broaden Web Accessibility
- USACM Issues Statement on Real ID Requirements
Education - MentorNet: Mentors, Protégés Helping Each Other
Student News - MentorNet: Mentors, Protégés Helping Each Other
- Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions Call for Submissions
- ACM-W Student Scholarships for Attendance at Research Conferences
- Student Volunteers Needed to Help Train High School CS Teachers
- Graduating Students Eligible for Special Transition Rate
ACM-W News - CCWIC 2008: Regional Celebration of Women in Computing Comes to Colorado
- ACM-W Ambassador's Report from Canada
- ACM-W Call for Nominations: 2008-2009 Athena Lecturer
Publications News - Communications of the ACM Now Available in Digital Edition
- New Editor-in-Chief of Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems
- ACM Queue Talks with Oracle VP about Embedded Environments
- ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage Call for Papers
- ACM Seeks Missing SIG Newsletters for Digital Library
ACM in the News - "Digital Identification Plan Still Facing Many Hurdles"
- "Frances Allen: A Pioneer in High-Performance Computing"
ACM Opens Branch Office in China
ACM has opened a branch office in China in partnership with Tsinghua University in Beijing to meet the growing needs of its professional and student members in this active region of the world. The new site also features DL Pearls from China, selected articles with title and abstract translated into Chinese. Read the press release.
Awards
Call for ACM Fellows and Advanced Member Level Nominations
ACM recognizes annually a class of ACM Fellows, our eminent colleagues that ACM and its members look to for guidance and leadership. ACM also has advanced grade memberships of Distinguished Engineer/Scientist/Member and Senior Member.
Senior Member 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 next deadline for nominations is February 29, 2008.
The Distinguished Engineer/Scientist/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 July 31, 2008.
Fellows are outstanding ACM members with at least 5 years of continuous ACM Professional membership who are recognized for their technical, professional and leadership contributions that advance the objectives of ACM and the field as a whole. The deadline for nominations is September 9, 2008.
ACM SIG Awards Recognize Achievements in Diverse Fields
ACM's Special Interest Groups (SIGs) regularly cite outstanding individuals for their contributions in more than 30 distinct technological fields. Some awards presented (or to be presented) at recent conferences:- SIGADA Outstanding Ada Community Contributions Award
- SIGCAS Outstanding Service and Making a Difference Awards
- SIGDOC Diana Award
- SIGPLAN Most Influential POPL Paper Award
Member Benefits
Get More Safari Books Online at Special Member Rates!
In addition to the 600 free Safari Books Online available to ACM Professional members, ACM is now offering members the option to subscribe to two of the larger and more popular collections from Safari at discounted rates. Both the Full Library, including unlimited access (without downloads) to Safari Books Online technology content from leading publishers, and the Premium Collection, including unlimited access (with downloads) to all Safari Books Online technical and business content from top publishers, are available to ACM Professional and Student members at a 20% discount off the list price.
New Online Courses Added to ACM's SkillSoft Collection
The ACM collection of online courses continues to grow. Both ACM Professional and Student memberships now include full and unlimited access to 2,500 online courses from SkillSoft on today's hottest topics in a wide range of subjects in IT and business. For complete course listings, visit the Online Courses Home Page.
ACM's Career & Job Center: More than Just Jobs
Many job seekers and employers are already taking advantage of ACM's Career & Job Center: the site receives approximately 1,500 to 2,000 "job views" each day, and on average lists more than 300 jobs (refreshed daily). More than 3,000 employers have registered with Job Target, the service with which ACM has partnered, while almost 400 resumes have been posted. ACM members can also access additional Job Center features. 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 Member-Get-A-Member Drive
ACM's 2007/2008 Member-Get-A-Member Recruitment Drive is now in full swing, with new prizes, and an Apple iPhone grand prize! Current members are the ideal ambassadors to communicate the advantages of joining ACM to prospective members, and those who participate by telling friends and colleagues about ACM may be eligible for valuable gifts and special recognition. ACM's Online Member-Get-A-Member program is interactive, easy to use, and rewards members for helping to recruit new members. The drive ends June 30, 2008. For referral forms, recruitment tips and tools, prizes and rewards, and bonus gifts, visit the Member-Get-a-Member drive page.
