11 New Fellows Receives IBM’s Most Prestigious Award for Innovation in Cloud, Security and Analytics

IBM named 11 new IBM Fellows for its most prestigious technical recognition. The laureates were accorded for their disruptive work in the fields of cognitive computing, analytics, cloud, security, mobile and healthcare.

To be awarded IBM’s pre-eminent technical honor, an employee must meet four important criteria:

• Sustained innovation in some of the world’s most important technologies
• Significant recognition as a leader among IBM’s technical communities
• Broad industry acknowledgement of the individual’s accomplishments
• A strong history of new technologies and business models being deployed at scale

This year’s Fellows are transforming business and society with technical advancements, developments and research. For example, Director of IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences Research Ajay Royyuru are using Watson for Genomics to translate genomic variations in cancer to treatment options. IBM’s Chief Scientist for Medical Sieve Radiology Tanveer Syeda-Mahmood is developing automated, cognitive radiology and cardiology technology that is aimed at helping clinicians in their decision-making. Director of IBM Security Research JR Rao is addressing emerging challenges in security and privacy with cognitive computing, data and analytics. IBM Cloud Computing Scientist Gosia Steinder is greatly simplifying application lifecycle management with container cloud research.

“These extraordinary men and women join a select community made up of some of the world’s most creative thinkers,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and CEO. “Our new IBM Fellows play a critical role in defining the next era of technology, business and society, with vital contributions to IBM’s position as the world’s leading cognitive solutions and cloud platform company.”

The IBM Fellow distinction is conferred in recognition of exceptional and sustained technical achievements and leadership in engineering, programming, services, science, technology and industry solutions. Collectively, the 11 new Fellows have 172 patents.

Past IBM Fellows, who include a Kyoto Prize winner and five Nobel Prize winners, have fostered some of business and society’s most significant breakthroughs―from the IBM Watson cognitive system, to the systems that helped put the first man on the moon, and the first instrument to image atoms.

The program founded in 1962 by Thomas J. Watson, Jr. to promote creativity among the company’s most exceptional technical professionals. IBM has named 278 Fellows since the program’s inception. Collectively, IBM Fellows have 9,329 patents.