Remarkable career achievements?
Check.
Giving back to a university and a school that meant so much to them?
Check again.
All this and more have Jake Nadal, Chris Cason, Torsten Hoefler, Willie Miller and Dong Yu set to receive the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering’s prestigious 2022-23 Alumni Awards. They will be honored during a June 16 luncheon at the Virgil T. Devault Alumni Center.
Cason and Hoefler will get Luddy Distinguished Alumni Award recognition. Nadal is an ILS Distinguished Alumni in library science. Miller and Yu will receive Luddy Innovation Fellow Award honors.
The Innovation Fellow Award recognizes individuals who are interested in connecting with the Luddy School to help cultivate the next generation of innovators and global leaders. They also must have demonstrated leadership and made a noteworthy and innovative contribution to their professions.
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni who make, or who have made, outstanding contributions to the fields of computer science, engineering, informatics, information science and/or library science.
“We’re proud of the pivotal contributions these alumni have made to the Luddy School and their impact at local, national and international levels,” Luddy School Dean Joanna Millunchick said. “They exemplify what it means to be a Luddy alumnus -- creative, innovative, and forward thinking. They showcase the best of what Luddy graduates can accomplish, and continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
The ILS Distinguished Alumni Award has been bestowed since 1978. The Luddy School, in collaboration with the Luddy Alumni Ambassador Board, created the Innovation Fellowship Award in 2021, and expanded the Distinguished Alumni Award to include alum from informatics, computer science and intelligent systems engineering.
ILS Distinguished Alumni Award
Jake Nadal, M.S. Library Science, 2001
Nadal is the director for preservation at the Library of Congress. He leads stewardship of the library’s national collections across all of its divisions. He oversees a team of 200 with a budget of $30 million. He also serves on the interagency Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee which convenes military, law enforcement, diplomatic and cultural agencies that guide U.S. policy and preservation efforts for cultural property worldwide, especially during armed conflict or natural disaster. He has promoted cooperative efforts in emergency response. He is a member of Luddy’s Dean’s Advisory Council.
“This award completes the circle of gaining an education at IU,” he said, “and then having acknowledgement from the people best able to judge my work, that I was able to find the right way to apply that education and accomplish something meaningful. There's nothing like recognition from your peers.
“Let me add that ‘Completes the circle’ does not mean ‘ends’ -- IU is a call I'll always be ready to answer.”
Luddy Distinguished Alumni Award
Chris Cason, B.S. Computer Science, 1988
Cason is a managing director at Accenture. He began developing software for voice telephony applications at California’s ROLM Corporation before joining Summit Group and eventually becoming chief operating officer. In 2001, he formed Blue Horseshoe, a consulting company that focused on supply chain digital transformation, and guided it through significant growth until it was purchased by Accenture. He constantly advocates for the hiring of Luddy students. He’s also on the Luddy Dean’s Advisory Council, and was on the search committee that hired Dean Millunchick.
“It is truly an honor to receive this award,” Cason said. “I have always felt fortunate about how my experiences and knowledge I gained during my time at IU helped shape what I have accomplished in my professional career.I am humbled to be recognized by an organization that has been so instrumental in my success.”
Torsten Hoefler, Ph.D. Computer Science, 2008
Hoefler is Full Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, one of Europe’s top research institutions, and directs the internationally renowned Scalable Parallel Computing Laboratory. He’s among the world’s top scientists in high-performance computing, and won the prestigious Association for Computing Machinery’s Gordon Bell Prize, and the IEEE Sidney Fernbach Memorial Award. He was named a 2022 ACM Fellow, which recognizes the top 1 percent of ACM members for outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology. He's received numerous best-paper awards at major conferences, including six at the prestigious Supercomputing Conference.
“Indiana University’s School of Informatics and Computing was instrumental in shaping my career,” Hoefler said. “I am honored and humbled to be recognized among such accomplished alumni.
“High-performance computing has been a passion since my time at IU, and I am excited to continue pushing the boundaries.”
Luddy Innovation Fellow Award
Willie Miller, M.S. Library Science, 2010
Miller is the IUPUI University Library associate dean for communication and technology, a vice president of the IUPUI Faculty Council, and an adjunct faculty member at Luddy School Indianapolis. He’s led numerous successful IUPUI fundraising efforts. He has a national leadership role in the Association of College and Research Libraries. In 2012, he was named Outstanding New Librarian by the Indiana Library Foundation, and an Emerging Leader by the American Library Association.
“Receiving the Luddy Innovation Fellow award is an incredible honor,” Miller said. “I feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude to my colleagues at IUPUI and across the profession for supporting me and my work. Academic libraries are spaces for innovation -- places where learners come to advance, not only their minds, but the trajectory of their lives, their families, and our society -- I get to work in one.”
Dong Yu, M.S. Computer Science, 1996
Yu is Distinguished Scientist and vice general manager at Tencent AI Lab. He’s a pioneer in deep learning-based speech recognition. His work is the standard in the industry and the international research community. He has produced more than 300 papers and 100 patents. He was named an IEEE Fellow in 2018, an International Speech Communication Association Fellow in 2021 and a 2022 ACM/IEEE/ISCA Fellow. A world-renowned speaker, he participated in the 2018 LuddyFest.
“I am honored to receive this award,” Yu said. “My days at IU form an important chapter of my life. The things I learned from professors and fellow students contributed significantly to my career development.”