18 May 2011

Major computing award for Professor Alan Newell

Alan Newell, Emeritus Professor in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee, has been given a major award from a premier international computing society.

Professor Newell has been given a Social Impact Award by the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI) at their 2011 conference in Vancouver.

SIGCHI is the premier international society for professionals, academics and students who are interested in human-technology and human-computer interaction (HCI)

Alan Newell is the founder head of the School of Computing at Dundee University, which contains one of the largest academic groups in the world researching computer and communication systems for older and disabled people.

Professor Newell has been researching into human-computer interaction, particularly by older people and disabled people, for over forty years. His team has developed stenograph transcription systems and television subtitling systems for deaf and hearing impaired people and a wide range of communication systems for non-speaking people.

More recently the team has been investigating research techniques for use with, and developing computer systems to support, older people.

'I am honoured to receive this award but it should also be dedicated to the many members of my research team who over the years have contributed so much to this important field,' said Professor Newell.

Professor Newell will this summer have a new book published by Morgan Claypool, 'Design and the Digital Divide - insights from 40 years in computer support for older and disabled people', in which he describes the research and developments which led to this award.

Professor Newell was a Deputy Principal of Dundee University between 1992 and 1995. He is a member of the Order of the British Empire, a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy. In 2006, he was named ACM Fellow for his contribution to computer-based systems for people with disabilities.

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