TFP Best Student Paper

The Trends in Functional Programming (TFP) series is committed to providing a supportive platform for young researchers in the challenging process of publishing their first papers. We firmly believe that the quality of research publications is greatly enhanced by providing constructive feedback and, when necessary, extra guidance to the authors through the various stages of publication.

Our publication cycle is tailored to facilitate this process. The TFP model of publication, unlike the traditional conference publication model, produces an informal draft proceedings which is available at the symposium and a formal proceedings which is published post-symposium. For the draft proceedings we invite full-length papers without requiring that these papers go through a formal review process. This fosters opportunities for the latest research to be presented and openly discussed at the symposium. There is, however, a screening phase to ensure that submissions in the scope of TFP and of an acceptable academic standard. After the symposium, authors are given the opportunity to revise their papers before submitting to the formal review process. Before submitting to the formal review process, authors may take advantage of the feedback they received at the symposium to improve their papers. During the formal review process the program committee selects, using prevailing academic standards, the best papers that are publication-ripe to be included in the formal proceedings. At the discretion of the program committee, some papers may be shepherded to improve the presentation of a valuable contribution. Throughout the entire TFP publication cycle, the aim is to be as supportive as possible especially to new upcoming researchers.

As a testimony to our commitment of supporting early career researchers and to acknowledge their valuable contributions to new trends in our community, each year the program committee selects one submission as the best student paper. To be considered a student paper the majority of the work described in the submission must have been performed by the student. Co-authorship with senior peers, per se, does not prevent the paper from being considered a student paper.

Since 2012 we give out an overall best paper award:

Since 2014, we associate these awards with leaders in the functional programming community that had a lasting impact on the development of functional programming languages.

Our thanks go to David Turner and to the family of John McCarthy for supporting Trends in Functional Programming in this way.

Below is a list of the best student papers since 2004: