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Issue: May. 28, 2009
Welcome to the May 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 current and past issues of 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. Washington Update, a monthly newsletter from USACM reporting on activities in Washington. 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 Awards Member Recognition SIG Awards Conferences and Events Public Policy Member Programs Online Books & Courses Career & Job Center Education Student News ACM-W News Publications News ACM in the News TOP STORIES An Interview with 2008 ACM – Infosys Foundation Award Winner Jon Kleinberg Jon Kleinberg, the recipient of the 2008 ACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences, was interviewed recently by Stephen Ibaraki as part of a series for CIPS Connections. The 45-minute segment includes Kleinberg's thoughts on many points, including what attracted him to the field of computing, his work in the area of social network analysis, and his predictions for the future. Please visit An Interview with Jon Kleinberg to access the audio interview and read selected excerpts, as well as additional background. ACM President Dame Wendy Hall Elected Fellow of the Royal Society ACM President Dame Wendy Hall has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science. Founded in 1660, the Royal Society each year Fellowships to 44 of the best scientists in recognition of their scientific achievements. It is the highest accolade awarded to a scientist in the UK. Sir Martin Rees, president of the Society, commented: "Our new Fellows are at the cutting edge of science worldwide. Their achievements represent the vast contribution science makes to society. They join an outstanding group of over 1400 Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society, including more than 60 Nobel Laureates, putting them in the ranks of science's greats." Dame Wendy is professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, UK. Read the University of Southampton press release. Featured ACM Special Interest Group: SIGSPATIAL The ACM Special Interest Group on Spatial Information (SIGSPATIAL), one of ACM's newest SIGs (chartered in April 2008), addresses issues related to the acquisition, management, and processing of spatially-related information with a focus on algorithmic, geometric, and visual considerations. The scope includes geographic information systems. Currently, the main activity is its flagship conference, the ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS 2009) which will be held in Seattle, Washington November 4 to 6 and will feature keynote talks by Pat Hanrahan of Stanford University and Gur Kimchi of Microsoft Virtual Earth. In addition, SIGSPATIAL cooperates with other workshops, such as the 2nd International Workshop on Similarity Search and Applications (SISAP09), which will take place in Prague, Czech Republic August 29 to 30. The SIG recently launched a newsletter, the SIGSPATIAL Special, which includes SIGSPATIAL conference highlights, calls and announcements for conferences, and journals that are of interest to the community, as well as short technical notes on current topics. The first issue is dedicated to the PhD Showcase part of ACM GIS 2008, which consisted of eight contributions from around the world that are at the forefront of research on spatial information. Topics included spatial reasoning; query optimization for spatio-temporal data stream management systems; semantic annotation of geospatial data on the Web; change analysis in spatial datasets; data mining of maps; mapping of sea ice motion; evaluating hydrology preservation of simplified terrain representations; and an open-source general-purpose parallel raster processing programming library. Awards Constantinos Daskalakis Receives ACM 2008 Doctoral Dissertation Award Constantinos Daskalakis has won the 2008 Doctoral Dissertation Award from ACM for advancing our understanding of behavior in complex networks of interacting individuals, such as those enabled and created by the Internet. His dissertation, entitled "The Complexity of Nash Equilibria," provides a novel, algorithmic perspective on Game Theory and the concept of the Nash equilibrium. Daskalakis, who was nominated by the University of California, Berkeley, is a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft Research New England. He will receive the Doctoral Dissertation Award and its $20,000 prize at the annual ACM Awards Banquet on June 27, in San Diego, CA. Financial sponsorship of this award is provided by Google Inc. Two researchers will share an Honorable Mention for this award, which carries a $10,000 prize, with financial sponsorship provided by Google. Derek Hoiem, nominated by Carnegie Mellon University for his dissertation "Seeing the World behind the Image: Spatial Layout for 3D Scene Understanding," is an assistant professor in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sachin Katti, nominated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his dissertation "Network Coded Wireless Architecture," is a post-doctoral researcher at the International Computer Science Institute, Berkeley, California. Read the press release. Call for Nominations for New ACM - IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award The new ACM - IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award recognizes substantial contributions to programmability and productivity in computing and substantial community service or mentoring contributions. The award honors the substantial research, service, and mentoring contributions of the late Ken Kennedy, the founder of Rice University's computer science program and one of the