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1991 CRA Distinguished Service Award presented to David Gries The Computing Research Association was pleased to name Professor David Gries as the recipient of the 1991 Award for Service to Computing Research. This award was made in recognition of his dedicated leadership and extensive service to computing research, especially during the formative years of the Computing Research Association. David Gries became a member of the Computer Science Board in 1983, and served as chair of the newly formed Computing Research Association in the two critical years from its inception in 1988 until 1990. When he began his tenure, the CRA was an informal organization whose main function was to foster the exchange of information among departments and research laboratories. By the time he stepped down, CRA had become legally incorporated with the additional goals of informing science policy-makers and the public at large about the importance of computing research and educating the Association's constituent members about the impact of science policy decisions on research in computer science and engineering. His low key approach and gentle diplomacy played a major role both in this transformation and in the general acceptance of the new association. In 1985, Professor Gries was one of the key authors of the trends report, "Imbalance between growth and funding in academic computing science: two trends colliding," a report that successfully predicted the upturn in computer science Ph.D. production and documented the special research funding problems a growing academic discipline was having in the face of limited research funding. This report marked a turning point in the computer science and engineering community's understanding that it must give increased attention to national science policy issues. Professor Gries is also known for his dedicated work since 1985 in making the Taulbee Survey a comprehensive and reliable annual survey of Ph.D. production, faculty salaries, and faculty hiring in Ph.D. granting departments in computer science and engineering. Under his management the Taulbee Survey had come to have essentially complete coverage of these departments in the US, making it both a valuable resource for dealing with the growth of computing research and an accurate historical record of that growth. Finally, Professor Gries deserves special mention for the inauguration of the CRA news journal, Computing Research News. He served as chair of CRA's editorial board from the inception of the news journal until mid 1990. More than any other board member of the Computing Research Association, Gries saw the need for such a journal and gave unstintingly of his time and his direction to the development of CRNews. In recognition of these achievements, the Computing Research Association is proud to grant its 1991 Service Award to Professor David Gries. Without his dedication, selfless hard work, and clear vision, the Computing Research Association would not have become the effective organization it is today. Copyright © 2004 Computing Research Association. All Rights Reserved. Questions? E-mail: webmaster@cra.org.