The Distinguished Service Award

Nomination Deadline: August 7th, 2026 AoE

Call for Nominations

The ACM SIGOPS Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional, sustained contributions to the systems research community through service, leadership, and mentorship within the SIGOPS ecosystem. This award honors those whose efforts have significantly advanced the field of operating systems and related areas by fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and professional growth:

  • Impact: Significance and reach of the nominee’s service contributions.
  • Sustained Commitment: Duration and consistency of service activities.
  • Community Building: Efforts to promote inclusivity, mentorship, and collaboration within SIGOPS.

The award will be given annually and presented at the ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles (SOSP).

Eligibility

Nominees must have demonstrated sustained, impactful service contributions to the SIGOPS community (e.g., conference organization, workshop leadership, editorial work, mentorship, or advocacy).  The nominee need not be a member of SIGOPS, and anyone may submit a nomination.  Self-nominations are not accepted.

Nomination Procedure

Nominations must include:

  1. Nominator Information: Name, address, and email.
  2. Nominee Information: Name, affiliation, address, and email.
  3. Statement of Merit: A statement of 200–500 words explaining the nominee’s service contributions, emphasizing how they exceed traditional service expectations.
  4. Proposed Citation: A suggested citation for the potential recipient’s award.
  5. Letters of Support: Three (3) endorsement letters of 200–500 words supporting the nomination.  For each letter of support, also include contact details of the endorser (name, affiliation, address, email).
  6. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Explicit statement of any conflicts of interest between the nominee and selection committee members, per ACM guidelines
  7. Ethics Compliance: Confirmation that the nominee adheres to the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Nominators should gather all materials and submit via email to the award committee at DSAnominations@sigops.org.

Award Committee

The members of the Distinguished Service Award committee are:

  • Andrea Arpaci-Dusseau, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Anne-Marie Kermarrec, EPFL
  • Jay Lorch, Microsoft Research
  • Geoffrey M. Voelker, UC San Diego (chair)
  • Yubin Xia, Shanghai Jiao Tong University