Thomas Bäck appointed to IEEE Fellow
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) appointed Professor Thomas Bäck as an IEEE Fellow in the class of 2022. Bäck is becoming a Fellow for his contributions in synthesising evolutionary computation. Less than 0.1% of voting members are selected each year for this member grade elevation. On 23 November 2021, Bäck received the news that he is one of the honoured recipients. Time to ask him for a reaction.
What does this designation mean to you?
I am of course very honoured by this recognition of my achievements by the IEEE, and very grateful that I was nominated in the first place. It's an honour my nomination was supported by internationally renowned scientists, and approved by the Fellow committee.
How prestigious is this appointment?
If you look at the list of fellows in my field, evolutionary computation, all internationally leading scientists in the field are IEEE Fellows. During all of my scientific career, I have admired IEEE Fellows for their achievements. I had never imagined that, one day, I could be one of them. It is internationally recognised as a big honour.
How long have you been an IEEE member?
I have been a member since 28 years and joined the IEEE when I was still a PhD student at the Technical University of Dortmund in Germany.
What is the significance of the IEEE for computer science?
IEEE is the largest technical professional organisation in technology, and very important in my field – hosting very strong conferences and publishing one of the top journals in the field, the IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation.
About the IEEE
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