[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 1, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H4219-H4220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE CAREER AND RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF FRANCES E. ALLEN

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 95) honoring the career and 
research accomplishments of Frances E. Allen, the 2006 recipient of the 
A.M. Turing Award, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 95

       Whereas Frances Allen joined IBM in 1957 early in the 
     history of the computer industry and just after an IBM team 
     developed Fortran, one of the first high-level programming 
     languages;
       Whereas Frances Allen during her 45 year career at IBM rose 
     from being a teacher of Fortran to highest level of IBM 
     technologists;
       Whereas in 1989 Frances Allen was the first woman to be 
     named an IBM Fellow and in 1995 became President of the IBM 
     Academy of Technology, a global organization of IBM technical 
     leaders charged with providing technical advice to the 
     company;
       Whereas Frances Allen made fundamental contributions to the 
     theory and practice of program optimization, which translates 
     the users' problem-solving language statements;
       Whereas Frances Allen's work led to remarkable advances in 
     compiler design and machine architecture that are at the 
     foundation of modern high-performance computing;
       Whereas Frances Allen's unique dedication to meeting the 
     needs of her customers led to IBM's innovation model;
       Whereas Frances Allen is nationally renowned for her work 
     in encouraging women to study computer science;
       Whereas the Association for Computing Machinery, an 
     international organization of computing professionals, gives 
     the A.M. Turing Award annually to individuals whose 
     contributions in the field of computing are long-lasting and 
     are of major technical importance; and
       Whereas Frances Allen has now been honored as the first 
     woman recipient of the Turing Award, computer science's most 
     prestigious award, which is equated by some to the Nobel 
     Prizes: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress honors the pioneering life 
     work of Frances Allen in computer research and development 
     and salutes the Turing Award Committee for recognizing, 
     through the selection of Frances Allen, that creative women 
     have contributed mightily to the development of this 
     important field.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Woolsey) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 95, the resolution now 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H. Con. Res. 95 honors a pioneer in the world of 
computing, Dr. Frances Allen, the first woman awarded the A.M. Turing 
Award by the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM. The Turing Award 
is widely considered to be the Nobel Prize of computing. By being the 
first female recipient, Dr. Allen has set the bar as a role model for 
women everywhere who aspire to a career in math and science.
  As a scientist at IBM since the early 1960s, Dr. Allen pioneered new 
technologies which serve as the basis for complex theories which are 
widely used today throughout the computer industry. She is regarded as 
a pioneer in the field of optimizing compilers and has developed 
several programming languages that have advanced the field of computer 
science.
  Dr. Allen also helped create one of the first automatic debugging 
systems, and developed the advanced code-breaking language known as 
Alpha, which revolutionized how computers talk to each other and make 
computer programmers more efficient.
  As computer science was ramping up in the early 1980s, Dr. Allen 
founded the Parallel Translation Group, the PTRAN, to study compiling 
for parallel machines. Subsequently, this group was recognized as one 
of the top research groups in the world dealing with this issue, and as 
a result, Dr. Allen was the first woman to be recognized as an IBM 
fellow in 1989.
  In addition to her outstanding scientific achievement, Dr. Allen has 
also been an inspirational mentor to younger researchers and a leader 
within the computing community.
  With the Nation's information technology workforce suffering from a 
lack of qualified candidates, it is all the more important, Madam 
Speaker, that Dr. Allen be recognized as the first female recipient of 
the A.M. Turing Award to show what women can accomplish.
  It is certainly telling that women who earn more than half of all 
undergraduate degrees in this country and make up more than half of the 
professional workforce represent only 25 percent of all high-tech 
workers. In fact, the percentage of women graduating with degrees in 
computer science has fallen from 37 percent of total graduates in 1985 
to just 15 percent in 2005. With grim statistics like these, it is 
clear that we are going to close the gap and ensure that information 
technology sectors have enough workers only if we get young women into 
this workplace. And Dr. Allen has done just that.
  As a member of the Advisory Council of the Anita Borg Institute for 
Women and Technology, her goal has been to increase the participation 
of women in all aspects of technology. With her accomplishments in 
computing, it is clear that Dr. Allen lives up to the goals she sets 
for others and is a role model for women in science and technology.
  Madam Speaker, Dr. Frances Allen has succeeded at the highest levels 
of math and science. It is clear that she deserves recognition for all 
of the tireless work she has done to promote women's roles in 
computing.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill, not only in congratulating 
Dr. Allen on her success, but to show that this Congress supports an 
increased presence of women in science and technology.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor and 
congratulate Frances E. Allen, the 2006 recipient of the A.M. Turing 
Award.
  The Turing Award, established in 1966, is given annually by the 
Association for Computing Machinery to individuals whose work has been 
of lasting and major technical importance to the computer field. Fran 
Allen is richly deserving of this honor. She is also the first woman to 
receive the award.

[[Page H4220]]

  Fran Allen exemplifies the dedication and innovative spirit that has 
brought this country to the forefront of science, technology and 
commerce. As a researcher for IBM for nearly 45 years, she played a key 
role in building the high-performance computing world we live in today.
  Her work on optimization of parallel processing has impacted all of 
our lives, for example, by setting the stage for today's computer 
systems that forecast our weather and analyze DNA sequences.
  I would like to particularly commend Ms. Allen for her dedication to 
supporting and mentoring young men and women in her field. I note that 
after her retirement from IBM, she kept an office and has continued her 
work mentoring future leaders in computer sciences and, hopefully, 
future A.M. Turing Award winners as well.
  As this Congress looks to improve our Nation's competitiveness and 
looks to provide for the next generation of scientists, engineers and 
business men and women, we should consider the great example that Fran 
Allen has given to us.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 95 and 
join me in congratulating Fran Allen today.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Science 
and Technology, I am proud to have brought H. Con. Res. 95 to the floor 
today.
  Dr. Allen has contributed much to the world of science and 
technology. She is most deserving of this honor, and we are extending 
to her today our congratulations.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 95, as 
amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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