Policies, Procedures and Guidelines

Code of Conduct for ACM Distinguished Speakers

Consistent with the goals of the DSP as an outreach program, participation in the DSP is intended to provide value to the computing community, and further the goals of the ACM as a scientific and professional organisation. It is not intended as an individual recognition program. As such, participation in the ACM Distinguished Speaker Program is at the discretion of ACM.

DSP speakers are governed by the ACM Code of ethics and ACM's Policy Against Harassment. Serious violations of professional ethics by speakers, including acts of academic and professional misconduct, may result in a speaker being removed from the roster of DSP speakers.

The ACM policy on harassment applies to all ACM activities, including talks by Distinguished Speakers. Please note, that as per this policy, the ACM reserves the right to take any action ACM deems appropriate. ACM reserves the right to prohibit an individual from participating in future ACM activities, and excluding an individual from ACM leadership positions, both of which apply to speakers on the ACM Distinguished Speaker Program.

Violations of the code of ethics may be reported using the code of ethics report form. Such complaints will be handled according to the procedure outlined in the code of ethics enforcement procedures.

Any individual who experiences harassment (as described in the policy linked above) at any ACM Distinguished Speaker event should follow the Procedures for Reporting Unacceptable Behavior.

DSP Nomination Procedures

The DSP Committee will vote on the acceptability of a nominated speaker. Each DSP Committee member will review the nominee’s submission(CV, lecture history etc.) and make a decision on the acceptability of the nominee. The nominee must provide the DSP Committee with their CV as well as answers to the following questions (the nominee's answers to the questions below should be included on the Nomination Form submitted to the Committee):

Number of recent (within the last 3 years) talks/speeches/short courses/presentations that you have made. Please provide the titles and topics of these presentations, as well as the approximate audience size.
Minimum of 5 years experience (either in academia or industry or a combination of both).

Nominations will be sent to DSP Committee members on an ongoing basis and it should take no longer than two weeks for a decision from them. If the Committee has a problem coming to a consensus on a nominee, references from the speaker will be requested.

Terms for Approved Speakers

If accepted, your DSP term will be for 3 years.

Travel Guidelines for Speakers (in-person events)

Economy airfare. For e-tickets please print out the email message you receive that contains both your itinerary and the price of your ticket. Any other documentation of your travel—boarding passes, machine-issued receipts, etc.—should also be submitted.
ACM does not reimburse travel insurance costs.
Mileage is reimbursed at 67 cents per mile plus tolls as of January 1st, 2024.
Transportation to/from airports at reasonable cost (shuttle or bus or cab, etc.) is permissible.
Airport Parking (long-term lot).
Reimbursement of rental cars requires prior justification and approval.
Original receipts must be submitted for any expenses $25 or over.
Reimbursement is available in $USD For those who reside outside the U.S., reimbursement may be available in other currencies and by bank transfers. Speakers should keep a copy of what is sent to ACM.
If your expenses are in more than one currency, please:
- Subtotal by currency
- (Optional) Convert to $USD by going to www.xe.com or another currency exchange. Include source, date and rate for currency conversion. Your reimbursement, however, will be based on the rate in effect the day the transaction is completed.

For Speakers: Travel Expense Form

Request for Speakers to attend Conferences, Symposiums and Large Technical Events

All conferences, symposiums and large technical events will be vetted by the DSP Committee to determine if an ACM DSP speaker should attend. Their decision will be based on the technical program and general credibility of the event.
Due to the fixed budget available for supporting speaker travel, priority will be given to ACM affiliated events and events with stronger links to ACM communities.
If approved, these events will be required to contribute to your long-distance travel expenses in addition to your local expenses at the event. The amount of their contribution will be negotiated prior to approval and the speakers will be informed by email.
Speakers will be required to submit expense reports to both the DSP and the conference organizers for the respective amounts.

Financial Guidelines for Requesting a Speaker for In-Person Events

The cost of travel for the speaker needs to fall into the guidelines below:

Cost of Trip*	# of Attendees Required
$600 and Below	50
$600–$1,000	100
$1,000–$2,000	300

* All conferences, symposiums and large technical events are required to contribute to the speaker’s long distance travel costs. Your contribution will be negotiated prior to approval. Due to the fixed budget available for supporting speaker travel, priority will be given to ACM affiliated events and events with stronger links to ACM communities.

Guidelines and Tips for Speakers

ACM Distinguished Speakers are volunteers and should not accept speaking fees or honorariums.
Speakers are given seven days to respond to any speaking invitations. If there isn’t a response, the invitation is automatically cancelled.
If you are not available on the day/time requested by the host, we encourage you to provide a few alternate dates for consideration.
You should ask your contact about the approximate knowledge level of attendees, e.g., 1st year vs. 4th year students, faculty, etc.
Please ask your contact where your presentation will take place and approximately how many attendees will there be, e.g., if it is in a large lecture hall, you might need to adjust the type size of your PowerPoint presentation.
If travel is necessary, you need to provide ACM ([email protected]) with your travel budget for approval. An email containing a travel authorization form will be sent to you after you have accepted the invitation. Once ACM approves your travel budget, you can take care of the logistics with the host.
For in-person events, ACM/DSP reimburses only economy class airfares. Hotel expenses are covered by event hosts, not the ACM/DSP.
Each DSP speaker is expected to use the materials provided to them by ACM that describe ACM's various activities and member benefits.
After the event, you will receive an email requesting your completed expense report and receipts for reimbursement. The email will include a link to the ACM DSP’s Travel Expense Form, which you can complete and send with your receipts to [email protected].
Each speaker is expected to complete an evaluation form right after the event is completed; it is very important for ACM to understand how the program is working.
DSP speakers are governed by ACM Code of ethics and ACM's Policy Against Harassment

Guidelines and Tips for Hosting a Speaker

Initial Invitation

ACM Distinguished Speakers are volunteers and do not require speaking fees or honorariums.
Plan the invitation as far ahead as possible to increase the likelihood that the speaker will be available.
Be as flexible as possible regarding actual dates/times that the speaking event is to occur.
Be aware of the expense regulations regarding audience size and transportation costs your speaker will incur to visit you. If your event is small, you may need to team up with a nearby event (or more) to ensure the visit reaches the required audience size. You should make all such arrangements in advance. In particular, it is not the speaker's responsibility to arrange the places to visit on a lecture tour.
The host is responsible for all local expenses, including transport, hotel and meals. If a tour of several cities is being arranged, then ACM will cover the long-distance part of the travel (e.g., train fare between cities, car rental, etc., as appropriate) but these costs should be included in the overall cost estimation with respect to the speaker expense regulations. Also, be clear with each participating host exactly what each is paying for.
Conferences are required to contribute to the speaker’s long distance travel costs. Your contribution will be negotiated prior to approval.
References to local and travel expenses apply only to in-person lectures.

Arranging the Visit

The talk should be well advertised, both at the site and within the nearby ACM member community (ACM can help with the latter).
Assist the speaker with any needed travel suggestions. Speakers will make their own air reservations but would appreciate advice about which airport to fly into and transport options from that airport to the event site (if it is not in the same city). If the speaker is arriving at a nearby airport, please try to meet them in person.
Reserve a hotel according to the speaker's needs. It is preferable to pay the hotel directly rather than have the speaker pay it and you reimburse them.
It is suggested that all local arrangements and publicity be completed by 2 weeks prior to the speaker's arrival at the latest. However, periodic e-mail reminders to the potential lecture audience should be sent up to the day before the lecture.

Activities During the Visit

Make sure the talk is well attended.
Speakers like to visit with attendees and otherwise engage in social activities. Plan to accompany them (and pay) for all meals and provide as much interaction with your attendees as possible.
If they prefer quiet time, they will let you know. If you are a Student Chapter, involve some faculty members in the visit. While speakers enjoy meeting with students, they would also like to meet faculty.
Offer to show the speaker interesting things in your location, especially if they have not been there before. If you are in a very unusual location with many touristic places, the speaker may wish to spend extra time there at his/her expense. In that case, you needn't accompany them for the extra days but be as helpful as possible in making tourism suggestions.
Consider presenting the speaker with a small souvenir of your location (e.g., something a tourist would buy or a university pen, cup or other such item).

Activities After the Visit

Try to avoid having the speaker pay for any expenses directly but in the case where this may be needed (e.g., the speaker is taking an early flight from an airport not in your city and so needs to stay in a hotel you can't pay for directly), agree beforehand on what expense to expect and how it is to be paid back (check, wire transfer, etc.—sometimes paying this money in cash in advance is best).
Send the speaker a note of thanks (e-mail is fine).
Send the necessary report to ACM about the speaker.
It is suggested that all of the above be finalized within 2 weeks after the speaker's visit.

Requesting a DSP Tour

A DSP tour consists of at least 2 speaking events by the same speaker. You may submit your request using the link on the speaker's home page. The DSP guidelines are the same for a tour request as a single event. If you are having difficulties planning your tour, ACM can assist by reaching out to chapters in your area.

