advancing computing as a science & profession

Advancing Computing as a Science & Profession or ACM brings together computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. The Association for Computing Machinery was founded as the Eastern Association for Computing Machinery at a meeting at Columbia University in New York on September 15, 1947. As the world’s largest computing society, ACM strengthens the 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. Founded at the dawn of the computer age, ACM’s reach extends to every part of the globe, with more than half of its 100,000 members residing outside the U.S.  Its growing membership has led to Councils in Europe, India, and China, fostering networking opportunities that strengthen ties within and across countries and technical communities.  Their actions enhance ACM’s ability to raise awareness of computing’s important technical, educational, and social issues around the world. Networking opportunities in ACM’s 37 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are always expanding, reflecting the growth of computing’s discrete disciplines and technical communities. The leading representatives of their fields, ACM SIGs sponsor annual conferences, workshops, and symposia serving practitioner‐ and research‐based constituencies.   Because they provide objective arenas for novel, often competing ideas, many of these meetings have become premier global events. ACM’s broad‐based infrastructure supports more than 860 professional and student chapters worldwide. These "local neighborhoods" offer opportunities for members to gain access to critical research and establish personal networking systems. ACM offers volunteer opportunities for members and non‐members that create networking possibilities and enhance career development.  At the grassroots level, ACM volunteers serve a growing international community of researchers, practitioners and students by lending valuable assistance at conferences, publications, webinars, and other events. Volunteers have a direct and critical impact on ACM’s governance through the ACM Council, the highest governing authority.  Volunteers also serve on the ACM Executive Committee and numerous other boards and task forces. Volunteers – members and non-members alike – hold leadership roles in ACM journal publications as Editors‐in‐Chief, Associate Editors, and reviewers.  They also comprise the ACM Education Board, which provides curriculum recommendations for four‐year universities as well as community colleges. The Board’s 2013 recommendations in computer science have even been translated into Chinese.