The European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS) named Michael Bender as a 2023 EATCS Fellow.  He was recognized for "fundamental contributions in bringing theoretical computer science techniques to practical problems and systems."

Founded in 1972, EATCS is the leading organization in charge of research and education in Theoretical Computer Science in Europe. EATCS arranges some of the most prestigious conferences in the field, such as ICALP, and acknowledges exceptional contributions to the discipline through different accolades, such as the EATCS Fellow award. The selection process for this honor is extremely competitive, and only a select few researchers are recognized with this distinction.

As colleague Dominik Kempa writes, "This is a tremendous honor and one of the most highly regarded titles awarded only to the most distinguished scientists in the field of Theoretical Computer Science!" 

Michael Bender is a professor and David R. Smith Leading Scholar in Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University. His research interests lie in algorithms, data structures, parallel computing, I/O efficient computing, storage systems, and scheduling. Bender earned a PhD in computer science at Harvard University and is currently leading the department’s Honors Program.