The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has named Thomas Cortina, assistant dean for undergraduate education in the School of Computer Science, one of 62 computer scientists worldwide to be recognized this year as Distinguished Members for their outstanding contributions.

All 2019 inductees are longstanding ACM members and were selected as Distinguished Members by their peers for a range of accomplishments that have contributed to technologies that underpin how we live, work and play. Cortina is one of nine members selected for their educational contributions to computing.

A faculty member since 2004, Cortina became assistant dean in 2012, overseeing a rapid expansion of the undergraduate program. He helped launch the popular CS4HS workshop for computer science high school teachers, and ACTIVATE workshops for science, technology, engineering and math teachers in the Pittsburgh region.

Prior to joining CMU, Cortina taught for a combined 16 years at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York, and at Stony Brook University. He has been active in ACM's Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) and currently serves on the ACM's Education Advisory Committee. He served on the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering advisory committee for four years, and was on the advisory board of a joint NSF-College Board project to develop the latest Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles course.

"Each year it is our honor to select a new class of Distinguished Members," said ACM President Cherri M. Pancake. "Our overarching goal is to build a community wherein computing professionals can grow professionally and, in turn, contribute to the field and the broader society. We are delighted to recognize these individuals for their contributions to computing, and we hope that the careers of the 2019 ACM Distinguished Members will continue to prosper through their participation with ACM."