Outstanding university computing students recognized

New York, NY, May 29, 2019 – The winners of the 2019 Grand Finals of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Student Research Competition (SRC) were recently announced, culminating a year-long competition in which more than 360 computer science students presented research projects at 26 ACM conferences. Gengjie Chen of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Christie Louis Alappat of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; and Scott Parker Kolodziej of Texas A&M University took the top three places among graduate students. Zhuangzhuang Zhou of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Fandel Lin of National Cheng Kung University and Elizaveta A. Tremsina of the University of California, Berkeley took the top three spots among undergraduates.

Microsoft sponsors the SRC by providing travel grants of $500 to allow exemplary computing students to attend and present their research at major ACM computing conferences around the world. Through the Student Research Competition, each participating student has the unique opportunity to attend conference sessions, gain a new understanding of the practical applications of computer science scholarship, and share their own research with other students, conference attendees and eminent scientists and practitioners. For most students, the ACM Student Research Competition is their introduction to participating in premier computing research conferences.

“We are always heartened by the testimonials of the students who tell us how much they enjoyed participating in the Student Research Competition and the doors it opened for them,” said ACM President Cherri M. Pancake. “The SRC builds self-esteem–as students learn to communicate about their work, are recognized for their creativity, and are encouraged and challenged by their peers. However, with the steadily rising cost of higher education, and students taking on debt, an added expense to travel to a conference is a barrier for many. We thank Microsoft for their partnership in the SRC and supporting this wonderful ‘outside-the-classroom’ learning opportunity.”

“Microsoft is delighted with the strong participation of students to the ACM SRC from around the world and congratulates the 2019 SRC student winners.” said Evelyne Viegas, Director of Global Research Engagement at Microsoft Research. “By taking part in the SRC, students are exposed to a broad range of research areas and a forum to share their creative ideas with peers, educators and established professionals, learn from each other, and grow their network. Microsoft is looking forward to meeting the 2019 winners at the ACM Awards Banquet.”

Judges assess each presenter’s demonstrated knowledge, the caliber of student contributions to the research and the overall quality of their oral and visual presentations. The most successful student researchers move through the competition’s stages. In the first stages, their research posters and presentations are evaluated for content and presentation. During the Grand Finals, the students share a written 4,000-word description of their work before the final step of the competition, when an entirely new panel of judges evaluates each student’s complete body of work and selects the overall winners. SRC winners are invited to the annual ACM Awards Banquet, to be held this year on June 15 in San Francisco.

The 2019 Student Winners:

Graduate Category

• First Place: Gengjie Chen, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, ICCAD 2018 Conference, for his research project, “VLSI Routing: Seeing Nano Tree in Giga Forest”

• Second Place: Christie Louis Alappat, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg , SC18 Conference, for his research project, “RACE-Recursive Algebraic Coloring Engine”

• Third Place: Scott Parker Kolodziej, Texas A&M University, SIGCSE 2019 Technical Symposium , for his research project, “Empirical Assessment of Software Documentation Strategies: A Randomized Controlled Trial”

Undergraduate Category

• First Place: Zhuangzhuang Zhou, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ICCAD 2018 Conference, for his research project, “DALS: Delay-driven Approximate Logic Synthesis”

• Second Place: Fandel Lin, National Cheng Kung University, ACM SIGSPATIAL 2018 Conference, for his research project “An Intelligent and Interactive Route Planning Maker for Deploying New Transportation Services”

• Third Place: Elizaveta A. Tremsina, University of California, Berkeley, Tapia 2018 Conference, for her research project, “Your Story Recorded in a Magnet: Micromagnetic Simulations of Spin-Orbit Torque in Multi-layer Structures”

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The ACM Student Research Competition (SRC), sponsored by Microsoft, offers a unique forum for undergraduate and graduate students to present their original research at well-known ACM sponsored and co-sponsored conferences before a panel of judges and attendees. The SRC is s a joint venture of ACM and Microsoft, which has provided generous funding of $120,000 per competition year for this event since 2003. The top three undergraduate and graduate winners at each SRC receive prizes of $500, $300, and $200, respectively (USD), an award medal and a one-year complimentary ACM student membership with access to ACM’s Digital Library.

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, 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.