Barbara Simons facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara B. Simons
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | January 26, 1941 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
|
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for | voting technology election security information security |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard M. Karp |
Barbara Bluestein Simons was born on January 26, 1941. She is an American computer scientist, which means she studies computers and how they work. She used to be the president of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), which is a very large group for people who work with computers.
Barbara Simons earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Early in her career, she worked as a researcher for IBM. She also started and co-led USACM, which is the ACM's group for public policy in the U.S. Her main research areas included making computer programs run faster (called compiler optimization), planning tasks for computers (scheduling theory), and studying how well computer instructions work (algorithm analysis and design).
Since 2002, Simons has worked to improve technology rules, especially by speaking out against electronic voting machines that don't leave a paper trail. She leads the Verified Voting Foundation and wrote a book called Broken Ballots with Douglas W. Jones. This book talks about the problems with electronic voting.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Barbara Simons was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. When she was in high school, she became very interested in math and science.
She went to Wellesley College for a year. In 1959, she moved to California to continue her studies at Berkeley. While there, she married James Harris Simons. She later took a break from college to raise her daughter, Liz. During this time, she decided to become a computer programmer and started taking computer science classes.
After a year of graduate school at Stony Brook University, she returned to Berkeley in 1974. She focused on scheduling theory, which is about how computers manage different tasks. She also helped start the Women in Computer Science and Engineering club (WiCSE). In 1981, she earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science. Later, she received a special award from Berkeley's College of Engineering for her achievements.
Barbara Simons' Career
Working at IBM (1981-1998)
After finishing her studies at Berkeley in 1981, Barbara Simons started working at the Research Division of IBM in San Jose. At IBM, she worked on making computer programs more efficient (compiler optimization), studying how well computer instructions work (algorithm analysis), and making sure computer clocks are in sync (clock synchronization). She even won an award from IBM for her work on clock synchronization.
In 1992, she became a senior programmer in IBM's Applications Development Technology Institute. Later, she worked as a senior technology advisor for IBM Global Services. Over time, her focus at IBM shifted from pure research to how technology is used and regulated. She retired early from IBM in 1998 after working there for 17 years.
Leading the ACM (1993-2002)
After leaving IBM in 1998, Barbara Simons became the president of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The ACM is the biggest group for computer professionals in the world. She served as president until 2000. She joined ACM because she became more interested in the rules and laws about technology.
Before becoming president, Simons started ACM's U.S. Public Policy Committee (USACM) in 1993. She co-led this committee for nine years. As president, she also helped lead an ACM study about statewide voter databases in 1999. In 2001, she received ACM's Outstanding Contribution Award. She is still a special member, called a Fellow, of both ACM and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The Verified Voting Foundation (2008-Present)
Since 2008, Barbara Simons has been on the board of directors for the Verified Voting Foundation. This group is non-political and works to make voting safer and more open. Their goal is to make sure that states and cities across America use the best and safest voting technologies.
Other Important Work
Barbara Simons also helped create a program at U.C. Berkeley's Computer Science Department. This program helps women and minorities return to school or start careers in computing. She is also on the boards of groups like the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC) and the Berkeley Foundation for Opportunities in Information Technology (BFOIT). Both of these groups encourage minorities to learn about and work in computing.
In 2005, she was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from U.C. Berkeley's College of Engineering. She is also on the boards of the U.C. Berkeley Engineering Fund and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. She also advises the Oxford Internet Institute.
Advocating for Voting Technology Policy
After leaving IBM and serving as ACM president, Barbara Simons started working to fix problems with voting technology that couldn't be checked easily. In 2001, she took part in a workshop about Internet voting and helped write a report on it. She also advised the President's Export Council on encryption and the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion.
In 2003, Barbara Simons spoke out publicly against voting machines that didn't create paper records. Now, she leads the board at Verified Voting. She also co-led an ACM study on statewide voter databases with Paula Hawthorn. She helped review the security for the U.S. Department of Defense's Internet voting project (SERVE). She co-wrote a report that led to SERVE being canceled in 2004 because of security worries.
Besides her work with the Verified Voting Foundation, Simons has pushed for laws to get rid of paperless voting machines. She has also published many works about this topic. She was key in changing the League of Women Voters' view on paperless voting. The League first thought electronic voting was better for people with disabilities. But after Simons' work, they supported voting machines that could be checked again, or "recountable."
In 2008, Senator Harry Reid appointed her to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors. There, she helped with the "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA). In 2009, she co-wrote a report for the League of Women Voters about checking election results. In 2012, she co-wrote a book with fellow computer scientist Douglas Jones about electronic voting machines, titled Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count?. In July 2015, she published another report for the U.S. Vote Foundation called The Future of Voting: End-to-End Verifiable Internet Voting.
Awards and Honors
Barbara Simons has received many awards for her important work:
- CPSR Norbert Wiener Award for Professional and Social Responsibility in Computing (1992)
- Featured in Science magazine in a special edition about women in science (1992)
- Named an ACM Fellow (1993)
- Named an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow (1993)
- Named by Open Computing as one of the top 100 women in computing
- Chosen by CNET as one of 26 Internet "Visionaries" (1995)
- Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award (1998)
- U.C. Berkeley Computer Science Department Distinguished Alumnus Award in Computer Science and Engineering (2000)
- ACM Outstanding Contribution Award (2002)
- Computing Research Association Distinguished Service Award (2004)
- University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award (2005)
- U.C. Berkeley Lifetime Achievement Award (2005)
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors (2008)
- WITI@UC Anthea Award (2019)
- ACM Policy Award (2019)
- Award by Verified Voting Foundation for her dedication to election integrity
See also
In Spanish: Barbara Simons para niños
