Seven Women Scholars Named Fellows of the Association for Computer Machinery

The Association for Computer Machinery is an educational and scientific society uniting the world’s computing educators, researchers and professionals. The organization has more than 96,000 members come from industry, academia, and government institutions around the world.

Recently 46 individuals were named ACM Fellows for their contributions to computing. In making the announcement, Alain Chesnais, president of ACM, said, “These women and men, who are some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in computer science and engineering, are changing how the world lives and works. They have mastered the tools of computing and computer science to address the many significant challenges that confront populations across the globe. These international luminaries are responsible for solutions that are transforming our society for the better — in healthcare, communications, cybersecurity, robotics, commerce, industry, and entertainment.”

The 46 new fellows will be honored at the ACM’s annual awards banquet in San Francisco next June. Among the 46 new fellows, only eight are women. One of the women is a researcher at Microsoft Inc. The other seven have ties to academic institutions.

(L to R) Susan Landau, Ming C. Lin, Zehra Meral Ozsoyoglu, Linda R. Petzold, Martha E. Pollack, Margo Seltzer, and Diane L. Souvaine

Susan Landau is a visiting scholar in the department of computer science at Harvard University. She previously taught at Wesleyan University and the University of Massachusetts. She is the author of the book, Surveillance or Security? The Risks Posed by New Wiretapping Technologies (MIT Press). Dr. Landau is a graduate of Princeton University. She holds a master’s degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is being honored by the ACM for “public policy leadership in security and privacy.”

Ming C. Lin is the John R. and Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor in the department of computer science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California at Berkeley. She is being honored for “contributions to geometric modeling and computer graphics.”

Zehra Meral Ozsoyoglu is the Andrew Jennings Professor of Computing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. She earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Alberta. She is being honored by ACM for “contributions to database management systems.”

Linda R. Petzold is a professor of mechanical and environmental engineering at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Dr. Petzold is being honored for “contributions to computational science.” A video of Dr. Petzold discussing her work can be seen here.

Martha E. Pollack is a professor of computer science and engineering and vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs at the University of Michigan. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is being honored for “contributions to planning systems and for service to the computing community.”

Margo Seltzer is the Herchel Smith Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University. She holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley. She is being honored for “contributions to data management and computing systems.”

Diane L. Souvaine is a professor of computer science at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Radcliffe College and holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in computer science from Princeton University. She was selected as a fellow of the ACM for “contributions to computational geometry and for service on behalf of the computing community.”