ACM MemberNet - August 28, 2008
Welcome to the August 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/. Is there a person, event, or issue you'd like to see covered? Please email mn-editor at 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.
ACM-W newsletter (pdf) from ACM's Committee on Women in Computing
TOP STORIES
- ACM Awards Banquet Recognizes Top Achievers in Computing
- ACM Issues Statement on Passing of Computing Pioneer Randy Pausch
Awards - Call for 2008 ACM Award Nominations
Member Recognition - Call for ACM Fellows and Advanced Member Level Nominations
SIG Awards - ACM SIG Awards Recognize Achievements in Diverse Fields
Conferences and Events - SIGGRAPH 2008 Boasts 28,000-Plus Attendance
- Grace Hopper Celebration, Largest Gathering of Women in Computing
- SC08 Technical Program Registration Now Open
- Submissions Due September 5 for Tapia 2009 Celebration of Diversity in Computing
Public Policy - Former ACM President and Electronic Voting Expert Barbara Simons Named to Key Federal Advisory Committee
Member Programs - New Member-Get-A-Member 2008–2009 Campaign Launched
- ACM Adds Four New Offerings to Insurance Program
- Take Advantage of ACM's Lifetime Membership Plan
Online Books & Courses - New Online Books & Courses
Student News - High Performance Computing Ph.D. Fellowship
- Upcoming ACM Student Research Competitions Call for Submissions
- ACM-W Student Scholarships for Attendance at Research Conferences
Chapters News - Awards Recognize Excellence in Student Chapters' Activities
ACM-W News - ACM-W Newsletter Features Interview with New ACM President Wendy Hall
- ACM-W Ambassador's Reports—from the UK: "Sex Still Sells—or Does It?"
and from New Zealand: "News from Under Down Under"
Publications News - Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems (TRETS) Debuts
- Communications of the ACM Gaming Article Featured in PC World
- ACM Queue Focuses on Flash Memory for Enterprise Storage
In Memoriam - Michael Mahoney, Noted Computer Historian
ACM in the News - "The Multicore Challenge"
- "Share Locally, Unclog the Internet"
- "Personalised maps show the view from the street"
- "Images for 3D Video Games Without High Price Tags or Stretch Marks"
- "Virtual Hand Gets Under the Skin"
TOP STORIES
ACM Awards Banquet Recognizes Top Achievers in Computing
A glittering array of the computing world's distinguished luminaries and guests gathered in San Francisco in June for ACM's annual Awards Banquet to celebrate the past year's innovators and their achievements. The gala event paid homage to computing professionals from internationally recognized universities, corporations, and research laboratories whose contributions in a range of disciplines have advanced society in the information age.
Among the acclaimed recipients of ACM's prestigious honors were 2007 Turing Award winners Edmund M. Clarke of Carnegie Mellon University, E. Allen Emerson of the University of Texas at Austin, and Joseph Sifakis of CNRS, Verimag Laboratory for their research in a quality assurance process known as Model Checking.
The event also presented the first-ever ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences to Daphne Koller of Stanford University. Koller was recognized for her innovative approach to Artificial Intelligence that allows computers to reason and learn about the world from real-world data.
Student achievements were also celebrated, as ACM's first-place winner in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) first-place team, and Student Research Competition Grand Finals winners received their awards.
To view photos of the award winners at the banquet, link to their individual citation pages from the 2007 ACM Award recipients page.
ACM Issues Statement on Passing of Computing Pioneer Randy Pausch
"It is with extreme sadness that we mark the passing of a great visionary and a compelling figure in the world of computing. Randy Pausch's revolutionary software achievements reformed the art of teaching and mentoring in the computing field with tools that appealed to those not normally exposed to the discipline. His exceptional humanity inspired the computing community to build virtual worlds that reflected his commitment to collaboration between artists and technologists..."
Read the press release and other news coverage on the Feature page.
Awards
Call for 2008 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, 2008 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
- Distinguished Service Award
- ACM-IEEE CS Eckert-Mauchly Award
- Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award
- SIAM/ACM Prize in Computational Science and Engineering
- Doctoral Dissertation Award
Learn more about nomination procedures and read a letter from Award Committee Co-Chairs Kelly Gotlieb and Jim Horning on the ACM Awards Call for Nominations page. Refer to http://www.acm.org/nominations for the complete listing of 2008 Award Subcommittee Chairs and Members.
Member Recognition
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 November 30, 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, 2009.
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.
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 30 distinct technological fields. Some awards presented (or to be presented) at recent conferences:- SIGACT/SIGOPS Edsger W. Dijkstra Prize in Distributed Computing
- SIGCOMM Award
- SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement, Significant New Researcher, and Outstanding Service Awards
- SIGIR Best Paper and Best Student Paper Awards
- SIGKDD Innovation Award
- SIGKDD Doctoral Dissertation Award
- ACM SIGBED/SIGSOFT Frank Anger Memorial Award
- SIGSOFT Impact Award
- SIGWEB Douglas Engelbart Best Paper and Ted Nelson Newcomer Awards
Conferences and Events
SIGGRAPH 2008 Boasts 28,000-Plus Attendance
An estimated 28,400 participants attended SIGGRAPH 2008, the 35th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, held August 11 to 15 in Los Angeles. Highlights included an expanded Computer Animation Festival, which was open to the public for the first time; keynote speakers from the film industry, music video, and robotics research fields; and a Second Life portal into the Space Time Exhibition. As always, papers presenting cutting-edge research, a comprehensive exhibit showcasing the latest technology, and classes and workshops rounded out the program. Next year's SIGGRAPH takes place in New Orleans, August 4 to 6, 2009.
