About ACM - AAAI Allen Newell Award

Jitendra Malik was honored for seminal contributions to computer vision that have led the field in image segmentation and object category recognition. It is estimated that 50% of brain power is devoted to visual processing. And as vision is the primary way in which we engage with the world, artificial intelligence (AI) systems which seek to mimic human cognition must incorporate computer vision. For example, it is important for an autonomous vehicle to distinguish between a large plastic bag on the roadway and the limb of a tree.

Malik is recognized as one of the world’s leading researchers in computer vision. He and his lab at UC Berkeley solved several important problems in computer vision, including how to remove “noise” from images in order to identify critical elements such as edges, how to segment images, and how to represent and match shapes. Many of Malik’s former graduate students are now recognized leaders in the field. Through his own research and mentorship, Malik has been a driving force in transforming computer vision from a niche interest to a successful and influential discipline. Computer vision plays an increasingly important role in social media, Internet search, entertainment and autonomous vehicle development.

The ACM - AAAI Allen Newell Award is presented to an individual selected for career contributions that have breadth within computer science, or that bridge computer science and other disciplines. The Newell award is accompanied by a prize of $10,000, provided by ACM and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), and by individual contributions.

ACM will present the 2016 Software System Award, Grace Murray Hopper Award, Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award, and Allen Newell Award at its annual Awards Banquet on June 24, 2017 in San Francisco, California.