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[geoff AT cs.miami.edu]

The Bill McCune PhD Award in Automated Reasoning 2025 Call for Nominations
http://cadeinc.org/McCune-Award

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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 1 January 2024 - 31 December 2024.

The PhD students supervised or co-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 c.fuhs AT bbk.ac.uk, by 24 
February 2025 (Anywhere on Earth).

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 cannot be appealed.

* 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 2025 consists of the 
following people:

- Haniel Barbosa, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
- Pascal Fontaine, University of Liege
- Carsten Fuhs, Birkbeck, University of London (chair)
- Claudia Nalon, University of Brasilia
- Philipp Ruemmer, University of Regensburg
- Martina Seidl, Johannes Kepler University
- Viorica Sofronie-Stokkermans, University of Koblenz
- Sophie Tourret, Inria - LORIA

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