AUSTIN, Texas—Gary Chapman, director of the 21st Century Project at The University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, has been appointed to the selection committee for the Turing Award, the world’s highest award for achievements in computer science.
The Turing Award is conferred annually by the Association for Computing Machinery, the international professional society of computer scientists. It is named for British mathematician Alan M. Turing, the "father" of modern digital computing. This year the award will be presented in a ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on May 15th.
Selection committee chairman Ed Lazowska, who heads the computer science department at the University of Washington, described the Turing Award as the premier technical award in computer science.
"We’re delighted that Gary Chapman, the leading thinker in the social implications of computing, has agreed to join the Turing Award selection committee," Lazowska said. "Gary will provide invaluable perspective on the impact of the technical achievements that the Turing Award seeks to recognize."
Chapman is the former executive director of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. In addition to heading the 21st Century Project, he writes a syndicated column for the Los Angeles Times and teaches at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Earlier this year, the Austin American-Statesman named him one of its "10 to Watch in 1999."
"This is an incredible honor, and an encouraging signal that the Association for Computing Machinery takes seriously the full range of effects — social and ethical — of the technical contributions of computer scientists," Chapman said. "I look forward to serving on this committee."
Chapman’s term on the board expires in 2003.
