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1999 – Nancy G. Leveson
Citation
For pioneering and developing the interdisciplinary field of software safety,
developing innovative approaches to ensuring that computers do not contribute to loss of life and
property. Dr. Leveson's work has influenced not only academic research but government standards and
industrial practice world wide, spanning nuclear power, aerospace, medical, and various transportation
systems. Dr. Leveson has built bridges between computer science and the fields of system engineering;
mechanical, industrial and other engineering specialties; human factors and industrial psychology;
organizational sociology; and formal accident theory.
Press Release
Full Citation
Professor Leveson and her students established the basic definitions and formal foundations for
the new field of software safety and developed techniques to identify software-related system
hazards, eliminate and control hazards through system and software design. She has been
concerned not only with technical issues but also with the managerial and organizational
problems that lead to accidents in high-tech systems. Her book on software safety is used by
practicing engineers in many engineering disciplines and in classes not only in computer science
but in industrial, mechanical, and other engineering departments. Her contributions within
computer science have been broad also and have spanned the areas of fault tolerance, software
engineering, human-computer interaction, and formal methods.
Validating her great interdisciplinary contributions, the AIAA (American Institute for
Aeronautics and Astronautics) in 1994 awarded her their Information Systems Award for
contributions in space and aeronautical computer technology and science. Throughout her
career, she has been a vocal advocate for responsible engineering practices in the use of
computers to control safety-critical systems and has raised consciousness about the ethical and
moral issues involved in entrusting computers with responsibility for human life without
adequate assurance that safety is not being compromised. Besides providing technical solutions
to the problems involved in using computers, her detailed investigations of serious accidents
have raised awareness among engineers and scientists of the potential dangers.
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