Leon N. Cooper is an American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate who, with John Bardeen and John Robert Schrieffer, developed the BCS theory of superconductivity. His name is also associated with the Cooper pair and the BCM theory of synaptic plasticity.
Sir Maurice Vincent Wilkes was an English computer scientist who designed and helped build the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC), one of the earliest stored program computers, and who invented microprogramming, a method for using stored-program logic to operate the control unit of a central processing unit's circuits. At the time of his death, Wilkes was an Emeritus Professor at the University of Cambridge.
The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in information technology (IT), computing, software engineering, computer engineering and computer science, both in the United Kingdom and internationally. Founded in 1957, BCS has played an important role in educating and nurturing IT professionals, computer scientists, software engineers, computer engineers, upholding the profession, accrediting Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) status, and creating a global community active in promoting and furthering the field and practice of computing.
Peter John Landin was a British computer scientist. He was one of the first to realise that the lambda calculus could be used to model a programming language, an insight that is essential to the development of both functional programming and denotational semantics.
Tom Kilburn was an English mathematician and computer scientist. Over his 30-year career, he was involved in the development of five computers of great historical significance. With Freddie Williams he worked on the Williams–Kilburn tube and the world's first electronic stored-program computer, the Manchester Baby, while working at the University of Manchester. His work propelled Manchester and Britain into the forefront of the emerging field of computer science.
The Lovelace Medal was established by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT in 1998, and is presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the understanding or advancement of computing. It is the top award in computing in the UK. Awardees deliver the Lovelace Lecture.
Simon Peyton Jones is a British computer scientist who researches the implementation and applications of functional programming languages, particularly lazy functional programming.
Amanda Elizabeth Chessell is a computer scientist and a Distinguished Engineer at IBM. She has been awarded the title of IBM Master Inventor. She is also a Member of the IBM Academy of Technology.
Dame Wendy Hall is a British computer scientist. She is Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton.
Jane Elizabeth Hillston is a British computer scientist who is professor of quantitative modelling and former head of school in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Turing Talk, previously known as the Turing Lecture, is an annual award lecture delivered by a noted speaker on the subject of Computer Science. Sponsored and co-hosted by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and the British Computer Society, the talk has been delivered at different locations in the United Kingdom annually since 1999. Venues for the talk have included Savoy Place, the Royal Institution in London, Cardiff University, The University of Manchester, Belfast City Hall and the University of Glasgow. The main talk is preluded with an insightful speaker, who performs an opening act for the main event.
Karen Ida Boalth Spärck Jones was a self-taught programmer and a pioneering British computer scientist responsible for the concept of inverse document frequency (IDF), a technology that underlies most modern search engines. She was an advocate for women in computer science, her slogan being, "Computing is too important to be left to men." In 2019, The New York Times published her belated obituary in its series Overlooked, calling her "a pioneer of computer science for work combining statistics and linguistics, and an advocate for women in the field." From 2008, to recognize her achievements in the fields of information retrieval (IR) and natural language processing (NLP), the Karen Spärck Jones Award is awarded to a new recipient with outstanding research in one or both of her fields.
Mark James Handley is Professor of Networked Systems in the Department of Computer Science of University College London since 2003, where he leads the Networks Research Group.
Margaret Ross MBE, FBCS is an Emeritus Professor of Software Quality at Southampton Solent University. She serves on the BCSWomen Committee of the British Computer Society.
Nicholas Robert Jennings is a British computer scientist who was appointed Vice-Chancellor and President of Loughborough University in 2021. He was previously the Vice-Provost for Research and Enterprise at Imperial College London, the UK's first Regius Professor of Computer Science, and the inaugural Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government on National Security. His research covers the areas of AI, autonomous systems, agent-based computing and cybersecurity.
Gillian Arnold is a British Information technology leader. She is a BCS Vice President and the Past Chair of the BCSWomen Specialist Group that supports women in the IT industry. In 2015, she was identified as the 9th Most Influential Women in UK IT 2015, by Computer Weekly. In 2016, Arnold was again identified as one of the 50 most influential women in UK IT 2016 by Computer Weekly.
Elizabeth Sparrow DSc (Hon), DUniv (Open), MSc, CDipAF, FBCS, FRSA is an information technologist, specializing in change management and outsourcing relationships. She is a former president of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
Karen Ann Hilsum Burt CPhys MInstP was a British engineer and campaigner for the recruitment and retention of women in engineering.
The Roger Needham award is a prize given scientists who are recognised for important contributions made to computer science research The British Computer Society established an annual Roger Needham Award in honour of Roger Needham in 2004. It is a £5000 prize is presented to an individual for making "a distinguished research contribution in computer science by a UK-based researcher within ten years of their PhD." The award is funded by Microsoft Research. The winner of the prize has an opportunity to give a public lecture.
