Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
ACM acts as an umbrella organization for academic and scholarly interests in computer science. Its mission is reflected in its motto: “Advancing Computing as a Science & Profession.” The organization facilitates knowledge sharing, collaboration, and innovation through various conferences, publications, and awards in the field of computing.
Conferences
ACM, along with its Special Interest Groups (SIGs), hosts numerous conferences worldwide. In 2017 alone, ACM organized 170 conferences, which serve as significant venues for research publication and knowledge dissemination in computer science. Many of these conferences are competitive and highly regarded in the academic community. For instance, the SIGGRAPH conference in 2007 attracted about 30,000 participants, while the CIKM conference accepted only 15% of the submitted long papers in 2005.
Key ACM Conferences Include:
- ASPLOS: International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems
- CHI: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
- SIGCSE: Symposium on Computer Science Education
- CIKM: Conference on Information and Knowledge Management
- DAC: Design Automation Conference
- DEBS: Distributed Event-Based Systems
- FCRC: Federated Computing Research Conference
- GECCO: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference
- SC: Supercomputing Conference
- SIGGRAPH: International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques
- Hypertext: Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia
- JCDL: Joint Conference on Digital Libraries
- TAPIA: Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing
- SIGCOMM: ACM SIGCOMM Conference
- MobiHoc: Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking and Computing
In addition, ACM co-presents and is a founding partner of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) alongside the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. Regional and student-led conferences, such as Reflections Projections (hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ACM chapter), provide additional opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Awards
ACM honors outstanding contributions in computer science and information technology through numerous awards. These awards recognize technical achievements, professional service, and contributions that have significantly advanced the field. Some of the most prestigious ACM awards include:
- ACM A. M. Turing Award (often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Computing")
- ACM-AAAI Allen Newell Award
- ACM Athena Lecturer Award
- ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing
- ACM Distinguished Service Award
- ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award
- ACM Eugene L. Lawler Award
- ACM Fellowship, awarded annually since 1993
- ACM Gordon Bell Prize
- ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award
- ACM-IEEE CS George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowships
- ACM-IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award
- ACM-IEEE Eckert-Mauchly Award
- ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award
- ACM Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award
- ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award
- ACM Policy Award
- ACM Presidential Award
- ACM Prize in Computing (formerly the ACM Infosys Foundation Award)
- ACM Software System Award
- ACM Student Research Competition
- SIAM/ACM Prize in Computational Science and Engineering
In addition to these awards, over 30 of ACM’s SIGs also recognize contributions in specialized fields of computing. Notable SIG-specific awards include:
- ACM Alan D. Berenbaum Distinguished Service Award
- ACM Maurice Wilkes Award
- ISCA Influential Paper Award
ACM continues to play a pivotal role in the global advancement of computing, offering a platform for academics, professionals, and students to contribute to the ever-evolving world of technology.