ACM Adds Four New Offerings to Insurance Program
ACM is pleased to announce the addition of four new plans to the ACM Insurance Program. The new offerings are Group 10 or 20 Year Level Term Life Insurance, Long Term Care, and Group Dental Insurance. ACM members living in the US are eligible. Visit the insurance page to learn more about these programs, and all of ACM's Insurance Program plans.
Take Advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership Plan
ACM Professional Members can enjoy the convenience of making a single payment for their entire tenure as an ACM Member, and also be protected from future price increases by taking advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership option. Pricing for ACM Lifetime Membership is based on age and current dues rates, and the option to include the ACM Digital Library is also available. ACM Lifetime Membership dues may be tax deductible under certain circumstances (please consult with your tax advisor). Lifetime Members will receive a certificate of recognition suitable for framing, and enjoy all of the benefits of ACM Professional Membership.
Conferences and Events
SIGCSE 2008 to Focus on Underserved Groups in CS Education
SIGCSE, the Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, will look at ways to improve accessibility to Computer Science education for minorities, women, people with disabilities, non-Western cultures, and any group that is being underserved by the US educational system. According to the conference chairs, "accessible computing education results in a more complete, more diverse, and more successful population of future computer science professionals." In addition to the Doctoral Consortium and Student Research Competition, there will be a workshop on setting up a data repository for CS education research. Randy Pausch, Professor of Computer Science, HCI and Design at Carnegie Mellon University; Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products and User Experience at Google; and Ed Lazowska, Bill and Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science and Engineering at University of Washington are the invited speakers. The conference is scheduled for March 12 to 15 in Portland, Oregon. Registration is now open.
SIGCHI 2008 Seeks to Achieve Balance of Art and Science
Each year the SIGCHI conference draws together engineers, designers, educators, and many others concerned with interaction design. The panels, papers and courses will cover such topics as "Beyond End-User Programming," "3D User Interfaces: from Lab to Living Room," and "Keeping the Web in Web 2.0." The conference, sponsored by ACM SIGCHI, takes place April 5 to 10 in Florence, Italy. Registration is now open, and early bird registration ends February 10.
Grace Hopper Celebration 2008 Call for Participation
Submissions are now being accepted for the eighth Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference being held October 1 to 4 at the Keystone Resort near Denver, Colorado. As the world's largest gathering of women in computing, the Grace Hopper Celebration is designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Presenters are leaders in their respective fields, and leading researchers present their work, while special sessions focus on the role of women in today's technology fields. The technical conference features well-known speakers, and includes panels, workshops, new investigator technical papers, PhD forums, technical posters, birds of a feather sessions (BOFs), the ACM Student Research Competition and an awards celebration. This year's theme, "We Build a Better World," recognizes the significant role women play in creating and utilizing technology to improve our world. Submissions on this theme are encouraged. The deadline for all submissions is March 16. Please visit the Call for Participation page for more information.
SIGGRAPH 2008 to Feature Expanded Animation Fest
The Computer Animation Festival, one of the most popular events at SIGGRAPH, is being expanded this year to include curated and competition screenings, discussion panels with filmmakers, artists and producers, and an awards program incoporating interactive audience voting and announcements throughout the conference week. Full-length animated features will also be part of the screenings. Registration for the conference and exhibition, which takes place August 11 to 15 in Los Angeles, is open to the public.