Speakers By Name

Haider Abbas Islamabad, Pakistan
Rizwan Ahmed Nagpur, India
Mohammed M. Alani Mississauga, ON, Canada
David Atienza Lausanne, Switzerland
Ahmedullah Aziz Knoxville, TN, United States
Ronald Michael Baecker Toronto, ON, Canada
Ricardo Baeza-Yates Palo Alto, CA, United States
Santhosh Kumar Balan Hyderabad, India
Nelly Bencomo Durham, United Kingdom
Emery D Berger Amherst, MA, United States
Ann Blandford London, United Kingdom
Athman Bouguettaya Sydney, NSW, Australia
Stephen Brewster Glasgow, United Kingdom
Duncan P Brumby London, United Kingdom
Erik Brunvand UT, United States
Margaret Burnett Corvallis, OR, United States
Heloisa Candello Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
Zehong (Jimmy) Cao Adelaide, SA, Australia
Federico Cerutti Brescia, Italy
Eugenio Cesario Rende (CS), Italy
Samarjit Chakraborty Chapel Hill, NC, United States
Tanmoy Chakraborty New Delhi, India
Sharma Chakravarthy Bedford, TX, United States
Polo Chau Atlanta, GA, United States
Geeta Chauhan Santa Clara, CA, United States
Nitesh Chawla Notre Dame, IN, United States
Muhammad Aamir Cheema Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Junying Chen Guangzhou, China
Pin-Yu Chen WHITE PLAINS, NY, United States
Betty H.C. Cheng East Lansing, MI, United States
Albert M. K. Cheng Houston, TX, United States
Aswani Kumar Cherukuri Vellore, India
Yuejie Chi Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Kim-Kwang Raymond Choo San Antonio, TX, United States
Kenneth W Church Boston, MA, United States
Luigina Ciolfi Cork, Ireland
Gilbert Cockton Sunderland, United Kingdom
Benjamin Richard Cowan Dublin, Ireland
Ernesto Cuadros-Vargas Lima, Peru
Daniela Damian Victoria, BC, Canada
Swagatam Das Kolkata, India
Rik Das Ranchi, India
Kalyanmoy Deb MI, United States
Gianluca Demartini Queensland, Australia
Ilke Demir Hermosa Beach, CA, United States
Xin Luna Dong Seattle, WA, United States
Rolf Drechsler Bremen, Germany
Henry Duh Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Ashutosh Dutta Laurel, MD, United States
Josiah Dykstra Severn, MD, United States
Kaoutar El Maghraoui Yorktown Heights, NY, United States
Lance Eliot Palo Alto, CA, United States
Bjoern M Eskofier Erlangen, Germany
Yuguang "Michael" Fang Kowloon, Hong Kong
Francesco Flammini Västerås, Sweden
Marcus Foth Brisbane, QLD, Australia
João Gama Porto, Portugal
Dan Garcia Millbrae, CA, United States
Swaroop Ghosh State College, PA, United States
Donald Gotterbarn Johnson City, TN, United States
Nitesh Goyal Stamford, CT, United States
Angel Goñi-Moreno Madrid, Spain
Colin M. Gray Bloomington, IN, United States
John Grundy Melbourne, Australia
Sumit Gulwani Redmond, WA, United States
Kiran Gunnam Austin, TX, United States
Zhu Han Houston, TX, United States
Marc Hassenzahl Siegen, Germany
Gernot Heiser Sydney, NSW, Australia
Kasper Hornbæk Copenhagen, Denmark
Juan Pablo Hourcade Iowa City, IA, United States
David Howard Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Longbo Huang Beijing, China
Rasheed Hussain Bristol, United Kingdom
Nikolas Ioannou Zurich, Switzerland
Letizia Jaccheri Trondheim, Norway
Daniel Jackson Cambridge, MA, United States
Sheldon H Jacobson Urbana, IL, United States
Jim Jansen Doha, Qatar
Anura Jayasumana Fort Collins, CO, United States
Gwanggil Jeon Incheon, Republic of Korea
Joaquim A Jorge Lisboa, Portugal
Arijit Khan Aalborg, Denmark
Latifur Rahman Khan Plano, TX, United States
Irwin King Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Amy J Ko Seattle, WA, United States
Aditya Kumar San Jose, CA, United States
Manoj Kumar Kumar Sydney, Australia
C.-C. Jay Kuo Los Angeles, CA, United States
Eren Kurshan New York, NY, United States
Michele Lanza Lugano, Switzerland
Doris Lee El Dorado Hills, CA, United States
Uichin Lee Daejeon, Republic of Korea
Minming Li Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Antonio Lieto Salerno, Italy
Sung Kyu Lim Suwanee, GA, United States
