The 2024 SPEC Impact Award Winners
This award is given to individuals or a team that made significant contributions to a Group or a Committee.
Technical Leadership
James Bucek, Supporting Contributor
James Bucek has been a guiding force in the development of the SPEC CPU v8 benchmark for several years, including as the committee chair. In late 2022, James left his former employer but remained an active member of the committee as a supporting contributor, demonstrating his enduring commitment to the SPEC CPU v8 project. In 2023, he was reelected chair of the committee, reflecting the committee’s confidence in his ongoing leadership.
Public Outreach
Jessica Heerboth, NVIDIA
Jessica Heerboth spearheaded the launch of the new Graphics and Workstation Performance Group (GWPG) Public Outreach program, designed to engage user communities, so SPEC can develop the best possible benchmarks. SPECapc benchmark design requires workloads and content that are relevant and useful to users of a particular application, and the Public Outreach program is engaging with various user communities to request representative workloads and content that can be submitted to SPEC for potential inclusion in upcoming benchmarks. Jessica has touched every aspect of the program – from ideation, to document draft and design, to submission logistics and even the identification of channels for engagement, such as Reddit and application user forums. As part of this effort, Jessica is also actively collaborating with a leading 3D content creator to use their 3D models in upcoming benchmarks.
Technical Leadership
Rizu Jain, NVIDIA
Rizu Jain took ownership of the development of the new SPECapc for Creo 9 benchmark — the critical first update of the benchmark since Creo 3 — driving the new benchmark's creation from start to finish. Before this benchmark release, the Creo benchmark was significantly out of date, making it less and less relevant to the user community. As the lead designer and developer for this new benchmark, Rizu updated models to the current version of the application to reflect the application's support for vital new features, including generative design, real-time simulation, advanced manufacturing, industrial IoT and augmented reality. She created new test cases and updated old ones, introduced new models and tests, and ensured adequate testing and a timely release of the new benchmark.