Public Policy
ACM Groups Urge Actions to Broaden Web Accessibility
Several ACM groups have jointly developed a statement to encourage equitable and inclusive Web access for everyone, including people with disabilities. Their goal is to increase Internet access as a means to attract broader participation of talented people in the global economy. The statement urges action in the following areas:- Increased awareness of the value of accessibility
- New Federal policies to increase Web accessibility
- Continued Federal R&D funding for more accessible IT systems
- Additional low-cost Web development tools from the IT community
USACM Issues Statement on Real ID Requirements
ACM's US Public Policy Committee (USACM) released a statement pointing to flaws in the final standards issued by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) restricting how state driver's licenses and ID cards are provided. The standards were issued as part of the requirements of the 2005 REAL ID Act with the intention to make it more difficult to fraudulently obtain a driver's license. USACM said the standards for state-issued driver's licenses and personal identification cards as recently issued will not meet their stated purpose of providing a "gold standard" for identification. Read the press release.
Education
MentorNet: Mentors, Protégés Helping Each Other
ACM recently signed on with MentorNet to promote e-mentoring relationships between professionals (mentors) and students (protégés) in science and technology fields. As a result, ACM Professional members are stepping into the mentor role, and finding the experience rewarding in ways they had not expected.-
From a Mentor:
"I have been a mentor with MentorNet for almost five years now. I have had a variety of mentees from graduate students who are struggling to decide if the PhD is the right thing for them to faculty members wanting to determine if moving up into administrative positions is the right thing for their career. Each of these mentees has brought a fresh set of questions and backgrounds that are unique to them. Each has had different issues that need to be dealt with and challenges that they face. Each of these mentees has challenged me to think about my career path and what things were important for me along the way. I enjoy immensely the feeling that I am providing a sounding board for young professionals as they advance their careers. It is very rewarding to have these mentees come back and say that you have helped them to learn about themselves and their career interests. It is a relatively small time investment for a huge personal reward."
--Donna Reese, Associate Dean for Academics and Administration, James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, Mississippi State University
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From a Protégé:
"I am very happy so far with my mentor's frequency of responses and his detail in answering my questions. Our communication is open and valuable. As an officer of ACM, at my school, I have recommended the program to both graduate and undergraduate students and hope that this program continues as a part of ACM membership."
--Dameon Rogers, student, University of Arkansas
Student News
MentorNet: Mentors, Protégés Helping Each Other (see story under "Education")
Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions Call for Submissions
ACM Student Research Competitions take place at ACM-sponsored conferences throughout the year. Students present their papers in poster sessions to compete for the Grand Finals prizes, and network with luminaries from academia and industry. PLDI 08 is the next conference accepting submissions. The deadline for submissions for PLDI 08 is February 8, 2008.
ACM-W Student Scholarships for Attendance at Research Conferences
A program launched by ACM's Committee on Women in Computing (ACM-W) provides support for undergraduate or graduate women students in Computer Science programs who are interested in attending research conferences. It is not required that the student present a paper at the conference she attends. High school students will also be considered for conference support. Initially, up to 12 scholarships of up to $500 each will be awarded annually. ACM-W also encourages the student's home department to match the scholarship award and recognize the student's achievement locally within her department. Applications will be evaluated in four groups each year, in order to distribute awards across a range of conferences, with two to three awards given each quarter. For application form, notification dates and more information, please visit the scholarships page.
Student Volunteers Needed to Help Teach High School CS Teachers
The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) is seeking Computer Science college students proficient in Java and other new programming languages and environments to train high school CS teachers in these technologies. Java Engagement for Teacher Training (JETT) and Teacher Enrichment in Computer Science (TECS) are one- and two-day workshops for high school teachers, hosted by college and university CS students and faculty. Hosting a JETT or TECS workshop is a great volunteer experience for individual student ACM members, as well as student chapters. For more information please contact Gail Chapman, the JETT and TECS workshop coordinator.
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.
