ACM Athena Lecturer Award

How to Nominate

Overview

This award celebrates women researchers who have made fundamental contributions to Computer Science. Each year ACM honors a preeminent woman computer scientist as the Athena Lecturer. The Athena Lecturer gives a one-hour invited talk at a major ACM conference of her choice. A video of the talk is made available on the ACM website. The award carries a cash prize of $25,000 and includes travel expenses to the conference. Financial support for the Athena Lecturer Award is provided by Two Sigma.

Next Deadline

December 15, 2025 - End of Day, Anywhere on Earth (AoE), UTC -12 hrs.

Selection Criteria

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom; with her wisdom and sense of purpose, and her willingness to enter the fray, Athena epitomizes the strength, determination, and intelligence of the Athena Lecturers. Nominations will be reviewed for the quality and impact of the candidate's achievements. Successful nominations will demonstrate a sustained and/or enduring contribution to the computing community, including both technical/research and service/mentoring components. Nominations may focus on an important body of contributions over a significant period of time, or one particularly influential contribution. While not strictly required, it is customary for at least one endorsement to be from the chair of the ACM Special Interest Group in the candidate’s area of expertise.

Submissions

Nominations for the ACM Athena Lecturer Award should be submitted using the online nomination form.  Guidelines for nominators and endorsers can be found here. Each nomination involves several components:

  • Name, address, phone number, and email address of nominator (person making the nomination).  The most appropriate person to submit a nomination would be a recognized member of the community who is not from the same organization as the candidate and who can address the candidate’s impact on the broader community.
  • Name, address, and email address of the candidate (person being nominated).  It is ACM’s policy not to tell candidates who has nominated or endorsed them.
  • Nominators will be required to indicate whether they are aware of any actions committed by the candidate that violates ACM's Code of Ethics or Core Values.
  • Suggested citation if the candidate is selected.  This should be a concise statement (maximum of 25 words) describing the key technical or professional accomplishment for which the candidate merits this award.  Note that the final wording for awardees will be at the discretion of the Award Committee.
  • Nomination statement (200-500 words in length) addressing why the candidate should receive this award.  This may describe the candidate’s work in general, but should draw particular attention to the contributions that merit the award.
  • Copy of the candidate’s CV, listing publications, patents, honors, service contributions, etc.
  • Supporting letters from at least 3, and not more than 5, endorsers.  Endorsers should be chosen to represent a range of perspectives and institutions and provide additional insights or evidence of the candidate’s impact.  Each letter must include the name, address, and telephone number of the endorser, and should focus on the accomplishments which that endorser can attest to and place in context.  The nominator should collect the letters and bundle them for submission. Please Note: Nominators will need to provide a valid email for each endorser. Endorsers will receive an email from [email protected] containing a secure link to the Code of Ethics attestation form, and will be required to indicate whether they are aware of any actions committed by the candidate that violates ACM's Code of Ethics or Core Values.

For questions on the above, please contact us at [email protected], or Jade Morris, ACM Awards Committee Liaison.  ACM's conflict-of-interest guidelines apply to all award nominations.

Honors Policy for Nominators and Endorsers

Nominators and endorsers for all ACM Awards will now be required to indicate whether they are aware of any action committed by the candidate that violates the ACM Code of Ethics and ACM’s Core Values. See the Policy for Honors Conferred by ACM.

CORE VALUES

  • Technical excellence
  • Education and technical advancement
  • Ethical computing and technology for positive impact
  • Diversity and inclusion

GENERAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
1.1 Contribute to society and to human well-being, acknowledging that all people are stakeholders in computing.
1.2 Avoid harm.
1.3 Be honest and trustworthy.
1.4 Be fair and take action not to discriminate.
1.5 Respect the work required to produce new ideas, inventions, creative works, and computing artifacts.
1.6 Respect privacy.
1.7 Honor confidentiality.

For questions on the above please contact [email protected]

ACM Honors & Ethics

ACM formally recognizes individuals for significant contributions to the field, ACM, or its interests. This recognition includes ACM Awards, Advanced Member Grades, and SIG Awards, collectively termed Honors. ACM expects individuals it honors to abide by the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Learn about the Policy for Honors Conferred by ACM.