Maurice Wilkes, a founding member of the
British Computer Society and its first president, has been awarded
the IEEE Computer Society 60th Anniversary Award along
withDavid
Parnasof the Software Quality Research
Laboratory at the University of Limerick.
The award recognises individuals who have been responsible for a
fundamental contribution to computer science and engineering. Award
judges focus on the originality of a contribution, as well as its
impact on computing, engineering and society.
The combined award citation reads, "For their seminal
contributions to the discipline of computing. Maurice Wilkes
pioneered microprogramming, which enabled very large and complex
hardware structures to be implemented reliably and
systematically."
Commenting on the award, current BCS president Nigel Shadbolt
said, "The BCS is thrilled and delighted that Maurice Wilkes has
received this very special award from the IEEE Computer Society. He
was not only a pioneer in computer science he was one of the
founders and first president of the BCS 50 years ago. His
contributions have been immense and long lasting."