LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., 17 February 2023 – Scott Shenker has been selected to receive the 2023 IEEE Computer Society Women of ENIAC Computer Pioneer Award, which acknowledges significant contributions to early concepts and developments in the electronic computer field that have clearly advanced the state of the art in computing. Shenker has been cited for “pioneering contributions to scheduling and management of packet-switched networks, impacting the theory and practice of communication networks.”
Scott Shenker spent his academic youth studying theoretical physics, first at Brown University as an undergraduate, then at the University of Chicago as a graduate student, and finally at Cornell University as a postdoctoral associate where his research focused on the transition to chaos in dynamical systems. He gave up chaos theory for computer science soon after joining the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 1984 and his research in the ensuing years has ranged from networking and Internet architecture to performance modeling to distributed systems to game theory and economics.
His current research covers many of these topics but, despite these intellectual distractions and decades of therapy, he has never overcome his obsession with Internet architecture, which remains central to his research. He currently splits his time between the International Computer Science Institute (which he joined in 1998) and the UC Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department (which he joined in 2002).
The Computer Pioneer Award was established in 1981 by the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors to recognize and honor the vision of those whose efforts resulted in the creation and continued vitality of the computer industry. The award acknowledges outstanding individuals whose main contribution to the concepts and development of the computer field was made at least 15 years earlier.
This award is given for significant contributions to early concepts and developments in the electronic computer field, which have clearly advanced the state-of-the-art in computing. The contributions must have taken place fifteen or more years earlier. Recent recipients of the award include Daphne Koller, Jack Dongarra, Demetri Terzopoulos, Laura Haas, Jitendra Malik, Barbara Liskov, Bjarne Stroustrup, Michael Flynn, Peter Kogge, and Linus Torvalds. The award consists of a silver medal. Further information about the award, including a complete list of past recipients, may be found at https://www.computer.org/volunteering/awards/pioneer.
About the IEEE Computer Society
Through conferences, publications, and programs, the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS) sets the standard for the education and engagement that fuels global technological advancement. By bringing together engineers, scientists, researchers, and practitioners from all areas of computing and at every career phase, the IEEE CS enables new opportunities and empowers not only its members but also the greater industry. Visit computer.org for more information.
