The ACM Distinguished Service Award is awarded on the basis of value and degree of service to the computing community. The contribution should not be limited to service to the Association, but should include activities in other computer organizations and should emphasize contributions to the computing community at large.
ACM is proud to present its Distinguished Service Award to one of its own -- Peter Denning. Peter's contributions are legion. Within ACM he has held many important positions of service not only to ACM but also to the profession. These include:
ACM President, Council Member, SIG Board Chairman, Chairman of the Editorial Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Computing Surveys and of Communications of ACM.
While one can find important contributions to ACM and to the profession within all of the stated positions and more, many would judge that his most important contributions have been in the editorial realm. Peter's outstanding editorial record is not just a reflection of his insight and leadership ability, but even more a reflection of his own cogent writing ability, through which he effectively communicates both his own research and the research of others to wide audiences.
Peter has served the profession in many other capacities:
NSF Computer Science Advisory Panel; COSERS Task Force on Operating Systems, chairman; CSNET Executive Committee, chairman; Journal of Computer Languages and Acta Informatica, Associate Editor; Computer Science Department at Purdue University, Chairman; IEEE and AAAS Fellows.