• Although its headquarters in Laxenburg, Austria, has closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, IFIP staff are working remotely with meetings and consultations taking place via teleconference. IFIP said information about specific events can be found on the event’s pages. The organisation also encourages all members to act responsibly in these uncertain times.
  • The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named Patrick Hanrahan and Edwin Catmull as the recipients of the 2019 ACM A.M. Turing Award. Catmull (former president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios) and Hanrahan (a founding employee of Pixar) have been recognised for their contribution to 3D computer graphics and the effects of CGI in filmmaking and other industries. The award is set to be presented in San Francisco on June 20.
  • IFIP Vice President, and former ACS President, Anthony Wong is working with a multi-disciplinary group of 54 technology law experts from 16 countries to update Principle 3 – Transparency and Explainability of the iTechlaw Global Policy Framework for Responsible AI. Wong is looking for input from technical experts who have made recent innovation and developments and in the field of Explainable Artificial Intelligence and Transparency. He can be emailed at anthonywong@agwconsult.com
  • IFIP has elevated 18 members to become its first fellows. Professor Mike Hinchey, president of IFIP, said the organisation was acknowledging the IT professionals for their commitment to the sector. “Many of our members play very significant roles in driving innovation, conducting research and industry development,” he said.

The new Fellows are:

- Erol Gelenbe (UK)

- Sir Charles Antony Richard Hoare (UK)

- Lothar Thiele (Switzerland)

- Grzegorz Rozenberg (Netherlands)

- Joelle Coutaz (France)

- Bertrand Meyer (France)

- Wil van der Aalst (Netherlands)

- Fabio Paterno (Italy)

- John Mylopoulos (Canada)

- Gene Tsudik (USA)

- Roman Slowinski (Poland)

- Leslie G. Valiant (British)

- Jan Gulliksen (Sweden)

- Frank Tip (USA)

- Gerhard Goos (Germany)

- Andreas Zeller (Germany)

- Michael S. Franz (Switzerland)

- Julio Abascal (Spain)