"The A.M. Turing Award was named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundation and limits of computing, and who was a key contributor to the Allied cryptanalysis of the German Enigma cipher during World War II. Since its inception in 1966, the Turing Award has honored the computer scientists and engineers who created the systems and underlying theoretical foundations that have propelled the information technology industry." (http://www.acm.org/awards/taward.html)The 2008 Turing Award went to Barbara Liskov, who was the first woman to be awarded her PhD in Computer Science (she received her degree at Stanford University). She received the award for her innovations towards designing and creating computer systems that affect daily life. Her designs were also the foundation for many computer programming languages (http://usacm.acm.org/usacm/weblog/index.php?p=678). Barbara Liskov is only one out of two females to win this award-- the other being Frances Allen who won it in 2006. Two females is better than none... it's a start anyways and hence why they both need to be showcased as role models for our future youth. It is amazing to me though, how unheard of these females usually are. Before I took this class, I didn't know any of these names. You always hear of males achieving awards in technology but very rarely females and the case with this one is that only two females won this award but wouldn't that make it even more extraordinary? I would think so. It makes it even more of an achievement to be the first female to win the Turing Award.
Image taken from http://www.computerweekly.com/PhotoGalleries/235373/871_20_Ada-Lovelace-Day-Barbara-Liskov.jpg
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