The Journal of Functional Programming is pleased to establish the Richard Bird Distinguished Dissertation Award, to recognise an outstanding PhD dissertation in functional programming.
Richard Bird (1943-2022) was one of the leading figures in functional programming. He was a Professor in Oxford, where he founded the Algebra of Programming group, and served as Director of the Computing Laboratory. Richard is renowned for his many books and pearls on functional programming, which set a lasting standard for clear and elegant writing. It seems fitting that an award be established in his name to further encourage these values in the field.
The award includes a prize of £1,000. Funding for the prize
is supported by a generous donation from Richard himself
to further the cause of functional programming.
Eligible dissertations must have been completed in 2025. Depending on the institution, this may be the date of the viva, corrections being approved, graduation ceremony, or otherwise.
The award is open to all topics within the remit of JFP, with a particular emphasis on dissertations that reflect Richard's own values of clarity, simplicity and elegance. For a dissertation to be considered for the award it should:
Please submit the following information to the award chair, by 31st August 2026:
| Graham Hutton (chair) | University of Nottingham, UK |
| Matthew Flatt | University of Utah, USA |
| Jeremy Gibbons | University of Oxford, UK |
| François Pottier | INRIA, France |
| Wouter Swierstra | Utrecht University, The Netherlands |
| Ningning Xie | University of Toronto, Canada |
The JFP editors-in-chief serve as observers of the committee.