The Roger Needham award is awarded by the British Computer Society for distinguished research contribution in computer science by a UK based researcher within ten years of their PhD.

Jane Hillston is the first computer scientist in the UK to be awarded this prestigious prize for her revolutionary new software modelling language called PEPA, that predicts performance related problems at software design stage.

PEPA has found many applications in rich and varied contexts. In addition to its usual use in computer systems performance modelling, PEPA has been used to analyse the performance of locks and movable bridges in inland shipping on the Belgian ZeeKanaal channel between Brussels and the River Scheldt. One of the hallmarks of a genuinely useful modelling language is that it finds applications far beoyond its original domain of application.

Jane Hillston's award was announced a the first Grand Challenges in Computing conference, a joint BCS/CPHC event in Newcastle. At a special awards ceremony she was presented with a cheque for 5,000 by Luca Cardelli, Assistand Director of Microsoft Research Cambridge, and has been invited to present a public lecture on her research at the Royal Society in November this year.

The award is established by the British Computer Society to encourage and recognise personal endeavour in Computer Science, and sponsored by Microsoft Research Cambridge, in memory of Roger Needham, Microsoft Cambridge's first director of research.