Norbert Wiener The IEEE SSIT Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility is given annually to recognize an exceptional contribution or outstanding career by an individual or team of up to three members in the field of the social implications of technology.
The award is named for Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), who, in addition to a long and active scientific career that laid the foundation for many aspects of modern computing, was also a leader in assessing the social implications of new and emerging technology. The award serves as a reminder of what Wiener stood for, and of what each individual can do to make this a better world.
The IEEE SSIT Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility was originally established by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) as the CPSR Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility. It was awarded from 1987 to 2013. Following the closure of CPSR, the award was transferred to SSIT. SSIT acknowledges the important contribution that CPSR played in establishing this prestigious award, and thanks those former CPSR members who enabled SSIT to continue the tradition of the award. We welcome the participation of former CPSR members in nominating, promoting, and reviewing nominations for this award.
Click here to read CPSR’s Norbert Wiener Award: A Fitting Legacy for the First Cyber-Activist by Nathaniel S. Borenstein
Relevant achievements include, but are not limited to, contributions to the goals of the Society in academia (research, scholarship, teaching), industry (research, practical development and application), public service (government, non-profit), and personal work and impact.
Past recipients of the award
1987: David Parnas
1988: Joseph Weizenbaum
1989: Daniel McCracken
1990: Kristen Nygaard
1991: Severo Ornstein and Laura Gould
1992: Barbara Simons
1993: Institute for Global Communications
1994: Antonia Stone
1995: Tom Grundner
1996: Phil Zimmermann
1997: Peter Neumann
1998: Internet Engineering Task Force
1999: The Free Software & Open Source Movements
2000: Marc Rotenberg
2001: Nira Schwartz and Theodore Postol
2002: Karl Auerbach
2003: Mitch Kapor
2004: Barry Steinhardt
2005: Douglas Engelbart
2008: Bruce Schneier
2013: Gary Chapman
2021: Moshe Vardi
2023: Guru Madhavan
To nominate an individual use this form: Norbert Wiener nomination for an individual
To nominate a team use this form: Norbert Wiener nomination for a team
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