Martin Kersten, CEO and co-founder of MonetDB Solutions, CWI fellow, professor of University of Amsterdam, has been appointed as one of the 2016 fellows of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). Kersten was specifically selected for his work on the design and implementation of column store and main memory database systems. The award is a great scientific honour, as only 2 Dutch computer scientists (Edsger Dijkstra and Andrew Tanenbaum) have received this symbol of excellence prior to Kersten. The predecessors of Kersten also worked at CWI.
The ACM Fellows program was established in 1993 to recognise outstanding ACM members. The title of ACM Fellow denotes professional excellence, as evidenced by technical, professional and leadership contributions that: advance the arts, sciences and practices of computing, promote the free interchange of ideas and information in the field, develop and maintain the integrity and competence of individuals in the field, and advance the objectives of ACM.
“As nearly 100,000 computing professionals are members of our association, to be selected to join the top one percent is truly an honor,” explains ACM President Vicki L. Hanson. “Fellows are chosen by their peers and hail from leading universities, corporations and research labs throughout the world. Their inspiration, insights and dedication bring immeasurable benefits that improve lives and help drive the global economy. ”
Kersten joined CWI in 1985 where he established the Database Research Group. Kersten worked on advancing the technology for database management his entire scientific career. He has designed three generations of database management system kernels, two of which have reached the market. He is co-founder of several CWI spin-offs to spread the technology. The latest one, MonetDB Solutions supports a worldwide uptake of the group’s flag ship product MonetDB. For his work on columnar stores he received the internationally prestigious ACM SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd innovations Award in 2014 and the ACM SIGMOD Systems Award in 2016.