CS&E Alumnus Ron Vetter Wins Richard E. Merwin Award for Distinguished Service from IEEE-CS

“I have been on the editorial board since 1995,”  Vetter says, “I was editor in chief for four years during which time the magazine was transformed into a completely digital format. We created podcasts, videos, and allowed authors to submit  software code along with their articles. This made the magazine much more accessible and dynamic.”

The Richard E. Merwin award is the highest level volunteer award granted by the Computer Society. An award is granted each year to those involved in the Computer Society. The award highlights and honors those who have made innovative and meaningful contributions either during or before the recipient's time at the IEEE Computer Society. 

Vetter is credited with putting together an exceptional editorial board, including many accomplished individuals in the computer science and engineering world. In addition to leading the direction of the publication, Vetter also has edited and written his own columns. 

Vetter credits his Ph.D. advisor, Professor David H.C. Du, with getting him started with Computer magazine.

“We published a paper in the February 1993 issue of Computer while I was a graduate student at the University of Minnesota," Vetter said. "The paper was highlighted on the cover of the publication, and that is what propelled me to the editorial board two years later."

Ron Vetter earned his B.S. and M.S. in computer science from North Dakota State University, Fargo. He completed his Ph.D. degree at the University of Minnesota. As a full professor of computer science at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, he has served as the department chair, chief research officer and dean of the graduate school. His research interests include mobile computing, computer and network security, digital forensics, and parallel and distributed systems.

For more information, read the IEEE Computer Society’s story on Ron Vetter.