This article is published in the April 2017 issue.

Announcements


Hager_greg

CRA Board Member Greg Hager Inducted to American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows

(see original CCC Blog post)
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) recently inducted the 2017 College of Fellows at their 2017 Annual Event at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Greg D. Hager, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, was one of the inductees. Hager is a CRA Board member and past chair of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC).

Members of the College of Fellows are considered among the top two percent of the country’s medical and biological engineers and include distinguished and accomplished research directors, professors, engineering and medical school chairs, and successful entrepreneurs and innovators.

Hager was recognized for his development of computationally enhanced imaging and image guidance and for data-driven quantification of human performance with interventional systems.
Cynthia Dwork

CCC’s Cynthia Dwork Co-winner of 2017 Gödel Prize

The 2017 Gödel Prize was recently awarded to CCC Council Member Cynthia Dwork, Frank McSherry, Kobbi Nissim and Adam Smith for their paper:

Calibrating Noise to Sensitivity in Private Data Analysis Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality, Volume 7, Issue 3 2016 (preliminary version in Theory of Cryptography, TCC 2006.) 

The Gödel Prize for outstanding papers in the area of theoretical computer science is sponsored jointly by the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS) and the Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM SIGACT). This award is presented annually, with the presentation taking place alternately at the International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP) and the ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC).

Cynthia Dwork, Frank McSherry, Kobbi Nissim and Adam Smith will receive the 2017 Gödel Prize at the 49th Annual ACM Symposium on the Theory of ComputiTng (STOC 2017), 19-23 June 2017, in Montreal, PQ, Canada.

Valerie Taylor Named Argonne National Laboratory Division Director
ValerieTaylor

Former CRA Board Member Valerie Taylor has been appointed as the next director of the Mathematics and Computer Science (MCS) division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, effective July 3, 2017. She most recently served as the senior associate dean of academic affairs in the College of Engineering and a Regents Professor and the Royce E. Wisenbaker Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University.

From the Argonne National Laboratory announcement:

“Valerie brings with her a wealth of leadership experience, computer science knowledge and future vision,” said Rick Stevens, Argonne Associate Laboratory Director for Computing, Environment and Life Sciences. “We feel strongly that her enthusiasm and drive will serve her well in her new role, and are pleased to have her joining our staff.”

In addition to being a former CRA board member, Valerie has also participated on the CRA Education Committee (CRA-E) and Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W). She also serves as the executive director of the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT).

Laura M. Haas Named Dean of the College of Information and Computer Sciences at UMass Amherst

Haas_LauraFormer CRA Board Member Laura M. Haas, an IBM Fellow at IBM Research – Almaden, has been named dean of the College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

From the UMass announcement:

“Laura Haas is a visionary leader in the field of computer science who has built major engines of basic and applied research for one of the most renowned firms in the world,” says Newman. “We are incredibly fortunate to have attracted her to UMass, where she will lead a dynamic, accomplished and enthusiastic faculty. The sky is the limit for this college.”

NCWIT AA Now Accepting Award Nominations & Proposals & Winners Announced

By Kim Kalahar, NCWIT

Thanks to the continued support from our sponsors, the NCWIT Academic Alliance (AA) is pleased to announce the call for nominations and proposals for the latest round of awards. Below you’ll find submission details:

Seed Fund

NCWIT Seed Fund – Proposal and Dean/Chair Letter of Recommendation

Deadline: 10/30/2017

The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund awards non-profit, U.S. university members of NCWIT’s AA with startup funds to develop and implement initiatives for recruiting women and underrepresented populations in computing and IT. To date, sponsor Microsoft Research has awarded nearly $600,000 to AA member organizations and will award up to $10,000 per project for the next round of recipients as well as funding for one PI per proposal to attend the Summit 2018. Submit a proposal, or find out more information at www.ncwit.org/seedfund.

Congratulations to this year’s winners: Claflin University (PI: Cheryl Swanier); Fairleigh Dickinson University (PIs: Laila Khreisat and Neelu Sinha); Green River College (PI: Tina Ostrander); University of North Carolina at Charlotte (PIs: Manuel Pérez Quiñones, David Wilson, and Audrey Rorrer). All Seed Fund winners are listed here (along with a brief description of their proposal that may trigger your creative spirit for your own submission!).

Award

NCWIT Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award

Nomination Deadline: 10/30/2017

Do you know someone who has combined outstanding research accomplishments with excellence in graduate mentoring? Has he or she served as an advocate for recruiting, encouraging, and promoting women and minorities in computing fields? If so, be certain to take a few moments to nominate that person for this award (self-nomination is also perfectly acceptable), sponsored by NCWIT’s Board of Directors. Each winner will receive $5,000 as a gift for the winner’s institution and a trip to the Summit 2018. Submit a nomination, or find out more information at www.ncwit.org/harroldnotkin.

Congratulations to this year’s winner: Jennifer Rexford of Princeton University.  All Harrold and Notkin winners are listed here.

Do you have a student you feel would benefit from the NCWIT Summit?

If yes, have them submit an application so they will be considered.  While there is no registration cost, they will need to pay for their own travel.

Have a terrific spring and don’t let those deadlines creep up on you in the fall!