ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award

Overview

The Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award honors specific theoretical accomplishments that have had a significant and demonstrable effect on the practice of computing. The award is presented each June at the ACM Awards Banquet and is accompanied by a prize of $10,000 plus travel expenses to the banquet.  Financial support for the award is through an endowment provided by the Kanellakis family, with additional contributions from ACM's Special Interest Groups on Algorithms and Computational Theory (SIGACT), Design Automation (SIGDA), Management of Data (SIGMOD), and Programming Languages (SIGPLAN), as well as the ACM SIG Projects Fund and individual contributions.

Next Deadline

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

Selection Criteria

Nominations will be reviewed on the basis of the candidate’s publication of novel and solid theoretical work, how that work has translated into applications, and the impact of the theory and applications.

Submissions

Nominations for the Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice 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 any 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 (200-750 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 7, 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 any 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.