Call for Nominations
The ACM Doctoral Dissertation Competition

Deadline: September 30, 2008

Rules of the Competition

ACM established the Doctoral Dissertation Award program to recognize and encourage superior research and writing by doctoral candidates in computer science and engineering. These awards are presented annually at the ACM Awards Banquet.

Submissions

Nominations are limited to one per university or college, from any country, unless more than 10 Ph.D.s are granted in one year, in which case two may be nominated.

Deadline

Submissions must be received at ACM headquarters by September 30 to qualify for consideration. This date is not negotiable.

Eligibility

Each nominated dissertation must have been accepted by the department within a 12-month period prior to September 30. Exceptional dissertations completed in August, but too late for submission last year will be considered. Only English language versions will be accepted. Please send a copy of the thesis in PDF or Word version to Doctoral Dissertation Coordinator. If a PDF is not possible send two copies to the address below.

Sponsorship

Each nomination shall be forwarded by the thesis advisor and must include the endorsement of the department head. A one-page summary of the significance of the dissertation written by the advisor must accompany the transmittal.

Publication Rights

Each nomination must be accompanied by an assignment to ACM by the author of exclusive publication rights.

Publication

Winning dissertations will be published by Springer.

Selection Procedure

Dissertations will be reviewed for technical depth and significance of the research contribution, potential impact on theory and practice, and quality of presentation. A committee of five individuals serving staggered five-year terms performs an initial screening to generate a short list, followed by an in-depth evaluation to determine the winning dissertation.

The selection committee will select the winning dissertation by December 15.

Award

The author of the winning dissertation will receive $20,000 and the Honorable Mention winner will receive $10,000. Financial support for the Doctoral Dissertation Award is provided by Google.

Submission Procedure Summary

A nomination must include:

1. Nomination letter by thesis advisor. This letter must include:
   
   1. the name, address, and phone number of the advisor,
      
   2. the name and address of the candidate, and
      
   3. a one-page summary of the significance of the dissertation.
      
2. An endorsement letter by the department head.
3. One copy of the thesis and original signed letters should be mailed to the above address.
   
4. A copyright transfer form http://www.acm.org/pubs/copyright_form.html, signed by the candidate.
5. Nomination materials may also be submitted electronically to the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Coordinator at: Doctoral Dissertation Coordinator.

As a general rule, each nomination submitted should have the:

1. Name and address of candidate;
2. The name(s) and address (es) or telephone number(s) of others who agree with the recommendation. Supporting letters from such persons are useful.

Send the nomination material to:

ACM
Doctoral Dissertation Coordinator
2 Penn Plaza Suite 701
New York, NY 10121-0701, USA
Tel: +1-212-869-7440
Fax: +1-212-869-0481