Vincentian professor selected to receive 2014 Excellence in Science and Technology Award

He is a 2014 Professor Laureate at Colorado State University. The Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) will honour Robert B France, Ph.D. as a notable Caribbean-American, for Excellence in Science and Technology for his long-term commitment, leadership and achievements in Scientific Research, Education and Service.{{more}} Dr France will be presented with the award at the 21st Annual Caribbean American Heritage (CARAH) Award Gala, to be held on November 14 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

Of Vincentian heritage, Dr France was born in Jamaica, but raised in Guyana and St Vincent and the Grenadines. He is currently a full professor of Computer Science at Colorado State University, College of Natural Sciences, and is renowned for his work as a leading researcher in the area of model-based software engineering. Professor France’s research focuses on producing technologies for building highly reliable complex software systems, such as aircraft flight management systems, and targets safety-critical software in which failures can lead to loss of life or expose vulnerable sectors of society. Professor France is a highly regarded international speaker and has given numerous invited and keynote talks, tutorials and summer school lectures on his work across the world. He has been a visiting professor and researcher at UWI, Mona, Jamaica; University of Technology, Jamaica; Sintef, Norway; Lancaster University, UK; University of Rennes, France; University of Pau, France; University of Nice, France; and New University of Lisbon, Portugal. He has also worked with the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines on providing computer programming and network courses at the National Institute for Technology.

Professor France is a founding editor-in-chief of the Springer journal on Software and Systems Modeling. He has authored and published hundreds of collaborated journals and several books. Dr France has received numerous outstanding awards, including: (2008) a Ten Year Most Influential Paper, together with his collaborators’ 1998 paper, on formalizing the UML, a standard modelling language used in many industries to enable the development of safety-critical systems; (2013) one of five computer scientists from around the world awarded a five-year International Chair at INRIA, the French National Institute for research and Computational Sciences; (2014) a Senior Dahl-Nygaard Award, as pioneer and visionary, for his long-term research contributions to formalizing software modelling languages, by AITO, the international Computer Science non-profit research association. Professor France was also awarded a Colorado State University, College of Natural Sciences Professor Laureate in 2014.

The Excellence in Science and Technology Award recognizes an individual of Caribbean descent, who epitomizes commitment, leadership and unmatched contributions to expanding awareness about Science and Technology in the Caribbean and on the global stage. “We note your leadership and influence among the academic elite in your discipline of computer science at the global level. We also view with utmost respect, your commitment to promoting diversity through your champion of the next generation of programmers, by way of awards earned through research and for teaching at Colorado State University.

You make us extremely proud to claim you as one of us, and we wish to commend and honor you,” said ICS president and founder, Dr Claire Nelson.

Professor France will join six other extraordinary Caribbean-Americans who are being honoured by ICS for their accomplishments in art, culture, corporate stewardship, education, entrepreneurship and medicine.

Dr France is the son of Robert (Bobby) and Jeanette France of Kingstown Park, St Vincent and the Grenadines.