world's foremost experts on high-performance computing. The first presentation of this award will be in November 2009 at the SC 09 conference. The award is open to contributors at all stages of their careers. The winner of the award should be someone who has made an outstanding, innovative contribution or contributions to programming and productivity in computing, and has also contributed to computing through teaching, mentoring, or community service. Anyone may nominate. The award includes a $5,000 honorarium. The recipient will give a presentation, normally technical, at the SC conference at which it is announced, or at an ACM or IEEE conference of the winner's choosing during the year following the announcement. The deadline for nominations is July 1. Nominations that follow the guidelines on the Award Nominations page should be sent to the attention of the Kennedy Award Chair (see contact information under heading, "2008 Award Subcommittee Chairs and Members"). Member Recognition Call for ACM Senior, Distinguished Member and Fellows Nominations The Senior Member advanced grade of membership 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 deadline for nominations is June 1. The Distinguished 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. Fellow is ACM's most prestigious member grade recognizing the top 1% of ACM members for their outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology and/or outstanding service to ACM and the larger computing community. The deadline for nominations is September 1. 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:
Conferences and Events Design Automation Conference to Offer 65 Scholarships The Design Automation Conference (DAC), the premier event for the community of electronic circuits and systems designers, is offering scholarships that will enable up to 50 qualified engineers to attend this year's DAC program free of charge. The ACM Special Interest Group on Design Automation (SIGDA) is also providing a grant for 15 qualified engineers who are ACM members to attend the conference. The DAC Alumni Scholarship is open to integrated circuit design and electronic design automation (EDA) engineers who are between jobs and without personal resources or corporate support for their DAC attendance. Scholarship applications will be accepted now through June 26 for the conference, which will take place July 26 to 31 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Applications must be submitted via an online confidential form on the DAC website. The DAC technical program promises an eclectic range of papers, including a Wild and Crazy Ideas session, exploring such topics as how to prepare for design at 22 nm; designing circuits in the face of uncertainty; verification of large systems on chip (SOC); bug-tracking in complex designs; and multicore computing. In addition to the seven research paper sessions, eight technical panels will address the industry's hottest issues, including the meaning of "green" for EDA. SIGGRAPH 2009 to Present Emerging Technologies Track Among the many tracks of SIGGRAPH 2009, the international conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, will be Emerging Technologies, featuring demonstrations and interactive installations on alternative displays, robotics, input interfaces, gaming, audio, haptics and virtual reality, and experimental sensory experiences which could point the way to future interactive applications. SIGGRAPH is expected to attract some 25,000 attendees, offrering exhibits, a wide-ranging technical program, and the popular Computer Animation Festival. Keynote speakers will include New York Times graphics director Steve Duenes; movie sound pioneer and two-time Academy Award® winner Randy Thom; and video game designer and Sims creator Will Wright. SIGGRAPH 2009 takes place August 3 to 7 in New Orleans. Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing: Become an Academic Sponsor! The 9th Annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) presented by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) and ACM, is the world's largest gathering of women in computing. The 2009 Grace Hopper Celebration will take place from September 30 to October 3, 2009 in Tucson, Arizona. This year's theme, "Creating Technology for Social Good," recognizes the significant role women play in defining technology used to solve social issues. Scheduled keynote speakers are Google vice president Megan Smith and University of California, San Diego professor Fran Berman. The conference's Plenary Panel of Technology Executives will include Lockheed Martin's Linda Brisnehan, Intuit Corporation's Nora Denzel, and Amazon.com's Werner Vogels. GHC boasts more than 100 sessions including technical speakers, panels, workshops, new investigator technical papers, Ph.D. forums, technical posters, birds-of-a-feather sessions, the ACM Student Research Competition and awards presentations. Registration opens June 1, and online hotel reservations are now available. Become an Academic Sponsor! Academic underwriters have a unique opportunity to reap many benefits from supporting this conference, including recruiting talented women to become tomorrow's mentors, leaders and innovators. Learn more by reading the informational flier and list of benefits. Sign up to become an Academic Sponsor. SC09 Technical Program to Focus on Bio-computing, Environment, 3D Internet The SC09 Conference, scheduled for November 14 to 20 in Portland, Oregon, will focus on the role of high-performance computing (HPC) in biological sciences, environmental sustainability, and the emerging three-dimensional Internet. The Bio-Computing Focus Area will examine research that uses HPC to solve problems