Zitao Liu Beijing, China
David Lo Singapore, Singapore
Seng Loke Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Andrés Lucero Helsinki, Finland
Artur Lugmayr Perth, WN, Australia
Zhihan Lyu Vizby, Sweden
Walid Maalej Hamburg, Germany
A. Cristiano I. Malossi Rüschlikon, Switzerland
Regan Mandryk Victoria, Canada
Maja Mataric´ South Pasadena, CA, United States
Ujjwal Maulik Kolkata, India
John McCarthy Cork, Ireland
Weizhi Meng Copenhagen, Denmark
Ajmal Saeed Mian Crawley, WN, Australia
Mehdi Mirakhorli Rochester, NY, United States
Prasant Kumar Misra Bangalore, India
Kenny Mitchell Burbank, CA, United States
David Mohaisen Orlando, FL, United States
Florian 'Floyd' Mueller Melbourne, Australia
San Murugesan Sydney, NSW, Australia
Suranga Chandima Nanayakkara Auckland, New Zealand
Olfa Nasraoui Louisville, KY, United States
Gonzalo Navarro Santiago, Chile
Themis Palpanas Paris, France
Corina Pasareanu Sunnyvale, CA, United States
Sudeep Pasricha Fort Collins, CO, United States
Fabio Paternò Pisa, Italy
Steven Pemberton Amsterdam, Netherlands
Silvio Peroni Bologna, Italy
Zeeshan Pervez Paisley, United Kingdom
Denys Poshyvanyk Williamsburg, VA, United States
Junaid Qadir Doha, Qatar
M. Sohel Rahman Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md. Saidur Rahman Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nitendra Rajput Gurgaon, India
Danda B Rawat Washington, DC, United States
Peter Robinson Cambridge, United Kingdom
Jennifer Rode London, United Kingdom
Sripana Saha Bihta Patna District, India
David Sankoff Ontario, Canada
KC Santosh SD, United States
Eunice R Sari Perth, Australia
Federica Sarro London, United Kingdom
Corina Sas Lancaster, United Kingdom
Björn Schuller Munich, Germany
Abhronil Sengupta University Park, PA, United States
Neha Sharma Pune, India
Yehonathan Sharvit Jerusalem, Israel
Yiyu Shi Notre Dame, IN, United States
RK Shyamasundar Mumbai, India
Biplab Sikdar Singapore, Singapore
Nicolas Sklavos Patra, Greece
Carol J Smith Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Yan Solihin Orlando, FL, United States
Houbing Song Baltimore, MD, United States
Diomidis Spinellis Athens, Greece
Ram Sriram Gaithersburg, MD, United States
Gautam Srivastava Brandon, MB, Canada
Anthony Steed London, United Kingdom
Per Stenstrom Gothenburg, Sweden
David G. Stork Portola Valley, CA, United States
Zhendong Su Zurich, Switzerland
Bidyadhar Subudhi Ponda Goa, India
Daniel Takabi ATLANTA, GA, United States
Kim W. Tracy Terre Haute, IN, United States
Christoph Trattner Bergen, Norway
Athena Vakali Thessaloniki, Greece
Mauro Vallati Huddersfield, United Kingdom
Salvador Elias Venegas-Andraca Mexico City, Mexico
Sunil Kumar Vuppala Bangalore, India
Gabriel Wainer Ottawa, ON, Canada
Dakuo Wang Cambridge, MA, United States
Zhangyang "Atlas" Wang Austin, TX, United States
Ingmar G Weber Doha, Qatar
Titus Winters Long Island City, NY, United States
Allison Woodruff Mountain View, CA, United States
Feng Xia Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Ming Xiao Stockholm, Sweden
Xing Xie BEIJINGSHI, China
Chun Jason Xue Kowloon, Hong Kong
Elad Yom-Tov Hoshaya, Israel
Daron Yondem Istanbul, Türkiye
Dong Yu Bothell, WA, United States
Mohamed Zahran New York, NY, United States
Stefano Zanero Milano, Italy
Bronis R de Supinski Livermore, CA, United States

Policies, Procedures and Guidelines

Code of Conduct for ACM Distinguished Speakers

DSP Nomination Procedures

Terms for Approved Speakers

Travel Guidelines for Speakers (in-person events)

Request for Speakers to attend Conferences, Symposiums and Large Technical Events

Financial Guidelines for Requesting a Speaker for In-Person Events

Guidelines and Tips for Speakers

Guidelines and Tips for Hosting a Speaker

Arranging the Visit

Browse by Topic, Speaker or Country

Computing Topic

Speakers By Name

Country

Speakers Travel Expense Form

Get Involved!

Provide Feedback