The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) presents the annual ACM A.M Turing Award for outstanding achievements in computer science. The Turing Award is considered the highest honor in computer science and is endowed with one million dollars.

The seminar focuses on the lives and contributions of potential candidates for the next Turing Award. Students are asked to nominate a selected person in computer science for the Turing Award and write a scientific statement to the ACM A.M. Turing Award Committee. The statement should include a summary of the nominee's major life and career milestones, a detailed description of key contributions, and a justification for the Turing Award in terms of the significance and impact of the contributions on computer science.

The statement is then presented and discussed in the plenary session. In addition, students are required to write two scientific reports on the work of other seminar participants.

Learning objectives

The proseminar introduces students to key technical contributions and milestones in computer science. They expand their technical knowledge, are able to classify significant achievements historically and reflect on the lives and career paths of important personalities in computer science.

After completing the proseminar, students will be able to

• carry out an independent literature search on a given topic and evaluate the literature found for its relevance to the task at hand. Students can analyze, interpret and classify the structure, aim, addressees and characteristics of a text written by others.
• prepare a scientific paper on a technical topic. Students can present technical contributions and evaluate them in a differentiated manner. Students are able to defend a point of view and argue logically and coherently.
• write expert opinions on scientific contributions. Students can critically examine texts, evaluate texts according to a given scheme and develop constructive suggestions for improvement.
• process the results of research and present them in a scientific form appropriate to the audience.

Information on the organizational procedure of the proseminar can be found on the website tva.kastel.kit.edu.