Anita Jones Wins the Highest Honor of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Anita Jones, professor emerita of computer science at the University of Virginia, has been chosen as the winner of the 2012 Philip Hauge Abelson Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The award is the AAAS’s highest honor.

Professor Jones is being honored not only for her contributions to the field of computer science but also for acting as a mentor and role model for others in the field and for her many contributions to public service.

Dr. Jones earned a Ph.D. in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and then served on the faculty there for 10 years. She then co-founded the software firm Tartan Laboratories. In 1988 she became a full professor and chair of the computer science department at the University of Virginia. After a stint as director of defense research at the Pentagon during the Clinton administration, she returned to the University of Virginia in 1997.