ACM Distinguished Service Award

The ACM Distinguished Service Award recognizes outstanding service contributions to the computing community as a whole.  Individuals, or in special cases a small group, are selected on the basis of the value and degree of their service overall, including activities on behalf of the Association, other computer organizations, and/or other entities.  The award is presented each June at the ACM Awards Banquet and includes travel expenses to the banquet.

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

Nominations will be reviewed for the quality and impact of the candidate's service contributions.  Successful nominations will demonstrate a sustained and/or enduring contribution to the computing community.   Nominations can focus on an important body of service contributions over a significant period of time, or one particularly influential contribution.  The award generally is given to an individual, but can be awarded to a small group of individuals in a case where the contribution is fully shared among them.

Nominations for the ACM Distinguished Service 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 complete an attestation statement for each candidate being nominated, indicating whether they are aware of any action committed by the candidate/s that violates the ACM Code of Ethics and ACM’s 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/s 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.