The goal of holding readers’ attention has made provocation a timeworn editorial strategy. Communications doesn’t resort to screaming headlines like most storefront fare, but it does strive to publish eye-catching imagery for its must-read articles. This month’s cover story, “One Laptop Per Child: Vision vs. Reality,” with its title’s inherent tension, is a case in point.
Communications also aims for authority; its articles can be a beginning as much as an end. The “Viewpoints” pages, for example, may introduce unsettled and unsettling ideas that prompt readers to react and respond not only to the editorial but to each other. Indeed, the recent debate on network neutrality that was first presented in the pages of the February issue, continued into the May issue, and it’s hardly over yet.
You can be a part of this debate at cacm.acm.org. Communications’ Web site invites and lends itself to quick feedback via the “User Comments” feature that allows a continued conversation about a topic. Reachable from the “Tools for
Readers” at the top right of each article page, and at the bottom of every article page, the feature requires a simple sign-in (so we can follow who’s speaking). From there, readers are welcome to present what Editor-in-Chief Moshe Vardi calls “well-reasoned and well-argued opinions” to keep the discussion lively.
I encourage all readers to start or join an online discussion.
emeR Wins
eCkeRt-mauChLy
a WaRD
aCm and the IEEE
Computer society
will jointly present
the Eckert-mauchly award
to Joel Emer, director of
microarchitecture research at
Intel, for pioneering contributions
to performance analysis,
modeling methodologies, and
design innovations in several
significant industry
microprocessors. Emer
developed quantitative methods
including measurement of real
machines, analytical modeling,
and simulation techniques
that are now widely employed
to evaluate the performance of
complex computer processors.
Emer will receive the 2009
Eckert-mauchly award, the most
prestigious award in the computer
architecture community, at the
International symposium on
Computer architecture, June
20–24, in austin, tX.
Ever consider yourself a blogger? If so, we should talk.
Communications wants to expand its ever-evolving roster of expert bloggers. Experience is a plus but credentials and passion are equally important. The level of commitment we require is open-ended; if you are willing to work with us, we will accommodate your schedule. If you are interested but cannot add it to your workload at the moment, we could put you on our future schedule or at least get you on our radar.
In addition, if you follow the blogs of someone you consider a good fit for Communications, we’d like to hear your recommendations. Contact us at blog@cacm.acm.org.
eGGeRs ReCeiVes athena
LeCtuReR a WaRD
susan Eggers, a professor of
computer science and engineering
at the university of Washington,
has won aCm’s 2009–2010
athena lecturer award. Eggers’
work on computer architecture
and experimental performance
analysis led to the development
of simultaneous multithreading,
the first commercially viable
multithreaded architecture. this
technique improves the overall
efficiency of certain processors
known as superscalar and has been
adopted by Intel, IBm, and others.
Whitney ReCOGnizeD fOR
DistinGuisheD seRViCe
aCm presented the Distinguished
service award to telle Whitney
for her profound impact on
the participation of women in
computing. Whitney, president
and CEo of the anita Borg
Institute for Women and
technology, cofounded the Grace
hopper Celebration of Women in
Computing, which has grown into
an annual event. the conference
is widely recognized as one of the
best ways to encourage women to
major in computing, continue on
to graduate school, and pursue a
career in computing.
PhotograPh courtesy of the inteL corPoration
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