John Hennessy and David Patterson Receive 2017 ACM A.M. Turing Award

ACM has named John L. Hennessy, former President of Stanford University, and David A. Patterson, retired Professor of the University of California, Berkeley, recipients of the 2017 ACM A.M. Turing Award for pioneering a systematic, quantitative approach to the design and evaluation of computer architectures with enduring impact on the microprocessor industry.

2017 ACM A.M. Turing Award recipients John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson

Dina Katabi Receives 2017 ACM Prize in Computing

ACM has named Dina Katabi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) the recipient of the 2017 ACM Prize in Computing for creative contributions to wireless systems. She and her team pioneered the use of wireless signals in applications that can sense humans behind walls, determine their movements and even surmise their emotional states. These trailblazing human-sensing technologies hold out promise for use in several applications of daily life.

2017 ACM Prize in Computing recipient Dina Katabi

USACM Letter to US Congress on Facebook Use of Personal Data

ACM US Public Policy Council's letter to US Senators and Representatives raised concerns about breaches of privacy and public trust resulting from Facebook’s and outside parties’ use and misuse of Facebook users’ data. It offered five key observations on the implications and possible causes of the data breaches, citing compromising business practices; systemic deficiencies; the need to adhere to ethical standards (such as ACM's Code of Ethics); large datasets and increased computational power; and synergies among technologies.

Meet Bernhard Schölkopf

Bernhard Schölkopf is Director of the Department of Empirical Inference at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and Chief Machine Learning Scientist at Amazon Retail. An ACM Fellow, he co-authored Elements of Causal Inference Foundations and Learning Algorithms with Jonas Peters and Dominik Janzing. “We first learned how to generate energy at scale using steam and water power, and then how to convert it into electrical energy and de-localize it. I think we are now seeing a similar revolution with information instead of energy.”

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ACM SIG Elections

On 2 April, members of the following SIGs (who were in good standing as of 16 March 2018) were sent voting information from Election Services Corporation (ESC), a third party that is conducting the election: SIGACCESS, SIGACT, SIGDA, and SIGITE. Please contact ESC if you have not received email. If ACM does not have an email address on file, members will receive the voting information via post mail. Ballots are due by 8 June at 16:00 UTCYou can view the candidate slate here.

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ACM AI/Blockchain Workshops for Practitioners

ACM is hosting a series of practitioner-oriented workshops and conferences on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. The next event in the series will be the Yearly Summit in Toronto on May 22. A global summit, co-located with the AI for Good Global Summit, will take place May 15-17 in Geneva. Visit the website for information on upcoming ACM AiDecentralized events.

USACM Issues Statement on Preserving Personal Privacy

Based on the belief that the benefits of emerging technologies should not come at the expense of personal privacy, the ACM US Public Policy Council (USACM) has issued a statement outlining principles and practices for building data privacy into modern technological systems. These include limiting and minimizing collection of personal data; the ability of individuals to control how their personal data are distributed and used; and ensuring quality and security of personal data. Read more in the news release.

ACM Europe and IE Release Informatics Education Strategy

The ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe have collaborated on a report that builds on an earlier document, "Informatics Education in Europe: Are We All in the Same Boat?". The report, "Informatics for All: The Strategy," aims to establish Informatics as an essential discipline for all, a subject available at all levels throughout the educational system. The strategy is also summarized in a one-page document.

EUACM and IE Issue Recommendations on Automated Decision Making

The white paper "When Computers Decide: European Recommendations on Machine-Learned Automated Decision Making" presents the views of the ACM Europe Policy Committee (EUACM) and Informatics Europe (IE) on the challenges posed by the increasing presence of Machine Learning and Automated Decision Making (ADM) systems in almost every aspect of modern human life. Read the ACM news release.

AI for Good 2018 Global Summit, May 15 - 17, Geneva, Switzerland

The AI for Good Global Summit will identify practical applications of AI and supporting strategies to improve the quality and sustainability of life on our planet. The summit, the leading United Nations platform for dialogue on AI, will continue to formulate strategies to ensure trusted, safe and inclusive development of AI technologies and equitable access to their benefits. Among the speakers are ACM President Vicki Hanson and 2012 ACM A.M. Turing Award co-recipient Silvio Micali.

