Learn about computing history and the people who shaped it.
COMPUTING THEN
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Ken Birman Wins Kanai Award
Ken Birman is a founding member of TRUST, a consortium that explores
challenges in trustworthy computing.
K enneth P. Birman, N. Rama Rao Professor at Cornell University, recently received the
IEEE Computer Society’s 2009 Tsutomu Kanai Award. The award recognizes major contributions to state-of-the art distributed comput-ing systems and their applications. Birman was recognized “for funda-
mental and practical contributions to distributed computing, fault tol-erance, reliability and distributed systems management.”
Birman’s work has focused on the development of trustworthy distrib-uted computing systems. Early in his career, he developed the Isis Toolkit, a reliable group communication system that introduced the virtual synchrony model for fault tolerance. The widely adopted Isis was at the core of such mission-critical systems as the French air traffi c control system, the New York Stock Exchange, and the US Navy’s Aegis-class warships.
Birman’s group subsequently developed a series of systems that explored challenges of extreme
scale using gossip and peer-to-peer protocols. These included Horus, Ensemble, Bimodal Multi-cast, the Astrolabe platform, and the Gossip Objects platform. Ideas and technology from these efforts have helped shape modern cloud computing systems, including the communication layer of IBM’s fl agship WebSphere product, Micro-soft’s cluster management platform, and Amazon’s data-center manage-ment systems.
Birman became a Fellow of the ACM in 1998 and won the 2009 IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems Outstanding Achievement Award.
Tsutomu Kanai AwardThe Tsutomu Kanai Award was
established in 1997 by an endow-ment from Hitachi in honor of its president. The award consists of a crystal model, certificate, and $10,000 honorarium. The IEEE Computer Society Awards Commit-tee considers the seminal nature of the achievements, their practi-cal impact, breadth, and depth, as well as the quality of the nomina-tion. The awards honor technical achievements as well as service to the computer profession and to the Society. Birman will accept his award at the Computer Society’s 2010 awards ceremony in Denver.
The deadline to make a nomi-nation for the 2010 Tsutomu Kanai Award is 15 October. For more infor-mation, visit www.computer.org/portal/web/awards/kanai.
67APRIL 2010
Francine Berman was one of two founding principal investigators on the National Science
Foundation’s TeraGrid Project.
F rancine Berman, vice president for research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently received
the IEEE Computer Society’s Ken Kennedy Award for outstanding contributions to programmability or productivity in high-performance computing. She is a pioneer in grid computing and a leading advocate for the development of a national cyberinfrastructure for the access, use, stewardship, and preservation of digital data. Berman’s work has had a major impact on the direc-tion of computational science and the cyberinfrastructure. Her citation reads “For her influential leader-ship in the design, development and deployment of national-scale cyber infrastructure, her inspiring work as a teacher and mentor, and her exemplary service to the high- performance community.”
Berman is co-chair of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access, an international group focusing on the economic sustainability of digital information that must be accessed and preserved for many decades.
In 2001, Berman became director of both the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infra-structure, a consortium of more than 40 national and international part-ners who worked together to create a comprehensive national computing infrastructure.
Berman is a founding member and co-chair of the Computing Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research and currently serves on the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Tech-nology Board of Trustees.
Before moving to RPI, Berman held the High Performance Com-put ing Endowed Cha ir in the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. In 2000, she was named an ACM Fellow for pioneering work in application scheduling for paral-lel distributed computing. Berman received a BA in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MA and PhD in
mathematics from the University of Washington.
Ken Kennedy AwardThe IEEE Computer Society Ken
Kennedy Award was established in memory of the founder of Rice University’s nationally ranked com-puter science program and one of the world’s foremost experts on high-performance computing. A cer-tificate and $5,000 honorarium are awarded jointly by the ACM and the Computer Society for outstanding contributions to programmability or productivity in high-performance computing together with significant community service or mentoring contributions.
Francine Berman Wins Kennedy Award
Top Educators Honored
T he IEEE Computer Soci-ety sponsors an active and prestigious awards program as part of its
mission to promote the free exchange of ideas among computer profession-als around the world and to recognize its members for their outstanding accomplishments. Several noted educators recently received two Computer Society awards that honor achievement in education.
COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING AWARD
The IEEE Computer Society Computer Science & Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award is presented each year for outstanding contributions to undergraduate edu-cation through teaching and service, for helping to maintain interest in the field, and for making a statement
about the importance with which the Society views undergraduate education.