in the behaviors of genes and proteins that can trigger cancers or other serious diseases. The Sustainability Focus Area will explore how to maintain environmental quality, how to develop and deploy renewable and clean energy, and how to improve the energy efficiency of businesses, data centers, and homes. The 3D Internet Focus Area will examine how 3D visualization and immersive environments such as Second Life are changing how people communicate, share information, educate students, and explore scientific problems. The scheduled keynote speaker will be Al Gore. SC09 is the premier international conference on High Performance Computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis. Student Participation: The SC09 Student Job Fair is a face-to-face networking event that will enable students to meet with potential employers from any organization that is a contracted SC09 Exhibitor to discuss summer job, graduate school assistantship, or permanent employment opportunities. The SC09 Mentor/Prot�g� Program is designed to enhance the conference experience for its SC Communities participants. Each prot�g� is matched up with a volunteer Mentor at the conference. Participation Grants: SC09's Broader Engagement program offers grants to support participation at the conference by individuals from groups that traditionally have been underrepresented in HPC. In addition to receiving complimentary conference registration, grant recipients will be reimbursed for their SC09 lodging and transportation expenses. Applications from students and young professionals in all computing-related disciplines are encouraged. Participation grant applications will be accepted between April 1 and August 3. Recipients will be notified in early September. To apply, visit the SC09 Submissions web site. See information on SC09's summer workshops in this issue of MemberNet. SIGGRAPH Asia 2009 Call for Participation The second SIGGRAPH Asia 2009 conference follows a very successful inaugural conference last year, where researchers, developers, producers, and providers of computer graphics and interactive techniques found a new international venue in which to newtork and share ideas. The 2009 conference, which will take place December 16 to 19 in Yokohama, Japan, is accepting proposals for its Art Gallery; Computer Animation Festival; Courses; Educators, Emerging Techologies, and Student Internship programs; sketches and posters; and papers. Most submission deadlines are in May and June; visit the SIGGRAPH ASIA 2009 web site for more information. Public Policy STEM Education Caucus Briefing Explores Bridging Digital Divide A special Washington briefing held on May 20 sponsored by ACM, the Computing Research Association, the Society of Women Engineers, Microsoft, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), and IEEE brought together academic and policy experts presenting exciting new computing curricula and teacher preparation funded by the National Science Foundation and Microsoft. These materials are currently in some of Los Angeles' most diverse schools and are disproving the myth that only certain populations can learn Computer Science. The briefing addressed the urgent need for more participation by women and minorities in the computing field and was held in cooperation with the U.S. House of Representatives STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus. Three members of ACM's Education Policy Committee—Robert Schnabel (School of Informatics, Indiana University), Chris Stephenson (CSTA), and Joanna Goode (University of Oregon) spoke at the briefing, which was also attended by three members of Congress. For more information visit USACM, the U.S. Public Policy Committee of ACM. Member Programs ACM Member-Get-A-Member 2008–2009 Campaign There's still plenty of time to participate in the ACM 2008–2009 Member-Get-A-Member Recruitment Drive! Eligible recruiters can choose from a great selection of prizes, and compete for our 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 Offerings to Insurance Program ACM has added four 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 Element K® Courses Feature Java, Linux+ and More ACM's recently launched online course program through leading provider Element K®, including more than 2,500 online courses on a wide range of computing and business topics in multiple languages, features many current popular topics. Among the most popular are:
Career & Job Center ACM's Career & Job Center Includes Job Seeker Resources ACM's recently redesigned Career & Job Center includes access and links to hundreds of articles and websites in the Resources section. Take advantage of this free resource; browse through the library of articles, tips and information. Also be sure to visit the site to update your resumé, or create a new resumé in the Resumé Bank. ACM members' resumés now include an ACM logo on their entry, highlighting their ACM membership to employers. For more information about the Career & Job Center please contact Jennifer Ruzicka. Education SC09 Summer Workshops for Faculty, Students Focus on HPC Curriculum, Professional Development The SC Education Program of the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SC09) provides week-long summer workshops in computational science and engineering, as well as high performance computing, emphasizing education and curriculum development for faculty, administrators, and students. These workshops focus on curriculum change and professional development, concentrating on today's high performance computing environments. Topics for the 2009 summer workshop series include:
