In June this year, ACM will celebrate 50 Years of the A.M. Turing Award, which recognizes major contributions of lasting importance in computing. Through the years, it has become the most prestigious award in the field, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of computing.”

ACM will celebrate both the award and the visionaries who have received it with a conference on June 23 – 24, 2017 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. ACM Turing laureates will join other award recipients and ACM experts in moderated panel discussions exploring how computing has evolved and where the field is headed. Panels include:

•             Advances in Deep Neural Networks
•             Restoring Personal Privacy without Compromising National Security
•             Moore’s Law is Really Dead: What’s Next?
•             Quantum Computing: Far Away? Around the Corner? Or Maybe Both at the Same Time?
•             Challenges in Ethics and Computing
•             Preserving our Past for the Future
•             Augmented Reality: From Gaming to Cognitive Aids and Beyond

The program for the conference can be found at:  http://www.acm.org/awards/turing-award-50-conference.

SIGACCESS is sponsoring two student members to attend the conference.  To be eligible, applicants must be

  • a student registered at an accredited educational institution
  • a student member of SIGACCESS as of February 24th. You can join SIGACCESS here
  • available to attend the event on June 23-24, 2017

To apply, please send:

  • a resume
  • up to 1 page statement explaining why you should represent SIGACCESS
  • your ACM member number, if you have one

Send your application by email to treasurer_sigaccess at acm dot org.

The deadline for applications is February 24th, 2017.  Winners will be selected by the SIGACCESS Executive Committee and notified by March 10th, 2017.

Each scholarship includes:

  • Guaranteed conference registration (registration is free, but spaces are limited)
  • 2 nights at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco (Thursday, Friday June 23-24, 2017)
  • Up to $900 to help offset the cost of travel/subsistence