CSC News

November 22, 2011

Williams Named ACM Distinguished Scientist

Congratulations to Dr. Laurie Williams, professor of computer science at NC State University, who has been named a 2011 Distinguished Scientist by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
 
The ACM Distinguished Member Recognition Program, initiated in 2006, recognizes those ACM members with at least 15 years of professional experience who have made significant accomplishments or achieved a significant impact on the computing field.  Recipients of this honor include computer scientists and engineers from some of the world’s leading corporations, research labs and universities who made significant advances in technology that are having lasting impacts on the lives of people across the globe.
 
There are three categories for the Distinguished Member grade level:  Distinguished Educator, Distinguished Engineer, and Distinguished Scientist.  To be considered a Distinguished Scientist, Dr. Williams has met one or more of the following general criteria: 
  • Demonstrates substantial depth and breadth of understanding of the field, including the creation of new ideas and the synthesis of work by others
  • Serves as a mentor and role model guiding technical career development for others
  • Exhibits eminence by contributing to the field beyond the norm, including conference presentations or leadership roles within ACM or other organizations
She has also met one or more of the following specific criteria for Distinguished Scientists:
  • Has contributed to the advancement of the science of computing, and to building the knowledge base within the field of computer science
  • Has been published in peer-reviewed scholarly or professional journals or conferences
  • Has received research awards or grants based on innovative proposals.
Williams’research focuses on software security particularly in relation to healthcare IT; agile software development practices and processes; software reliability, software testing and analysis; open source software development; and broadening participation and increasing retention in computer science.
 
Williams leads the Software Engineering Realsearch research group at NC State, and is one of the foremost researchers in agile software development and in the security of healthcare IT applications.  She is the Senior Research Director of the Institute of Next Generation Systems (ITnG), the Director of the NC State Laboratory for Collaborative System Development, and the software engineering area representative for the Secure Open Systems Initiative.
 
Williams is an NSF CAREER Award winner, and is among a select group of NC State faculty to win the Outstanding Teaching Award.  She is an inductee into NC State’s Academy of Outstanding Teachers, and in 2009, she was chosen to receive the ACM SIGSOFT Influential Educator Award.
 
Williams is the second professor from the NC State Computer Science Department to be named a 2011 Distinguished Scientist.  Dr. Frank Mueller also received the honor.
 
For more information on Dr. Williams, click here.
 
For more information on the ACM Distinguished Member Awards, click here.
 
For more information on the Association of Computing Machinery, click here.
 
~coates~

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