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ACM president's letter: metamorphosis

ACM president's letter: metamorphosis ACM President's Letter Metamorphosis David H. Brandin healthy development of our technologies. These restrictions are spreading to universities in the guise of constraints on research support for foreign students. ¢ U.S. business practices now and in the previous recession have resulted in a critical shortage of capital funds available for investment in R&D facilities--this, for example, played a role in the successful Japanese penetration of the 64K RAM market. This has also left us exposed to their planned leap into the 5th generation of intelligent computer systems--to which the United States has failed, so far, to aggressively respond. We must recognize and understand the challenges posed by these changes. In response, ACM must change too, and you along with it? Change confronts us. I refer to activities in government and business that affect the computing profession. For example: ¢ There is a shift in the source of support for R&D from the Federal Government to the private sector--the pace of this transition is not likely to bode well for computer science research nor for the availability of facilities essential to those who must perform that research. ¢ The government is constricting the flow of the transfer of technology not only to our adversaries but also to our allies--with consequences for the free interchange of scientific information which is vital to the Need for people The continuing dramatic changes in the costs of our technology are having profound effects on the technical concerns that we address. Our field is becoming ever more attractive to ever more people. People, ACM members, need continued professional training and education. This places special demands on ACM's role. The directions are not clear in an environment of conflicting priorities within limited resources. For example, we have an exciting program to transform Communications of the A CM into the leading publication that reflects the changing technology of our field. By focusing our priorities and our resources, this program can and should be accelerated without compromising the continuity of our respected scholarly publications. ACM must face up to its priorities. It must face up to the pace of change. We have been too conservative, too resistant to movement around us. Our bureaucracy impedes us. Our family squabbles dissipate our ability to respond. We can continue to ignore change only at the risk of our vitality. On the surface we are strong--financially and programmatically--but beneath the surface we are faced with a decision--to resist change, or to nurture it. Resistance can lead to atrophy. Change, while risky and difficult, offers better opportunities to serve our members and society, and to reap the satisfaction of accomplishment. Change requires you. It requires your involvement, your commitment, your ideas. I invite you to participate, to be a leader, to be an agent of change. Your fresh perspectives are welcome. In a world of change, ACM cannot stand still. In subsequent President's Letters, I and other ACM officers will outline our thoughts and plans as we try to respond to change. I look forward to your response, and to working with you to make change come about. Thank you for electing me. Communications of the A C M July 1982 Volume 25 Number 7 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Communications of the ACM Association for Computing Machinery

ACM president's letter: metamorphosis

Brandin, David H.
Communications of the ACM , Volume 25 (7) – Jul 1, 1982
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Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery
Copyright
Copyright © 1982 by ACM Inc.
ISSN
0001-0782
DOI
10.1145/358557.358559
Publisher site
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Abstract

ACM President's Letter Metamorphosis David H. Brandin healthy development of our technologies. These restrictions are spreading to universities in the guise of constraints on research support for foreign students. ¢ U.S. business practices now and in the previous recession have resulted in a critical shortage of capital funds available for investment in R&D facilities--this, for example, played a role in the successful Japanese penetration of the 64K RAM market. This has also left us exposed to their planned leap into the 5th generation of intelligent computer systems--to which the United States has failed, so far, to aggressively respond. We must recognize and understand the challenges posed by these changes. In response, ACM must change too, and you along with it? Change confronts us. I refer to activities in government and business that affect the computing profession. For example: ¢ There is a shift in the source of support for R&D from the Federal Government to the private sector--the pace of this transition is not likely to bode well for computer science research nor for the availability of facilities essential to those who must perform that research. ¢ The government is constricting the flow of the transfer of technology not only to our adversaries but also to our allies--with consequences for the free interchange of scientific information which is vital to the Need for people The continuing dramatic changes in the costs of our technology are having profound effects on the technical concerns that we address. Our field is becoming ever more attractive to ever more people. People, ACM members, need continued professional training and education. This places special demands on ACM's role. The directions are not clear in an environment of conflicting priorities within limited resources. For example, we have an exciting program to transform Communications of the A CM into the leading publication that reflects the changing technology of our field. By focusing our priorities and our resources, this program can and should be accelerated without compromising the continuity of our respected scholarly publications. ACM must face up to its priorities. It must face up to the pace of change. We have been too conservative, too resistant to movement around us. Our bureaucracy impedes us. Our family squabbles dissipate our ability to respond. We can continue to ignore change only at the risk of our vitality. On the surface we are strong--financially and programmatically--but beneath the surface we are faced with a decision--to resist change, or to nurture it. Resistance can lead to atrophy. Change, while risky and difficult, offers better opportunities to serve our members and society, and to reap the satisfaction of accomplishment. Change requires you. It requires your involvement, your commitment, your ideas. I invite you to participate, to be a leader, to be an agent of change. Your fresh perspectives are welcome. In a world of change, ACM cannot stand still. In subsequent President's Letters, I and other ACM officers will outline our thoughts and plans as we try to respond to change. I look forward to your response, and to working with you to make change come about. Thank you for electing me. Communications of the A C M July 1982 Volume 25 Number 7

Journal

Communications of the ACM – Association for Computing Machinery

Published: Jul 1, 1982

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