Roger Needham Award
Honouring ground-breaking research, inspired by British computer scientist Roger Needham's legacy.
In the past this annual award recognised distinguished research contributions in computer science made by UK-based researchers with up to 10 years of post-doctoral experience.
The winner was chosen by a yearly-appointed panel, evaluating nominees based on the quality of their contributions and achievements, considering factors like research impact, innovation, quality of publications or patents, collaborations, ethical considerations and professional standing.
Past winners
Needham Award 2023 winner
Professor Ruth Misener has been awarded the 2023 BCS Roger Needham Award for her exceptional contributions to computer science.
The award was made to Professor Misener from the Department of Computing, Imperial College London by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT in recognition of her work identifying and solving fundamental computer science research challenges at the intersection of computational optimisation and machine learning.
Julia Adamson MBE, Managing Director (Education and Public Benefit) at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: “I want to congratulate Professor Misener on the significant and positive impact she has made to computer science, and say how incredibly proud the whole community is of this achievement. Well done on receiving this much deserved award.”
About Roger Needham
Roger Needham was a visionary who transformed the landscape of computing. His researh led to the Burrows-Abadi-Needham (BAN) logic and the pivotal Needham-Schroeder security protocol, essential for Kerberos authentication and key exchange. He also co-designed TEA and XTEA encryption algorithms, advancing encryption technology.
Joining Cambridge's Computer Laboratory in 1962, Needham rose to head in 1980, becoming a distinguished professor by 1981. His enduring legacy, spanning until retirement in 1995, continues to mould modern computer science. Roger Needham's transformative work remains a cornerstone in computing security's evolution.