Judy RobertsonJudy Robertson of Heriot-Watt Uni-
versity, the 2009 award winner, was honored “for outstanding contribu-tions to the undergraduate education through teaching and the innovative use of pioneering technologies in teaching.” Robertson is the principal investigator of a grant funded by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sci-ences Research Council that supports high school teachers who use game-making projects with their students. She received a BS and PhD in com-puter science and artificial intelligence from the University of Edinburgh.
Elizabeth BurdElizabeth Burd of Durham Univer-
sity, the 2008 winner, was recognized “for outstanding contributions to
COMPUTER 68
COMPUTER SOCIET Y CONNECTION
IEEE Micro seeks general-interest submissions for publication in upcoming issues. These works should discuss the design, performance,
or application of microcomputer and micropro-cessor systems. Of special interest are articles on performance evaluation and workload character-
ization. Summaries of work in progress and de-scriptions of recently completed works are most welcome, as are tutorials. Micro does not accept previously published material.
Check our author center (www.computer.org/mc/mi cro/author.htm) for word, fi gure, and reference limits. All submissions pass through peer review consistent with other professional-level technical publications, and editing for clarity, readability, and conciseness. Contact IEEE Micro at [email protected] with any questions.
performance evaluation and workload character-
consistent with other professional-level technical publications, and editing for clarity, readability, and conciseness. Contact computer.org with any questions.
consistent with other professional-level technical publications, and editing for clarity, readability, and conciseness. Contact computer.org with any questions.
Call for Papers | General Interest
undergraduate education through teaching and the organization of programs to promote excellence in undergraduate teaching.” Burd is the leader of Durham’s Technology Enhanced Learning Research Group. Her most recent grant, supported by the Teaching and Learning Research Program, focuses on investigating the use of multitouch software in classrooms.
TAYLOR L. BOOTH AWARD
Recipients of the Taylor L. Booth Award are presented with a bronze medal and $5,000 honorarium in recognition of an outstanding record in computer science and engineer-ing education. A successful candidate must meet at least two of the follow-ing criteria in the computer science and engineering field:
• Achieving recognition as a teacher of renown.
• Writing an influential text.• Leading, inspiring, or providing
significant education content during the creation of a curricu-lum in the field.
• Inspiring others to a career in computer science and engineer-ing education.
Michael HeathMichael Heath, chair of computer
science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was selected in 2009 “for contributions to com-putational science and engineering education, curriculum and scholar-ship.” Heath is director of both the computational science and engi-neering program and the Center for Simulation of Advanced Rockets at UIUC. He was named an ACM Fellow in 2000.
James P. Cohoon and Jack W. Davidson
James P. Cohoon and Jack W. Davidson of the University of Virginia were recognized as win-ners in 2008 “for sustained effort to transform introductory com-puter science education through lab-based multimedia pedagogy coupled with examples that attract a diverse student body.” Cohoon’s research involves algorithms, prob-abilistic search, genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, and diversity in computer science education. Davidson performs research in programming languages, computer security, embedded systems, and computer architecture.
Taylor L. Booth founded the University of Connecticut’s Booth Engineering Center
for Advanced Technology and was a candidate for IEEE Computer Society president at the time of his death in 1986. For more information on Com-puter Society awards, visit www.computer.org/portal/web/awards.
M icrosoft and IEEE have announced a collaboration that aims to
increase the number of students engaged in technical pursuits. The IEEE Computer Society, which has long offered its student members access to free Microsoft software, is participating in the collaboration.
“As an information provider to tech-nical professionals, this collaboration with Microsoft will give us an expanded ability to introduce students to more internships, scholarships, and contests,” said Violet Doan, the Computer Soci-ety’s membership director.
“Engineers make tremendous contri-butions to society by creating tech- nologies that drive global economic growth,” said Walid Abu-Hadba, vice president of developer and platform evangelism at Microsoft. “The Micro-soft-IEEE collaboration will provide aspiring engineers around the world
with tools and resources to convert their innovative thinking into marketplace innovation by equipping today’s techni-cal students for tomorrow’s jobs.”
Microsoft and IEEE will work to-gether to provide IEEE student mem- bers with access to Microsoft servers, development tools, and eLearning, including privileged access to more than 300 software titles as part of the MSDN Academic Alliance, a subscrip-tion service traditionally available only through educational institutions. An added benefit is the opportunity for science, technology, engineering, and math students to explore job opportu-nities with Microsoft partners and customers through the Microsoft Stu-dents to Business program.
Learn more about IEEE Computer Soci-ety student activities at www.computer. org/por tal/web/studentac tivities/ home.
