Cryptography & quantum2025
When information obeys quantum rules
Quantum physics became a resource for secure communication and computation.
The story1966–2025 · Computing, explained
Small ideas.
Extraordinary
consequences.
Meet the people and ideas that changed computing. Sixty Turing Award stories, told through clear explanations and original visual guides.
Explore the awards ↓60Award editions
81Remarkable people
1966–2025Six decades of computing
The latest award is for 2025, announced in March 2026. Subjects below are our editorial guide, not ACM prize categories.
An archive of lasting ideas
The awards
Showing 12 of 60
Newest first · scroll to exploreArtificial intelligence2024
Learning from what happens next
Reinforcement learning connects actions, rewards and improving predictions.
The storyTheory & algorithms2023
How much does randomness help?
Complexity theory connected random choices with some of computation’s deepest limits.
The storyNetworks & the Web2022
Connecting the computers next door
Ethernet made local networking a shared, practical technology.
The storyTheory & algorithms2021
Software that keeps up with supercomputers
Numerical libraries connect mathematical algorithms with changing hardware.
The storyLanguages & software2020
The machinery behind a programming language
Automata, grammars and algorithms helped make compilers teachable and dependable.
The storyGraphics & interaction2019
Turning a model into a moving world
Computer graphics made geometry, light and surfaces into the ingredients of film.
The storyArtificial intelligence2018
Learning a hierarchy of patterns
Deep networks learn useful representations through many layers of computation.
The storyComputer systems2017
Measure before you build
Computer architecture became a quantitative study of useful work and trade-offs.
The storyNetworks & the Web2016
A web of documents anyone can link
URLs, HTTP and HTML made information across the Internet browsable.
The storyCryptography & quantum2015
Sharing a secret in public
Public-key methods changed how strangers could establish secure communication.
The storyDatabases2014
Databases built for the work they do
Database engines can be redesigned around the questions and data they serve.
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