ACM-W News
CCWIC 2008: Regional Celebration of Women in Computing Comes to Colorado
CCWIC 2008 will be the first regional conference to support women in computing in Colorado and neighboring states. Similar to other regional conferences supported by ACM-W, CCWIC is modeled after the popular national Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. CCWIC will provide a low-cost, regional, small conference for women in computing (especially students) who do not have funding to attend major conferences. Like the national Hopper conference, CCWIC will include keynote lectures, opportunities for students to present technical talks and posters, informal networking, and a career fair. Industrial sponsors of CCWIC include ACM-W, Google, Sun Microsystems, LGS: Bell Labs Innovations, Accenture, and VMWare. Academic sponsors of CCWIC include Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado, Boulder, and Colorado State University. CCWIC 2008 will take place April 4 and 5 in Boulder, Colorado. The submission deadline is February 8, and the early registration deadline is March 3.
ACM-W Ambassador's Report from Canada
Each month one of the ACM-W's Ambassadors gives an update on news and trends of women in computing in their part of the world on ACM-W's News Blog. This month, Canadian Ambassador Julita Vassileva presents a brief overview of the statistics of Canadian women studying Computer Science or working in the IT sector, and describes measures taken to promote the status of women in academia. Vassileva, a professor of Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan, also relates some of the Canadian outreach activities promoting CS to female students and highlights some recent achievements of Canadian female researchers in the field.
ACM-W Call for Nominations: 2008-2009 Athena Lecturer
Athena Lectures celebrate outstanding women researchers who have made fundamental contributions to Computer Science. Each year ACM will honor a preeminent woman computer scientist as the Athena Lecturer. Speakers are nominated by Special Interest Group (SIG) officers. The Athena Lecturer will give a one-hour invited talk at an ACM conference determined by the speaker and the SIG which nominated her. The award includes travel expenses to the meeting and a $1500 honorarium. The deadline for nominations is February 1, 2008. The Athena Lecturer will be announced March 15, 2008, and the Lecture will occur between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. For more information please visit the Athena Lecturer Announcement page.
Publications News
Communications of the ACM Now Available in Digital Edition
Starting with the January issue, ACM is offering a digital edition of the Communications of the ACM, which will enable members to view a true digital representation of the print magazine. This interactive format allows you to easily read and share articles, and click on Web links to get further resources. The inaugural issue is freely available online. Read the press release.
New Editor-in-Chief of Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems
Joerg Henkel has been named Editor-in-Chief of ACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems, succeeding Wayne Wolf. Henkel is Chair for Embedded Systems at the University of Karlsruhe's Computer Science Department.
ACM Queue Talks with Oracle VP about Embedded Environments
ACM Queue is building its library of Queuecasts, audio interviews with experts in the field. In this Queuecast, "The Ever Expanding Ecosystem for Embedded Computing", Mike Olson, Vice President of Embedded Technologies at Oracle, explains the technical, business, and economic forces shaping the rapidly growing embedded database and middleware technology markets.
ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage Call for Papers
ACM's new Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH) is seeking papers on the use of information and communications technology in support of Cultural Heritage, such as on-site and remotely sensed data collection; metadata, classification schema, ontologies and semantic processing; and intelligent tools for digital reconstruction. Visit the JOCCH Web site for more information.
ACM Seeks Missing SIG Newsletters for Digital Library
ACM is seeking to complete its Digital Library archive of Special Interest Group (SIG) newsletters. (Thanks to all who have contributed so far--we're 98% there!) Please review the spreadsheet of missing SIG newsletter issues and, if you have any of the ones on the list, contact Craig Rodkin with your list and for shipping details. Be sure to let Craig know if you'd like the newsletters returned to you.
ACM in the News
"Digital Identification Plan Still Facing Many Hurdles"
Investor's Business Daily, January 28, 2008
"As a result of Real ID requirements, more information might be stored in a (new) set of databases that are going to be accessed by thousands of people around the country, along with some existing databases," said Eugene Spafford, chairman of ACM's US Public Policy Committee (USACM). "The combination of that information will make it easier to commit identity theft and fraud."
"Frances Allen: A pioneer in high-performance computing"
UC Berkeley News, January 23, 2008
Talking about processors, ACM 2006 Turing Award winner Fran Allen says, "Parallelism is no longer specialized to big scientific problems, so from the technological point of view, it's where we must work."
Read more ACM in the News.
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