Anita K. Jones

2007 IEEE Founders Medal “For outstanding leadership in academic research and in directing computer science and engineering research in the Department of Defense”

Anita K. Jones, a leader in the field of computer science, has made significant contributions to computer science research and in the Department of Defense (DOD) science and technology programs. Dr. Jones served as the Director of Defense Research and Engineering in the Pentagon for over four years, where she controlled the budget for research and engineering for the DOD, and was recognized for her exemplary service to the country with the Department of Defense Award for Distinguished Public Service. The U.S. Navy (which is authorized to name undersea mountains) named a seamount in the North Pacific Ocean(51° 25’ N and 159° 10’ W) for her.

Dr. Jones’ service to the computer science industry is also well known—she has served as founding editor-in-chief of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Transactions on Computer Systems and as an editor of the Communications of the ACM, two of the more widely circulated journals within the field, served on several advisory boards including MIT Lincoln Laboratories Advisory Board, the Defense Science Board and has served on or chaired numerous national academies’ committees. Her research has produced seminal results in several areas including operating systems, protection, security and software engineering. Dr. Jones was instrumental in building a “top-notch” computer science research program at Virginia.

Dr. Jones served as vice chair on the National Science Board where took a leadership position in fostering advancement in long-lived data repositories, increased investment in small and medium research infrastructure and more transparent management of the major research equipment construction processes. Currently, Dr. Jones is the Lawrence A. Quarles Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and University Professor in the department of computer science at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., where she has taught for 19 years.

An IEEE Fellow, Dr. Jones has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Rice University, Houston, Texas and a master’s in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin and a doctorate in Computer Science from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa.