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[geoff AT cs.miami.edu]

Title: Bill McCune PhD Award in Automated Reasoning, Call for Nominations

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Automated Reasoning is the area of Computer Science dedicated to applying
reasoning in the form of logic to computing systems. The Bill McCune PhD Award
in Automated Reasoning distinguishes each year a PhD thesis defended the
previous year, for its substantive contributions to the field of Automated
Reasoning, its theory, its implementation, and/or its application on important
problems. The award is named after the American computer scientist William
Walker McCune, known for his contributions in the fields of Automated 
Reasoning,
Algebra, Logic, and Formal Methods. He was the implementer of OTTER, Prover9 
and
Mace 4, automated tools for first-order reasoning which are known to this day
for their accuracy and robustness. He was also known for his generosity 
towards
research colleagues and as a great supporter of young researchers in the 
field.

* Eligibility *

Eligible for the award are those who successfully defended their PhD
- at an academic institution;
- in the field of Automated Reasoning; and
- in the period from January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021.

The PhD students supervised by the Expert Committee members are not eligible.

* Nomination *

Candidates for the award must be nominated by their supervisor(s) and one
additional independent researcher who reviewed/examined the thesis. 
Nominations
are to be submitted via email sent to both nalon AT unb.br and
pascal.fontaine AT uliege.be, by April 15, 2022.

The nomination must consist of one compressed file (.zip) containing:

- a letter from the supervisor(s) describing why the thesis should be 
considered
for the award and the relationship of the contributions to CADE/IJCAR;
- a report from the nominating additional independent researcher who
reviewed/examined the thesis;
- the thesis itself;
- a copy of the PhD diploma; and
- a copy of relevant papers by the nominee, if any, containing results 
published
in the thesis.

* Procedure *

The thesis will be evaluated with respect to its quality, originality and
(potential) impact to the field of Automated Reasoning.

- The nominations will be evaluated and compared by an international Expert
Committee (see below).
- The procedure to be followed is analogous to the review phase of a 
conference.
The justification by the supervisor and the nominating additional independent
researcher report will play an important role in the evaluation.
- The final decision is made by the Expert Committee at least one month before
CADE/IJCAR is being held.
- The award consists of a certificate announcing the winner to have received 
the
Bill McCune PhD Award in Automated Reasoning. The award will be announced at 
the
respective year's CADE/IJCAR. The nominators of the winner will also receive a
copy of this certificate. The recipient of the award is expected to attend the
award ceremony.
- The decision of the Expert Committee is final and binding, and not subject 
to
discussion.

* Expert Committee *

The Expert Committee, consisting of leading researchers in Automating 
Reasoning,
is formed by the board of CADE Trustees with the aim to reflect the broad
diversity in the area of Automated Reasoning. It is announced with the call 
for
nominations, and thus formed before this call. The decision on the award is
taken by the Expert Committee. The Expert Committee can seek additional
expertise, even after the submission deadline for nominations. Expert 
Committee
members cannot nominate a PhD student. Expert Committee members cannot
contribute an independent report seconding a nomination.

The Expert Committee for the Bill McCune PhD Award 2021 consists of the
following people:

- Nikolaj Bjorner, Microsoft
- Pascal Fontaine, University of Liege
- Carsten Fuhs, Birkbeck, University of London
- Marijn Heule, Carnegie Mellon University
- Claudia Nalon, University of Brasilia
- Andrew Reynolds, The University of Iowa
- Philipp Ruemmer, Uppsala University
- Martina Seidl, Johannes Kepler University
- Viorica Sofronie-Stokkermans, Universitaet Koblenz-Landau
- Rene Thiemann, University of Innsbruck

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