Welcome to the 49th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (the 2018 Symposium), the premiere technical conference for computer science educators. The 2018 Symposium is sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).
SIGCSE is an organization of about 2700 members from more than 70 countries interested and engaged in computer science education. One of the strengths of SIGCSE is the dedication of its members who volunteer to ensure that the activities and events held throughout the year are successful. There are two volunteers in particular who worked very hard to bring the 2018 Symposium to life. Conference co-chairs Tiffany Barnes and Dan Garcia have spent countless hours over the past two years ensuring that the (hopefully around) 1500 attendees at the 2018 Symposium will have a rewarding and inspiring experience. They have led a committee of nearly 100 people in the process of creating an engaging and innovative program, creating opportunities for networking, and handling all the issues big and small that come with a conference of this size. On behalf of the SIGCSE organization and Board, I thank Tiffany and Dan for their hard work and vision that made this conference possible.
This conference also provides us with a chance to honor two people each year for their contributions to computer science education and the SIGCSE community. The annual SIGCSE award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education will be given to Tom Bell. Bell is best known as the primary author of the CS Unplugged Project, which produced a set of free computer science learning activities that do not use a computer or require programming. His work has influenced many computing educators working to bring computer science to students in schools in many countries around the globe, and it is likely that the impact of his work will be felt for decades to come. The annual SIGCSE award for Lifetime Service will be given to Eric Roberts. Roberts has too many accomplishments to list here, but they include chairing the ACM SIGCSE Java Task Force, serving on the ACM Education Board for nearly 20 years, and continuing to serve on the ACM Education Council. Roberts has earned many awards for his work, including a previous award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education, making him one of the few people to earn both SIGCSE awards. Please join me and the rest of the SIGCSE Board in congratulating both of them on their well-deserved awards.
The 2018 Symposium will offer you many opportunities to network, whether at sessions, during breaks, at the social events associated with the conference, or simply as you meet people in the halls. I hope that some of the people you will get a chance to talk to will be the members of the SIGCSE Board. Your input and feedback about SIGCSE is important to us, and we want to hear from you. One opportunity to see the Board members will be at the SIGCSE Business meeting on Friday, February 23rd from 5:10 pm to 6 pm in room 308 in the convention center. At this annual meeting we will discuss the overall structure of the SIGCSE organization and share the results of the many SIGCSE projects and events that have been carried out during the past year.
