The British Computer Society Information Retrieval Specialist Group (BCS IRSG) in conjunction with the BCS created an award in 2008 to commemorate the achievements of Karen Spärck Jones. Karen was Professor Emerita of Computers and Information at the University of Cambridge and one of the most remarkable and influential women in computer science.
The winner of the 2020 Award was Ahmed Hassan Awadallah, Principal Research Manager at Microsoft AI Research in Redmond, WA. Ahmed gave the Lecture associated with the Award at ECIR 2021