ACM has named 43 Distinguished Members for outstanding contributions to the field. The 2017 Distinguished Members are responsible for an extraordinary array of achievements, reflecting the many distinct areas of research and practice in the computing and information technology fields. The ACM Distinguished Member program recognizes members based on professional experience as well as significant achievements in the computing field.

Maja Matarić is the Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Computer Science, with appointments in the Neuroscience Program and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California. She is also founding director of USC’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center, Co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab, and Vice Dean for Research at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. 

For one week in December, millions of students around the world are introduced to the magic of computer science through games, coding puzzles, tutorials, and many other fun activities. Events are organized by local volunteers from schools, research institutions, and other groups. ACM helped launch Computer Science Education Week in 2009, and invites you host an Hour of Code in your community.

ACM has named a 12-member Chinese team the recipients of the 2017 ACM Gordon Bell Prize for their research project employing high performance computing to create 3D visualizations relating to a devastating earthquake that occurred in Tangshan, China in 1976. The award was bestowed during SC17.

Yuan Xie is a Professor of Computer Engineering and Director of the Scalable and Energy-Efficient Architecture Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the Editor-in-Chief of ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems (JETC) and a Senior Associate Editor of ACM Transactions on Design Automation for Electronic Systems (TODAES). “My students and I have put a lot of effort into novel architectures for emerging workloads with an emphasis on artificial intelligence.”

ACM is sponsoring a series of practitioner-oriented workshops on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. The first workshop in the series occurred on July 31, 2017 in Toronto. Additional workshops are planned for San Francisco, New York, Beijing, Bangalore, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, London, Boston and Los Angeles. Speakers include leading names in AI and Blockchain.

Stefan Savage of the University of California, San Diego and Regina Barzilay of MIT have been named 2017 MacArthur Fellows. Savage, an ACM Fellow and 2015 ACM Prize in Computing recipient, was cited for "identifying and addressing the technological, economic, and social vulnerabilities underlying internet security challenges and cybercrime." Barzilay, an ACM member, was cited for "developing machine learning methods that enable computers to process and analyze vast amounts of human language data."

ACM's celebration of 50 years of the Turing Award culminated with a conference June 23 and 24, 2017 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. Keynote talks and panel discussions highlighted the significant impact of the contributions of the Turing Laureates on computing and society, as well as looking ahead to the future of technology and innovation.

You can watch videos of these historic presentations here. 

Each year, ACM recognizes technical and professional achievements within the computing and information technology community through its celebrated Awards Program. ACM welcomes nominations for candidates whose work exemplifies the best and most influential contributions to our community, and society at large. Most nominations are due January 15, 2018. Please refer to the Nominations page for each award, which includes information about the deadline and guidance for preparing nominations.

ACM is among 21 industry, nonprofit, and academic organizations that recently joined the Partership on AI to Benefit People and Society. PAI was established in in February 2017, with an initial membership of 32 organizations, to study and formulate best practices on AI technologies, to advance the public’s understanding of AI, and to serve as an open platform for discussion and engagement about AI and its influences on people and society.

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 (PACM) is a new journal series with first issues planned for 2017. It is being launched 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.

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.

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.

The 5th Heidelberg Laureate Forum, September 24-29, featured 26 laureates of the ACM A.M. Turing Award, Abel Prize, ACM Prize in Computing, Fields Medal and Nevanlinna Prize exchanging ideas and discussing research with 200 of the most talented young researchers in these disciplines from around the world. Lectures and panel discussions are available for on-demand viewing via the video archive or on the HLF YouTube channel.

Encourage your colleagues to join ACM, share the benefits of ACM and receive free gifts for participating. Your support of ACM is critical to our continuing efforts to advance computing as a science and a profession. 

The most comprehensive collection of full-text articles and bibliographic records covering computing and information technology includes the complete collection of ACM's publications. 

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.