ACM CEO Search

ACM is inviting applications for the position of Chief Executive Officer to serve as a leading figure in the computing field representing an elite organization that can speak on behalf of nearly 100,000 members worldwide. The CEO serves as the primary executive responsible for the formulation and implementation of ACM strategic direction, for representing ACM in the worldwide computing community, and for overall management of the affairs of the association. To apply, visit the ACM CEO Search page.

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Meet the Inaugural Class of the ACM-FCA

The ACM Future of Computing Academy is a new initiative created by ACM to support and foster the next generation of computing professionals. The Academy is a platform that enables the next generation of researchers, practitioners, educators and entrepreneurs to develop a coherent and influential voice that addresses challenging issues facing the field and society in general. Meet the men and women who make up the inaugural class of the ACM-FCA.

Proceedings of the ACM Series

Proceedings of the ACM (PACM) is a journal series that launched in 2017. The series was created in recognition of the fact that conference-centric publishing disadvantages the CS community with respect to other scientific disciplines when competing with researchers from other disciplines for top science awards and career progression, and the fact that top ACM conferences have demonstrated high quality and high impact on the field. See PACMs on Programming Languages, Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, Measurement and Analysis of Computing Systems, and HCI.

First-Ever Global Curriculum Guidelines in Cybersecurity

After an extensive two-year process, a joint task force led by the ACM, IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS), Association for Information Systems Special Interest Group on Security (AIS SIGSEC), and the International Federation for Information Processing Technical Committee on Information Security Education (IFIP WG 11.8) has released a first-ever set of global curricular recommendations for post-secondary degree programs in cybersecurity education.

USACM Statement on Accessibility, Usability, and Digital Inclusiveness

USACM has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to accessibility by releasing a statement and set of principles on accessibility, usability, and digital inclusiveness. Promoting digital inclusiveness for people with disabilities, as well as policies, regulations, and guidelines that ensure fair access to the opportunities that arise from digital innovations, has been an ongoing priority for USACM. Read the news release.

Building a Smart City: Lessons from Barcelona

Over the past few decades, the challenges faced by local governments, like urban growth and migration, have become increasingly complex and interrelated. In addition to traditional land-use regulation, urban maintenance, production and management of services, governments must meet new demands from different actors regarding water supply, natural-resources sustainability, education, safety, and transportation. To address these challenges, cities must innovate and become smart. In this video, Mila Gasco-Hernandez describes Barcelona as a model for "Building a Smart City: Lessons from Barcelona," a Contributed Article in the April 2018 Communications of the ACM.

Toward a Network of Connected Things

ACM Queue’s “Research for Practice” is a must-read for practitioners who want to stay current with the latest advances in computing research. In this installment of RfP, titled "Toward a Network of Connected Things," Deepak Vasisht presents research papers that look at the rapid evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) from theory to reality, and attempts to accelerate and monetize this trend. The rapid growth of the IoT has been fueled by years of research tackling several challenges, ranging from low-power networking to new sensor designs to security and privacy. This installment of RfP presents research papers that aim to make IoT deployments more pervasive and to enable users to gain more utility from existing deployments.

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ACM offers lifelong learning resources including online books from Safari, online courses from Skillsoft, webinars on the hottest topics in computing and IT, and more.

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ACM Expresses Concern About New Executive Order Suspending Visas

The Association for Computing Machinery, a global scientific and educational organization representing the computing community, expresses concern over US President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order imposing suspension of visas to nationals of six countries.

The open exchange of ideas and the freedom of thought and expression are central to the aims and goals of ACM. ACM supports the statute of International Council for Science in that the free and responsible practice of science is fundamental to scientific advancement and human and environmental well-being. Such practice, in all its aspects, requires freedom of movement, association, expression and communication for scientists. All individuals are entitled to participate in any ACM activity.