Richard A. DeMillo, the John P. Imlay Dean and Distinguished Professor of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has become a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest federation of scientists dedicated to the advancement of scientific and technological excellence. DeMillo is being honored for notable contributions to the fields of computer security, software engineering and mathematics, with particular emphasis on information security. DeMillo will officially accept the honor in February when more than 5,000 scientists, engineers, educators, policymakers and students gather in Washington D.C. for the 171th national meeting of AAAS.

The author of over 100 articles and books, DeMillo's research has spanned several fundamental areas of computer science and includes innovation in computer security, software engineering and mathematics. His present research interests focus on information security and nanotechnology, and he is active in many aspects of the IT industry. DeMillo serves on several technology company advisory boards and panels, and he also serves on the board of directors for RSA Security.

"This is a well deserved recognition," says Dr. Alan Leshner, Chief Executive Officer of AAAS and Executive Publisher of the journal Science. The rank of fellow is the highest awarded by the AAAS, bestowed upon a small fraction of members by their peers, because of their efforts to advance science or foster applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. DeMillo will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Saturday, February 19 at the 2005 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The Georgia Tech College of Computing houses one of the largest computer science programs in the country and provides high quality instruction that integrates computing knowledge into other academic disciplines, as well as aspects of daily life. The College of Computing is ranked 9th overall at the doctoral level, and houses several interdisciplinary research centers including the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC), the Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center (GVU), Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems (CERCS), and the Modeling & Simulation Research and Education Center (MSREC).

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) was founded in 1848, and serves some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. As publisher of the journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org), AAAS has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of one million. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more. For the latest research news, log onto www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.