The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), established in 1947, is a global professional organization for individuals in the field of computing. It is the world's first scientific and educational computing society and is recognized as the most influential professional academic organization in the realm of computer science worldwide. Within ACM, SIGSOFT represents an academic institution dedicated to software engineering. SIGSOFT provides a specialized platform for computer professionals from industry, government, and academia, focusing on the discipline of software engineering. Each year, SIGSOFT presents three major awards: the Distinguished Service Award, the Outstanding Research Award, and the Influential Educator Award.
Two years ago, Professor Tao Xie from the School of Computer Science received the Distinguished Service Award as part of the 2021 SIGSOFT awards. This year, he has once again been honored with another of the three prestigious SIGSOFT awards: the Influential Educator Award. This award, initiated in 2009, is presented to educators who have made significant contributions or wielded substantial influence in the field of software engineering. Recipients of this award are presented with a plaque and a $1,000 prize. The award is typically bestowed by the SIGSOFT chair during the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) awards ceremony.
In 2023, the Influential Educator Award by SIGSOFT has been awarded to Professor Tao Xie, recognizing his significant contributions in guiding graduate and young researchers, expanding the participation of underrepresented groups in the field of software engineering and computer science, and innovating in educational tools. Professor Tao Xie is the first Chinese recipient of this award. Among the 16 previous award recipients are distinguished figures like Ian Sommerville, author of the classic textbook 《Software Engineering》, Bertrand Meyer, author of 《Object-Oriented Software Construction》 and creator of the Eiffel programming language, Greg Wilson, author of 《Beautiful Code》 and Mary Lou Soffa, a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.
It's worth mentioning that Professor Tao Xie's doctoral advisor, David Notkin, was the recipient of this award in 2012. Furthermore, the inaugural recipient of this award in 2009 was David Notkin's doctoral advisor: Nico Habermann, the founding dean of the CMU School of Computer Science and founder of CMU SEI. Nico Habermann's doctoral advisor was Edsger Dijkstra, a Turing Award laureate and creator of Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm. This three-generational succession of mentorship recipients adds a remarkable chapter to the history of software engineering education.
The SIGSOFT annual awards will be presented at the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. For more information about the award, please visit https://www.sigsoft.org/awards/influentialEducatorAward.html.
