First woman to receive Turing Award

There’s always a first in everything, and in the predominantly male-dominated computer industry, a first has just been achieved again. Meet Frances Allen, the first woman ever to receive the Turing Award, from a prestigious award giving body named after one of the fathers of modern computer science.

Fran Allen was a high school mathematics teacher in the mid-1950s. She then attended the University of Michigan to earn a master’s degree in mathematics. When women technologists were being encouraged at IBM, Fran Allen decided to join IBM temporarily in order to pay off her student loans.

This temporary arrangement became a 45-year career at IBM research, with Fran becoming the first woman IBM fellow in recognition of her leadership in the company. She was also named a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in 1994.

Fran Allen won the 2006 Turing Award in recognition “For contributions that fundamentally improved the performance of computer programs in solving problems, and accelerated the use of high performance computing.” She will receive a cash reward of US$ 100,000 to be awarded at a banquet this June 9.

When asked what she thinks of how the technology industry has changed since she joined IBM in 1957, Fran responded, “It’s not over. It’s just beginning.”

Fran Allen says that she still wants to establish awards for people, to make sure that those deserving are recognized accordingly. Geeks of the world, let’s give a big “You go, girl!” salute to this exceptional woman.

Via IBM

There’s always a first in everything, and in the predominantly male-dominated computer industry, a first has just been achieved again. Meet Frances Allen, the first woman ever to receive the Turing Award, from a prestigious award giving body named after one of the fathers of modern computer science.

Fran Allen was a high school mathematics teacher in the mid-1950s. She then attended the University of Michigan to earn a master’s degree in mathematics. When women technologists were being encouraged at IBM, Fran Allen decided to join IBM temporarily in order to pay off her student loans.

This temporary arrangement became a 45-year career at IBM research, with Fran becoming the first woman IBM fellow in recognition of her leadership in the company. She was also named a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in 1994.

Fran Allen won the 2006 Turing Award in recognition “For contributions that fundamentally improved the performance of computer programs in solving problems, and accelerated the use of high performance computing.” She will receive a cash reward of US$ 100,000 to be awarded at a banquet this June 9.

When asked what she thinks of how the technology industry has changed since she joined IBM in 1957, Fran responded, “It’s not over. It’s just beginning.”

Fran Allen says that she still wants to establish awards for people, to make sure that those deserving are recognized accordingly. Geeks of the world, let’s give a big “You go, girl!” salute to this exceptional woman.

Via IBM