Barbara Liskov Wins 2008 Turing Award

From The Chronicle of Higher Education:

"Barbara Liskov, the first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. from a computer-science department and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been awarded the A.M. Turing Award for 2008."

From the ACM press release:

"The award cites Liskov for her foundational innovations to designing and building the pervasive computer system designs that power daily life. Her achievements in programming language design have made software more reliable and easier to maintain. They are now the basis of every important programming language since 1975, including Ada, C++, Java, and C#. The Turing Award, widely considered the "Nobel Prize in Computing," is named for the British mathematician Alan M. Turing. The award carries a $250,000 prize..."

Use the library? Win an award!

All undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Washington are eligible to compete for the UW Library Research Award. If you're a UW undergrad who knows how to do great research, you could be a winner! (Or if you know such an undergrad, encourage them to apply!)

The awards committee gives out six to ten awards each year. The prize is $750 for Non-Seniors and $1000 for Seniors.

Applying is a three step process and the first deadline is May 18, 2009.

So what are you waiting for? I did a quick scan of the past winners and didn't see any engineering students. You could be the first!

Learn more about the Library Research Award at their FAQ site.

Technology Pioneers of 2009

Students in the College of Engineering like to stay on top of new technologies. If you're interested in the companies behind many of the innovations shaping our world, you might want to take a look at the 34 companies selected as the top Technology Pioneers for 2009 by the World Economic Forum.

The WEF recognizes companies in three areas: Biotechnology and Health, Energy and Environmental Technologies, and Information Technology. According to the nomination form: "The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers programme focuses on distinguishing those innovations that will have a dramatic and sustainable impact on business and/or society."

You can also check out YouTube videos about Technology Pioneers here.