In Memoriam: Vicki L. Hanson
It is with heavy hearts that we mark the passing of former ACM CEO and President Vicki L. Hanson. Vicki passed away on January 20. Known for her research on human-computer interaction and accessibility and for her leadership in broadening participation in computing, Vicki was ACM CEO from 2018 until her retirement in September 2025. Before being named CEO, Vicki served ACM, SIGCHI, and SIGACCESS as a volunteer more than 25 years, culminating in her election as ACM President from 2016 to 2018. In her professional life, Vicki had worked on issues of inclusion for older adults and disabled people throughout her career, first as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, later at the IBM Research Division, and then as a Professor at the University of Dundee in Scotland and the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.
ACM Names 2025 Fellows
ACM has named 71 ACM Fellows for significant contributions to AI for healthcare, computer graphics, data management, electronic mail, human-computer interaction, mobile computing, networked systems, robotics, security, sustainability, and numerous other areas. The ACM Fellows program recognizes the top 1% of ACM Members for their outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology and/or outstanding service to ACM and the larger computing community.
Message from ACM President Yannis Ioannidis about ACM's Transition to OA and Recent Changes to the ACM DL
ACM’s recent transition to open access and changes to the ACM Digital Library have sparked considerable community reaction and engagement. ACM President Yannis Ioannidis asks that you please take the time to read his response.
A Message to the Computing Community About ACM's Transition to Full Open Access
ACM is pleased to share an important milestone for the computing field. As of January 2026, all ACM publications and related artifacts in the ACM Digital Library have been made open access. This change reflects the long-standing and growing call across the global computing community for research to be more accessible, more discoverable, and more reusable. This transition is the result of extensive dialogue with authors, SIG leaders, editorial boards, libraries, and research institutions worldwide. ACM is grateful for the community’s consistent advocacy for openness and its commitment to ensuring that computing knowledge is shared widely.
Against Imaginary Friends: Why Digital Companions Are No Solution to Social Isolation
Relationships with "digital humans" might help people feel less lonely. But will this technology increase social isolation? In "Against Imaginary Friends: Why Digital Companions Are No Solution to Social Isolation" in the February issue of Communications of the ACM, Robert Sparrow and James Brown explore the criticisms that have been made of social robots as digital companions and identify new dangers associated with the use of digital companions. They have deliberately limited the scope of the discussion to the use of digital companions to address loneliness and social isolation.
CACM Special Section: Federal Funding of Academic Research
Technological innovation is not just a byproduct of American ingenuity—it is its driving force. Most of the United States' 20th-century productivity growth stemmed from domestic breakthroughs in science and technology. And it is federal funding of basic research which has sparked and sustained the modern technological revolution. Yet despite the extraordinary returns of this investment, federal support for basic research is being sharply curtailed. This special section of Communications of the ACM raises the critical question: Can America remain a global innovation powerhouse if it sidelines the very engine that powered past progress?
ACM Queue Spotlight
In the latest edition of ACM's magazine for practicing software engineers: Memory safety—the property that makes software devoid of weaknesses such as buffer overflows, double-frees, and similar issues—has been a popular topic in software communities over the past decade and has gained special prominence alongside the rise of the Rust programming language. But if you're not yet sold on its value, "Memory Safety for Skeptics" by Andrew Lilley Brinker is for you. The goal of the article is to treat the question of pursuing memory safety in legacy systems with the seriousness and rigor that it deserves—and as worthwhile with or without Rust.
ACM Reaffirms Its Commitment to Our Mission and Core Values
ACM is aware that many in our community are concerned about potential negative effects of recent Executive Orders by the new US Administration on our work in both the US and globally. This includes concerns about possible consequences for ACM publishing, conferences, education, and practitioner efforts, as well as concerns about possible harms to our work on inclusion for a strong and diverse technology workforce.
ACM reaffirms its commitment to our mission and core values in all our scientific and educational activities. This includes global scientific and educational efforts dedicated to advancing the art, science, engineering, and application of computing. We will continue to serve both professional and public interests by fostering the open exchange of information and by promoting the highest professional and ethical standards.
ACM’s commitment to its mission, guided by its core values, is unchanged. We will work with members of the community to understand how new Executive Orders may affect their work as it relates to scientific, educational, and community development efforts.
Become an Ambassador for ACM
Encourage your colleagues to join ACM, share the benefits of ACM and receive free gifts for participating. Your support of ACM is critical to our continuing efforts to advance computing as a science and a profession.
ACM Code of Ethics
The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct was updated in 2018 to address the significant advances in computing technology since the 1992 version, as well as the growing pervasiveness of computing in all aspects of society.
Lifelong Learning
ACM offers lifelong learning resources including online books and courses from Skillsoft, TechTalks on the hottest topics in computing and IT, and more.
Send Email as Your "@acm.org" Address
ACM is excited to announce a new enhancement of to the widely used ACM email forwarding service. Through a partnership with MailRoute, SMTP Auth Relay is now available for member use. To start sending fully authenticated email as your @acm.org address, simply log in at https://myacm.acm.org and click the "SMTP Auth Relay" link.