Gala Dinner - 50 Years of Computing at ANU

Date: Friday 29 April 2022
Time: 6.00pm arrival for a 6.30pm dinner
Location: Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia
WHO: ANU alumni, academics, and friends

Fifty years ago, 260 students enrolled in an introductory course called 'Computer Science B01'. Nowadays, we typically have over 1200 full time students. In between, we grew from a sub-department of the Department of Statistics to our own department (1976), and now, a School - the School of Computing at ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science. Just as they did five decades ago, our alumni continue to blaze trails across disciplines throughout Australia, and around the globe.

In recent years, our researchers led the global scientific community in the race to identify variants and develop vaccines for COVID19, twice set computational world records opening new frontiers for energy and medicine, and pioneered decsion-making software that will improve safety for helicopter rescue missions and allow robots to make decisions about new scenarios in much the way a human being does.

Please join us on 29th April 2022 for a celebration of early and recent accomplishments, and a discussion of future direction. This is our first opportunity to host a gala event since 2019, and we are working hard to make it a memorable one for you and for the computer science community.

Gala dinner highlights: 

• Learn about the history and future of computing with keynote speaker David Thodey AO (chair of the CSIRO Board, former CEO of Telstra, and current CEO of Xero);
• Hear from University leadership including Brian Schmidt, ANU Vice-Chancellor and President, and Nick Birbilis, Dean of ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science;
• Celebrate the announcement of our Jubilee Joint Fellowship recipients, by Professor Amanda Barnard AM;
• And enjoy a plated three-course dinner with local beer and wine from the Canberra district.

$50,000 for 50 years

To celebrate the gold anniversary of 50 years of Computing at ANU, we seek to raise a total of $50,000. This will be used to provide scholarship support to encourage a more diverse student body, including women, rural and remote populations.

The impact of your donation will be doubled, thanks to a generous anonymous donor who has offered to match gifts over $100 and under $25,000. 

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