Student News ACM Student Research Competition Grand Finals Winners The ACM Student Research Competition (SRC), sponsored by Microsoft Research, 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. There are two rounds of competition at each conference hosting an SRC, which culminates in a Grand Finals competition. All undergraduate and graduate student winners from the SRCs held during the year advance to the SRC Grand Finals, where they are evaluated by a different panel of judges via the Web. This year's SRC Grand Finals winners are, in the Graduate Division: Stratis Ioannidis, University of Toronto; Xu Liu, University of Maryland, College Park; and Ye Kyaw Thu, Waseda University. In the Undergraduate Division the winners are: Sarah Loos, Indiana University; Neha Singh, IIT Bombay; and Alice Zhu, Harvey Mudd College. They are invited, along with their advisors, to attend the annual ACM Awards Banquet in San Diego, California on June 27, where they will receive formal recognition. 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. PACT 2009 is the next conference accepting submissions. The deadline is June 13, 8:00 AM EDT. Learn about more competitions on the SRC submissions page. ACM-W Student Scholarships for Attendance at Research Conferences A program launched by the ACM Women's Council (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. For more information, visit the Reasons to Transition to Professional Membership page. ACM-W News Applying for Advanced Member Grades: A Unique Opportunity to Promote Diversity in CS A Special Message from ACM-W Women's Council and Awards Committee Member Robert A. Walker: As we enter the lazy months of summer, consider applying for ACM's Advanced Member Grades. As you think about these advanced member grades, consider nominating yourself, or a deserving colleague. If you're in a SIG, or in a large company, form a canvassing group and nominate one or two members for Distinguished Member. Put together one or two really good nominations, and then do that again next year. It's a great way to recognize prominent members of your community! Also, as you think about who to nominate, remember diversity. Nominate some of your women colleagues. Nominate someone of color. Think of your colleagues in Europe or Asia and not just North America. For Distinguished Member, note that the criteria has been clarified this year, with clearer distinctions between Distinguished Educator, Distinguished Engineer, and Distinguished Scientist. Read the criteria carefully, and put together a well-crafted nomination. Don't just list skills, or paste your resumé, but list specific accomplishments (such as papers, products, awards, and ground-breaking work of any kind). Make sure your nominators provide specifics as well, not just platitudes ("he/she's a great person and deserves this award"). Good luck! I hope to see nominations soon! ACM-W Ambassador's Report: Digital Divas and OzWIT '09 in Australia Australian Ambassador Catherine Lang is excited about Digital Divas, which targets junior secondary school students with interesting curricula to increase engagement with IT courses and careers. Her second project is planning OzWIT 2009, the Australian Celebration of Women in ICT taking place in December. Read Catherine's entire post at ACM-W's News Blog. Publications News Journal of the ACM Seeking Editor-in-Chief The Journal of the ACM (JACM) is accepting nominations for Editor-in-Chief. Candidates will be evaluated after July 1. For more information please visit the JACM EIC search page. Communications of the ACM Reports: A Report Card on the One Laptop per Child Initiative The June cover story of Communications of the ACM (CACM) traces the journey of the One Laptop per Child initiative, which was planned to create a $100 PC as a teaching tool for disadvantaged children worldwide. The project envisioned hundreds of millions of the laptops in use by now, but only a few hundred thousand had been distributed by January 2009. The article chronicles the program's successes, its failure to understand the culture of developing countries, and the unexpectedly uncompromising reaction of the PC industry. The June issue is available online in digital format. Read the press release. acmqueue Talks with Programming Guru Arthur Whitney acmqueue's latest interview features a conversation with Arthur Whitney from Kx Systems. Whitney discusses the terse programming languages he's designed, such as K and Q, and what makes them such a good fit for Wall Street applications. He also talks about his never-ending quest for the most elegant code and why he re-implements his languages from scratch every few years. ACM in the News "Obama budget has $148B for research" Federal Computer Week, May 18, 2009 On May 12, the House of Representatives passed the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2009, endorsed by ACM, which promotes partnerships between the federal government, academia and industry to foster technology transfer, and creates a task force for cybersecurity R&D. "2 Prominent Technology Scholars Cast as Extras in Latest 'Star Trek' Film" Chronicle of Higher Education, May 14, 2009 The late Randy Pausch, who won ACM's Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award in 2007, and inspired millions with his "Last Lecture" on YouTube, made an appearance in the latest "Star Trek" film. "Top Journals in Computer Science" Times Higher Education Supplement, May 14, 2009 Communications of the ACM, ACM Transactions on Graphics among top ranked computer science journals by Thomson Reuters' Essential Science Indicators database covering the period January 1998 through December 2008, ranked by citations per paper to reveal weighted impact. Read more ACM in the News. Copyright © 2013, ACM, Inc.
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