Dr. Sorel Reisman Named Recipient of 2018 IEEE Computer Society Richard E. Merwin Award

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., 13 February 2018 — IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) 2011 President and Senior IEEE Member Dr. Sorel Reisman has been selected to receive the 2018 Richard E. Merwin Award for Distinguished Service.

Reisman was recognized “for sustained contributions, leadership, and service to the IEEE Computer Society, the IEEE and the computing profession at large.”

A professor of information systems in the Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences at California State University, Fullerton, Reisman is Managing Director of the international higher education, educational technology consortium, MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) at the California State University Office of the Chancellor.

Reisman has presented/published more than 120 articles including the books Multimedia Computing: Preparing for the 21st Century, and Electronic Learning Communities — Current Issues and Best Practices.  He continues to write and review articles and columns for ITPro and Computer magazines, and speaks internationally about his career-long passion on the use of technology for teaching computing.

In 2011, Reisman established the IEEE-CS’s Special Technical Communities (STCs) for which he received the IEEE-CS Outstanding Contribution Award.

Reisman is Chair of the Standing Committee of the IEEE-CS signature COMPSAC conference, a Computer Society Golden Core member, member of Eta Kappa Nu, an elected member-at-large of the IEEE Publications, Services, and Products Board (PSPB), member of the IEEE Xplore Platform Guidance Committee, the IEEE Conference Publications Committee, and the Strategic Planning Committee of the IEEE Technical Activities Board.  He has also been a member of the Education Activities Board, and was editor-in-chief of the IEEE eLearning Library.

Reisman served as the IEEE-CS Vice President of Publications in 2008-2009, and IEEE-CS Vice President of Electronic Products and Services in 2006–2007. Prior to his executive committee positions, he chaired and served on many IEEE-CS committees as member-at-large of the IEEE-CS Publications Board, chair of the Magazines Operations Committee, founding member of the Computer Society Digital Library (CSDL) Committee, and chair of the Web Development Committee.  He was an editorial board member of IEEE Software magazine, a founding editorial board member of IEEE Multimedia magazine, and IEEE IT Professional on which he is currently Advisory Board Chair.

Reisman received his EE degree, MA, and PhD in Computer Applications from the University of Toronto and was appointed a Fulbright Specialist in 2014.

The Merwin Award is given to individuals for outstanding volunteer service to the profession at large, including significant service to the Computer Society.  The Merwin Award is the IEEE-CS’s highest level volunteer service award, and consists of a bronze medal and a $5,000 honorarium.

The award will be presented at the IEEE-CS annual awards ceremony, to be held on 6 June 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Learn more about the Merwin Award, including past participants.