At SC10, Intel Fellow David Kuck will be awarded the Ken Kennedy award for advances to compiler technology and parallel computing. According to the press release, Kuck’s pioneering techniques are incorporated in every optimizing compiler in use today. His impact spans four decades and embraces a broad range of areas, including architecture design and evaluation, compiler technology, programming languages, and algorithms. During his career, he influenced the design of the Illiac IV, Burroughs BSP, Alliant FX, and Cedar parallel computers.
The Kennedy Award, which was established in 2009 to recognize substantial contributions to programmability and productivity in computing, also cited Kuck for the widespread inspiration of his teaching and mentoring.
This award was named after the late Ken Kennedy, founder of Rice University’s computer science program and a renowned expert on HPC. Kennedy’s own work was heavily influenced by Kuck. While on sabbatical at IBM, Kuck provided Kennedy with access to his Parafrase system, generating the spark for Kennedy’s research at both Rice and IBM.
Last year, the award went to Francine Berman of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.