Nominating Process

Award nominations deadlines occur throughout the year, with a heavy concentration in December.  Please refer to the Nomination Process page for each award, which includes not only information about the deadline but also guidance for preparing each type of nomination. ACM's conflict-of-interest guidelines apply to all award nominations.

Read "How to Nominate" instructions for each ACM Award, and consult the table below for a quick overview of ACM Awards. For questions on the above, please contact us at [email protected], or Jade Morris ([email protected]), ACM Awards Committee Liaison.

 

Overview of ACM Awards

How to Nominate Award Description

Career-Long Contributions

ACM A.M. Turing Award ACM's oldest and most prestigious award, for an individual who has made lasting technical contributions to computing
ACM Distinguished Service Award Outstanding service contributions to the computing community at large
ACM Fellow Leaders recognized for outstanding technical, professional, and service contributions

Early-to-Mid-Career Contributions

ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award Outstanding young computer professional of the year, on the basis of a single major contribution
ACM Prize in Computing Contributions by "young" individuals to innovations with fundamental impact and broad implications
ACM Distinguished Member Leaders recognized for contributions to computing research, practice, education, or policy
ACM Senior Member Members recognized for technical and professional accomplishments      

Specific Types of Contributions

ACM Charles P. "Chuck" Thacker Breakthrough in Computing Award Individuals who reflect Thacker's pioneering contributions in making a surprising or disruptive leapfrog in computing ideas or technologies, and his inspiration of generations of young computer scientists. 
ACM Eugene L. Lawler Award Individuals/groups making significant humanitarian contributions through the use of computing technology
ACM Frances E. Allen Award Individuals who have shown outstanding leadership in mentoring promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in computing
ACM Gordon Bell Prize Innovations in applying high-performance computing to science, engineering, and large-scale data analytics
ACM Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award New teaching methodologies, new curriculum development, or significant contribution to ACM's educational mission
ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award Theoretical accomplishments that have had a significant, demonstrable effect on the practice of computing
ACM Policy Award Significant influence on the formation or execution of public policy related to computing
ACM Presidential Award Special contributions, as defined by the ACM President
ACM Software System Award Institutions/individuals who developed software systems with lasting influence on computing
ACM Athena Lecturer Award Outstanding women researchers who have made fundamental contributions to computing
ACM-AAAI Allen Newell Award Contributions with significant breadth across computing, or that bridge computer science and other disciplines
ACM-IEEE CS Eckert-Mauchly Award Contributions to hardware-software design or the design/analysis of computing and digital systems
ACM-IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award Contributions to programmability/productivity in high-performance computing, together with significant service
Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award Individuals who have made outstanding service contributions to the Association
SIAM/ACM Prize in Computational Science and Engineering Development of mathematical/computational tools and methods for solving science and engineering problems

Student Contributions

ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award Superior research and writing by doctoral candidates in computer science and engineering
ACM-IEEE CS George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowships Exceptional PhD students focusing on HPC applications, networking, storage, or large-scale data analysis
ACM India Doctoral Dissertation Award Best doctoral dissertation in computing from an academic institution in India
ACM/CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize in High School Computing Winners of an annual challenge to high school computer science students in the U.S.
International Science and Engineering Fair Outstanding high school projects at ISEF that are related to the field of computing

View on Demand: Diversifying ACM Award Nominations

In this Tapia Conference panel, ACM CEO Vicki Hanson moderates a discussion with ACM Awards Committee Co-Chair Roy Levin and Awards Committee members Stephanie Ludi (University of North Texas) and Timothy Pinkston (University of Southern California) concerning the need to nominate deserving and diverse individuals for Awards and ACM Advanced Member Grades (Distinguished Members and Fellows). This panel provides an understanding of ACM’s Awards process from submission to selection, with specific tips for working as a community to develop nominations.

Career-Long Contributions

Early-to-Mid-Career Contributions

Specific Types of Contributions

Student Contributions

Regional Awards

SIG Awards

How Awards Are Proposed