ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, today recognized individuals with awards for their exemplary service to the computing field. Spanning diverse disciplines, the 2025 award recipients were selected by their peers for energizing a thriving community that makes a real impact on both their colleagues and the wider world. This year’s awardees drove advancements in learning tools for computer science education, technology policy, and broadening participation in computing—among other areas.
Yasmin B. Kafai , Professor of Learning Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and Mitchel J. Resnick , Professor of Learning Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receive the Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award for long-lasting and collective contributions to creative computing, including Scratch and electronic textiles, developing new ways for young people to create and collaborate within learning communities.
Scratch has become the world’s largest coding community for young people, with more than 150 million registered users who have created over 1 billion projects. Electronic textiles have been used to teach circuitry and coding in new ways, helping to broaden participation and ideas about computing.
Kafai and Resnick have demonstrated that providing young people with access to digital tools is not enough. Their research has highlighted how project-based, interest-driven, collaborative approaches to computing education enable young people to bring their imagination to life, learn from one another by sharing and remixing creations, and make deeper connections to powerful ideas.
The Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award is presented annually to an outstanding educator who is appointed to a recognized educational baccalaureate institution. The recipient is recognized for advancing new teaching methodologies; effecting new curriculum development or expansion in Computer Science and Engineering; or making a significant contribution to the educational mission of ACM. Those with 10 years or less teaching experience are given special consideration. A prize of $10,000 is supplied by Pearson Education.
Ed Felten , Professor, Princeton University, receives the ACM Policy Award for contributions to technology policy, particularly on electronic voting, copyright, consumer protection, and artificial intelligence.
Felten’s security analysis of electronic voting systems fundamentally shifted the national understanding of technological risks in democracy. Furthermore, his research into digital rights management exposed the "chilling effects" that the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act can have on legitimate scientific inquiry.
At Princeton, Felten founded the Center for Information Technology Policy. In public service, he brought technical credibility directly into government, serving as the first Chief Technologist of the US Federal Trade Commission and later as Deputy US Chief Technology Officer in the White House. Taken as a whole, his work has aided policymakers directly, influenced major national debates, and inspired a generation of computer scientists to pursue research with immediate policy relevance.
The ACM Policy Award recognizes an individual or small group that had a significant positive impact on the formation or execution of public policy affecting computing or the computing community. This can be for education, service, or leadership in a technology position; for establishing an innovative program in policy education or advice; for building the community or community resources in technology policy; or other notable policy activity. The award is accompanied by a $10,000 prize.
Jodi Tims , Program Manager, Center for Inclusive Computing, Northeastern University, receives the Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award for increasing the worldwide participation of women in ACM and helping to reinforce ACM’s commitment to computing education.
Tims was instrumental in expanding the reach of the ACM Committee for Women in Computing (ACM-W) internationally. She led the Celebrations of Women in Computing project, which supports regional conferences of women in technology across industry, academia, and government. Under her leadership as Vice-Chair and Chair of ACM-W, both the Celebrations and student and professional chapters grew significantly, particularly in Europe and India.
Tims has also been actively involved with ACM’s Education Board. She was the impetus behind a 10-year study that gathered enrollment, degree, and salary data directly from undergraduate programs at non-doctoral universities. Her dedication to these efforts elevated the visibility of non-doctoral institutions within ACM and has fostered greater equity across the computing education landscape.
The Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award recognizes outstanding service contributions to the Association. Candidates are selected based on the value and degree of service overall and may be given to up to three individuals each year.
Claudia Maria Bauzer Medeiros , Professor, University of Campinas; Stephen Ibaraki , Outreach Chair, International Telecommunications Union; Scott Delman , Director of Publications, Association for Computing Machinery; and Wayne Graves , Director of Information Systems, Association for Computing Machinery, receive ACM Presidential Awards .
Bauzer Medeiros is recognized for long-standing and significant contributions to the Brazilian and Latin American computing communities as well as to ACM. She has been a pioneer in the spirit of data-centered interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research. Working with various organizations, she has addressed challenges posed by large, real-world applications, ranging from chemistry, biology, and biodiversity to urban planning, agro-environmental sciences, and social sciences. She is the first woman to have been elected president of the Brazilian Computer Society and has served as an ambassador of the ACM Committee for Women in Computing (ACM-W).
Ibakaraki is cited for long-standing and considerable contributions to ACM and to the global professional computing community. His numerous volunteer efforts have included establishing the very successful TechTalks series and leading the ACM ByteCast and Professional Development Committees. A co-founder of the United Nations’ “AI for Good” initiative, Ibaraki has helped create one of the world's largest AI innovation programs, showcasing AI solutions across the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Delman is honored for significant contributions to the realization of the ACM Open publication model. During Delman’s tenure as ACM’s Director of Publications, he has led a first-of-its-kind transition of the ACM Digital Library from a paywalled content repository to a comprehensive Open Access offering. His participation in the conception and design of the ACM Open model and its tiered structure of institutional subscriptions for publishing, as well as his relentless efforts, convinced more than 3000 institutions to sign on to ACM’s model.
Graves is cited for significant contributions to development of the ACM Digital Library. As the Director of the platform, he has led the evolution of the ACM Digital Library from an early repository into a modern platform offering a broad set of value-added services and serving as a critical resource for the computing community. Working closely with a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, he has guided its continued development. This work reflects a sustained commitment to furthering ACM’s mission.
The ACM Presidential Award is given at the discretion of the ACM President to individuals whose contributions in computing fall within the goals of the ACM.
This year’s honorees will be formally recognized at the annual ACM Awards Banquet, which will be held on Saturday, June 13 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
About ACM
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.