Definition of Turing Prize

The world of computing It has a relatively recent history, taking its first steps during World War II when the Allies tried to decipher the secret codes of the Nazis. In that historical context a brilliant English mathematician named Alan Turing became the leader of the draft Enigma. The results obtained were decisive to defeat the Nazism and, in parallel, to avoid the death of millions of people. In recognition of his work, the Turing Prize was created, an award that is considered the Nobel Prize in computing.

This award recognizes the work of those who have made relevant contributions in the field of Computer Science

The entity that grants this recognition is the ACM, an acronym that corresponds to Association for Computing Machinery.

The agency was founded in 1947 and has its official headquarters in New York City. The awards that have been awarded annually since 1966 have recognized relevant researchers in some dimension of computing (artificial intelligence

, numerical analysis, databases, programming, analysis of algorithms, operating systems, etc.). Since 2014, the recipient has been awarded a million dollars and Google is the sponsoring company.

An award that makes amends for an injustice

Alan Turing's intellectual brilliance did not go unnoticed by the British secret services and due to this he was commissioned to create a machine designed to know the encrypted messages of the Nazis. Despite his undeniable achievements in the area of intelligence artificial and cybernetics, after the end of World War II he was prosecuted and convicted of homosexuality.

The accusations of sexual perversion did not land him in jail, as Turing accepted an alternative: undergo hormonal treatment aimed at chemical castration. The process caused erectile dysfunction and significant physical alterations. In 1954 his body appeared lifeless and the causes of death have never been fully clarified. His personal friends did not believe in the suicide thesis, since the mathematician did not leave any farewell letter or was especially depressed in the days before his death.

In the 2014 film "Imitation Games", actor Benedict Cumberbatch gave life to the father of computing. There are several books on his life and scientific trajectory, but one of them is especially recommended: "Alan Turing: the man who knew too much" by David Leavitt.

Faced with the media pressure exerted by the seventh art, and the social awareness that appeared in relation to Turing's figure, Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain gave him a post-mortem apology in 2013, a year before the launch of the movie. Many scientists have been asking for such recognition for years, but obviously a exposition greater for royalty to speak out and establish a minimum of justice and recognition.

Fotolia photos: Jesussanz / Abdul Qaiyoom

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