Grace Hopper Celebration, Largest Gathering of Women in Computing
The 2008 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, hosted by ACM and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI), is planned for the Keystone Resort in Colorado October 1 to 4. GHC attracts an international array of speakers, more than 88 sessions across seven tracks, as well as panels, workshops, new investigator technical papers, Ph.D. forums, and achievement awards. With the theme "We Build a Better World," this year's GHC, now an annual event, will recognize the significant role women play in creating and utilizing technology to improve world conditions. Sessions will include strategies for aligning research with the business goals of a commercial organization; political initiatives to encourage diversity in the ICT workforce; and a keynote speech by IBM Fellow Emerita and 2006 ACM Turing Award winner Fran Allen. Registration for GHC is now open.
SC08 Technical Program Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the SC08 International Conference on High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis. The conference will offer a technical program that includes tutorials, technical paper presentations, panel discussions, workshops, birds-of-a-feather sessions, and poster presentations. SC08 will feature papers on GPU applications, petaflop architectures, e-science grids, OS kernels, and 10-gigabit wide-area networks. Selected workshops include Node Level Parallelism for Large Scale Supercomputers, Grid Computing Environments 2008, Power Efficiency and the Path to Exascale Computing, Bridging Multicore's Programmability Gap, Advanced Modeling and Simulation for Fission Nuclear Energy, and High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing Technology and Applications. SC08 takes place November 15 to 21 in Austin, Texas.
Submissions Due September 5 for Tapia 2009 Celebration of Diversity in Computing
The 2009 Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference is accepting proposals until September 5 for papers, panels, workshops, Birds-of-a-Feather sessions, posters, and the Doctoral Consortium. The conference theme, "Intellect, Initiative, Insight, and Innovation," should be considered in submissions covering any area of computing, computational math and science, and diversity issues in these disciplines. Accepted papers will be included in the Tapia conference proceedings. Student scholarships are also available. Students may apply from August 1 to October 15. Honoring Richard Tapia, director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education at Rice University, the conference brings together leading researchers from around the world to present state-of-the-art research in computing. The event will take place April 1 to 4, 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Tapia is sponsored by ACM in cooperation with the Computing Research Association, and organized by the Coalition to Diversify Computing.
Public Policy
Former ACM President and Electronic Voting Expert Barbara Simons Named to Key Federal Advisory Committee
Barbara Simons, a computer scientist and founder of ACM's U.S. Public Policy Committee (USACM), has been appointed to the Board of Advisors for the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the Federal body that oversees voting technology standards. Simons, a former president of ACM, fills a vacancy on the Board. The seat is one of four positions out of a total of 37 members allocated for representation by science and technology professionals. Simons was appointed to the board position by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to assist in the administration of Federal elections.
Read the Press Release.
Member Programs
New Member-Get-A-Member 2008–2009 Campaign Launched
Now that ACM's 2007–2008 Member-Get-A-Member Recruitment Drive has come to a close, ACM would like to congratulate top recruiter Tim Meakin and second-place recruiter Glenn Zink, who were rewarded with an Apple Store gift card valued at $350 (USD) and a Canon PowerShot SD-790IS digital camera, respectively. The response to the program was our best to date, and we would like to thank all of our recruiters, and the new members, for their interest and participation! ACM recently launched its new 2008–2009 Member-Get-A-Member Recruitment Drive, with new prizes added to our already great selection, 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, 2009. 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.
Online Books & Courses
New Online Books & Courses
New offerings are now available in ACM's Online Books & Courses program. New books include Digital Data Integrity: The Evolution from Passive Protection to Active Management, Data Mining with Ontologies: Implementations, Findings, and Frameworks, and Human Factors in Project Management: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques for Inspiring Teamwork and Motivation. New courses include "Introducing Windows Server 2008," "Using Productivity Tools and Accessing Lotus Notes 8 Remotely," and "Leadership in Six Sigma."
To see all books and courses, visit ACM's Online Books & Courses home page .
Student News
High Performance Computing Ph.D. Fellowship
The ACM/IEEE Computer Society High Performance Computing (HPC) Ph.D. Fellowship Program is now accepting nominations for its second annual competition at https://submissions.supercomputing.org. The deadline for submissions is September 8. The ACM/IEEE-CS HPC Ph.D. Fellowship Program honors exceptional Ph.D. students throughout the world with the focus areas of HPC, networking, storage and analysis. HPC covers the areas of computational sciences, computational engineering, and computer science using the most powerful computers available at a given time. The Program also supports the sponsors' long-standing commitment to workforce diversity and encourages nominations of women, minorities and all who contribute to diversity. The fellowships are awarded with a certificate and a stipend of at least $5,000 (US) for one academic year. All ACM/IEEE-CS HPC Ph.D. Fellows are invited to attend at least one SC conference (usually the one after one year of receiving the award). The SC Steering Committee and other conference volunteers are also willing to facilitate, where possible, internships for Fellows at HPC research or development sites. For more information about the program, see the web page or contact the committee.
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. SIGCSE 2009 is the next conference accepting submissions. The deadline is September 28, 2008. Learn about more competitions on the SRC submissions page.
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.
Chapters News
Awards Recognize Excellence in Student Chapters' Activities
Each year ACM rewards excellence in ACM Student Chapters in each of five areas: Community Activities; Outstanding Community Service; Outstanding Website; Outstanding Recruitment Program; and Outstanding School Service. The winning chapters receive $500 and a "best of" icon to proudly display on their chapter's web page. To see this year's winners, and to learn more about the awards, visit the Student Chapter Excellence page.
ACM-W News
ACM-W Newsletter Features Interview with New ACM President Wendy Hall
The second issue of the ACM-W newsletter features an interview with the new ACM president, Wendy Hall. Several articles on projects and activities of particular interest to women in computing include an update on the Computing Educators Oral History Project (CEOHP) and a new feature, "Tales from the Career Front." The newsletter also includes exciting reports from the UK and Brazil, celebrations, awards, and a calendar of upcoming events. Story ideas for future issues can be sent to [email protected].
ACM-W Ambassador's Reports—from the UK: "Sex Still Sells—or Does It?"
and from New Zealand: "News from Under Down Under"
ACM-W's UK Ambassador Jan Peters considers the persistence of gender stereotyping in advertising. Read about this issue in depth in her post on ACM-W's News Blog.
New Zealand ACM-W Ambassador Annika Hinze discusses the Computing Women Congress, a project she initiated to allow students to network with women IT professionals, in this newest post on ACM-W's News Blog.
Publications News
Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems (TRETS) Debuts
ACM Transactions on Reconfigurable Technology and Systems (TRETS) is a new journal focused on research in, on, and with reconfigurable systems and on the underlying technology (which is currently that of FPGAs but could include other approaches involving an adaptable fabric) that supports these systems for computing or other applications. Topics include all levels of reconfigurable system abstractions and all aspects of reconfigurable technology including platforms, programming environments, and applications. The first issue, a special edition on the 15th International Symposium on FPGAs, appeared in March.
TRETS Home Page
TRETS in the Digital Library
Communications of the ACM Gaming Article Featured in PC World
The article "Designing Games with a Purpose" from the August issue of Communications of the ACM was featured in a recent post on PC World's gaming blog.
ACM Queue Focuses on Flash Memory for Enterprise Storage
ACM Queue's July/August issue focuses on flash memory and how it can be used as enterprise storage. One of the key questions is where flash-based storage best fits within the enterprise storage hierarchy. In his article Flash Storage Today, Adam Leventhal explains how the unique properties of flash enable it to become a new tier in the storage hierarchy that can solve a variety of problems.
In Memoriam
Michael Mahoney, Noted Computer Historian
Noted historian of science Michael Mahoney died at age 69 in Princeton, NJ of a heart attack on July 23. Mahoney was one of the world's leading historians of computing. He had conducted various historical projects and written numerous articles on the history of software, software engineering, and theoretical computer science. His expertise also included the history of mathematics, and science and technology in the 17th century. He worked for more than 40 years as a graduate student and faculty member in the history department and the program in history of science at Princeton University. He was active in various ACM and other computing professional organizations that were interested in learning from the history of their field.
Mahoney contributed deeply and effectively as a member of the ACM History Committee for all of its five years; as historian and member of the program committees for HOPL-II and HOPL-III (the SIGPLAN history of programming languages conferences), and as a consultant to SIGSOFT's Project IMPACT from its inception. For more information, see the tribute on Princeton University's home page.
ACM in the News
"The Multicore Challenge"
Computing Community Consortium, August 26, 2008
The jump to multicore processing is not based on a breakthrough in programming or architecture, but rather a retreat from the harder task of building power-efficient, high-clock-rate, single-core chips, writes former ACM president David Patterson.
"Share Locally, Unclog the Internet"
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 20, 2008
At ACM's SIGCOMM Conference in Seattle, researchers presented findings showing that sharing files through peer-to-peer networking with neighbor computers relieves pressure on the Internet-service provider by as much as five times and speeds up the transfer by 20 percent.
"Personalised maps show the view from the street"
NewScientist.com, August 19, 2008
New research that has the potential to improve online mapping services was recently presented at ACM SIGGRAPH.
"Virtual Hand Gets Under the Skin"
New Scientist, August 14, 2008
Realistic animations of the hand presented at ACM SIGGRAPH could help predict outcomes of hand surgery.
"Images for 3D Video Games Without High Price Tags or Stretch Marks"
University of California, San Diego News, August 12, 2008
New tool to create high-quality video game images presented at ACM SIGGRAPH.
Read more ACM in the News.
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