And The Turing Award Goes To…Barbara Liskov

Barbara Liskov has won the 2009 A.M. Turing Award for her contributions to programming — she developed the languages CLU and Argus.

The A.M. Turing Prize is often referred to as the "Nobel Prize for computing," and comes with an award of $250,000. This year it’s gone to Barbara Liskov, who was given it for her contributions to programming.

Liskov, who heads the Programming Methodology Group at MIT, has created two computer progamming languages: first, the object-oriented CLU, and then distributed programming language Argus. Her research is the foundation of virtually all modern computer languages. She was also the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in computing.

Named for British mathematician Alan Turing, the prize is awarded annually by the Association for Computing Machinery. In her announcement of the award, ACM president Professor Dame Wendy Hall said of Liskov:

"Her elegant solutions have enriched the research community, but they have also had a practical effect as well.”

"They have led to the design and construction of real products that are more reliable than were believed practical not long ago."

Professor Liskov will receive the award in June.