Bill McCune PhD Award in Automated Reasoning

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Automated Reasoning is the area of computer science dedicated to applying 
reasoning in the form of logic to computing systems. The Bill McCune PhD Award 
in Automated Reasoning distinguishes each year a PhD thesis defended the 
previous year, for its substantive contributions to the field of Automated 
Reasoning, its theory, its implementation, and/or its application on important 
problems. The Bill McCune PhD Award in Automated Reasoning is named after the 
American computer scientist William Walker McCune.

* Eligibility *

Eligible for the award are those who successfully defended their PhD
- at an academic institution;
- in the field of Automated Reasoning;
- in the period from January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020 (for the 2020 award);
- in the period from January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019 (for the 2019 award).

The PhD students supervised by the Expert Committee members are not eligible.

* Nomination *

Candidates for the award must be nominated by their supervisor(s) and one 
additional independent researcher who reviewed/examined the thesis. Nominations 
are to be submitted via EasyChair, by March 15, 2021, using the link:
https://easychair.org/my/conference?conf=mccuneaward20192020

The nomination must consist of a single PDF file containing
- a letter from the supervisor(s) describing why the thesis should be 
  considered for the award and the relationship of the contributions to 
  CADE/IJCAR;
- a report from the nominating additional independent researcher who 
  reviewed/examined the thesis;
- the thesis itself;
- a copy of the PhD diploma;
- and copy/copies of CADE/IJCAR papers of the nominee, if any, containing 
  results published in the thesis.

The thesis will be evaluated with respect to its quality, originality and 
(potential) impact to the field of Automated Reasoning.

* Procedure *

- The nominations will be evaluated and compared by an international 
  Expert Committee (see below).
- The procedure to be followed is analogous to the review phase of a 
  conference. The justification by the supervisor and the nominating 
  additional independent researcher report will play an important role in 
  the evaluation.
- The final decision is made by the Expert Committee at least one month 
  before CADE/IJCAR being held.
- The award consists of a certificate announcing the winner to have received 
  the Bill McCune PhD Award in Automated Reasoning. The award will be announced 
  at the respective year's CADE/IJCAR. The nominators of the winner will also 
  receive a copy of this certificate.
- The decision of the Expert Committee is final and binding, and not subject 
  to discussion.

* Expert Committee *

The Expert Committee is formed by the board of CADE Trustees with the aim to 
reflect the broad diversity in the area of Automated Reasoning. It is announced 
with the call for nominations, and thus formed before the call for nominations.
The Committee for the Bill McCune PhD Award 2019 and 2020 consists of the 
following people:

- Nikolaj Bjorner, Microsoft
- Pascal Fontaine, University of Liege
- Carsten Fuhs, Birkbeck, University of London
- Cezary Kaliszyk, University of Innsbruck
- Claudia Nalon, University of Brasilia
- Giles Reger, The University of Manchester
- Giselle Reis, CMU-Qatar
- Andy Reynolds, The University of Iowa
- Uwe Waldmann, MPI for Informatics

The Expert Committee can seek additional expertise, even after the submission 
deadline for nominations.