Dr. Frank Anger

Dr. Frank Anger, an outstanding national leader in the field of software engineering at the National Science Foundation, died in a tragic automobile accident on July 8, 2004.

Born and raised in suburban Chicago, he attended Glenbard High School in Glen Ellyn. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in mathematics from Princeton University. He then studied in Germany for a year as a Fulbright Scholar before earning his doctorate in mathematics at Cornell. A world-class fencer, Frank captained the Cornell team, was a two-time All-American in epee and NCAA Fencer of the Year in 1961, competed on two Pan-American teams, and was on the U.S. Olympic team in 1964. After earning his doctorate in mathematics at Cornell, Frank taught at the University of Puerto Rico, during which time he married Rita Rodriguez.

Frank has served as a faculty member in the departments of mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Kansas, the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and the University of Puerto Rico. Frank and Rita moved to Florida, where Frank served as a professor of computer science at the Florida Institute of Technology. Frank earned a second PhD, this time in computer science, at the university of Florida, and later served on the computer science faculty at the University of West Florida. In 1995, Frank joined the National Science Foundation in Washington.

At NSF, Frank directed the Software Engineering and Languages (SEL) Program for 5 years and played a key role in the Information Technology Research (ITR) Program. He co-chaired the Software Design and Productivity inter-agency committee. He advocated for a higher standard of scientific discipline in software-engineering research, including emphasis on credible empirical research and practical use of formal methods and of fundamental models of software processes and products. He served as Deputy Division Director of the Computer-Communications Research Division of NSF's CISE Directorate. One of Frank's primary goals was supporting the crossover of ideas among research communities engaged in software research and development. As an outstanding scientist and recognized national leader in computer science, he worked toward this goal until his untimely death in 2004.

In the spirit of his work and his legacy, the Executive Committees of SIGBED and SIGSOFT propose the establishment of a student travel award in the name of Dr. Frank Anger. The travel award will provide a stipend for two students, one named by each SIG, to attend the flagship conference of the other SIG. The intention of the proposed award is to improve the mutual awareness of the two research communities to the opportunities and challenges emerging in complementary research areas.