Professor Warren Hunt has been recognized as one of the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM) 2015 Distinguished Engineers. His research involves the use of formal mathematics to write specifications for computer hardware and software and to use proof techniques to determine the validity of such specifications.
Over the past 30 years, Hunt has been modeling and analyzing hardware systems, primarily microprocessors, using the the ACL2 theorem-proving system (and it predecessors). His methods are in use by a number of companies, most notably by Centaur Technology, the developer of the VIA Nano (a X86-compatible) microprocessor and by Oracle for the design of their SPARC microprocessor. The verification techniques that Hunt and his students have developed are now in everyday commercial use; these techniques help assure that the results produced by such commercial designs are indeed correct. This helps companies assure their customers that their products will produce correct answers when asked to compute specified results. This is important because microprocessors are foundational in our financial, medical, information, and transportation industries. And thus, the accuracy of computation lies at the heart of our way of life.
ACM has named 49 Distinguished Members for their individual contributions and their singular impacts on the vital field of computing. Their achievements have advanced the science, engineering, and education of computing, and highlight the widening role that computing plays in a range of disciplines and domains around the globe. The 2015 Distinguished Members hail from universities in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Portugal, Qatar, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and from leading academic institutions, as well as corporate and national research laboratories around the world.
“Whenever we use an app on our phone to get driving directions, securely pay bills online, or conduct an internet search, we are benefiting from the research and efforts of computing professionals.” explains ACM President Alexander L. Wolf. “By honoring the 2015 ACM Distinguished Members, we hope to reinforce this idea. For each of our 100,000 + members around the world, learning about the achievements of their peers means connecting to new advances and promising research. For the general public, our recognition and awards program serves as a reminder that the technology we all take for granted springs from a dedicated community of professionals who are building on the foundations of their predecessors and shaping the future in significant new ways.”
The Distinguished Member Grade recognizes those ACM members with at least 15 years of professional experience and 5 years of continuous Professional Membership who have achieved significant accomplishments or have made a significant impact on the computing field.
About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.
About the ACM Recognition Program
The ACM Fellows program, initiated in 1993, celebrates the exceptional contributions of the leading members in the computing field. These individuals have helped to enlighten researchers, developers, practitioners and end-users of information technology throughout the world. The ACM Distinguished Member program, initiated in 2006, recognizes those members with at least 15 years of professional experience who have made significant accomplishments or achieved a significant impact on the computing field. The ACM Senior Member program, also initiated in 2006, includes members with at least 10 years of professional experience who have demonstrated performance that sets them apart from their peers through technical leadership, technical contributions and professional contributions. The new ACM Fellows, Distinguished Members, and Senior Members join a list of eminent colleagues to whom ACM and its members look for guidance and leadership in computing and information technology.