CRA Bulletin

The CRA Bulletin frequently shares news, timely information about CRA initiatives, and items of interest to the general community.
Subscribe to the RSS feed to stay connected.


Posts categorized under: CRA

CRA’s mission is to enhance innovation by joining with industry, government and academia to strengthen research and advanced education in computing. CRA executes this mission by leading the computing research community, informing policymakers and the public, and facilitating the development of strong, diverse talent in the field.


2016-fall-congressional-fly-in2016-fall-congressional-fly-in

Computing Researchers Travel to D.C. to Make the Case for Computing


On September 14, 21 computing researchers from across the country visited Washington, D.C. to make the case before Congress for federally funded computing research. The volunteers, traveling from as near as Maryland and Pennsylvania, and as far away as Utah and California, participated in nearly 50 House and Senate meetings. Their message to Congress was very simple: Federally supported computing research is vital to the nation’s future. Using their own research and individual stories as support, and reinforced with additional information from CRA, they made the “Federal case” for computing to members of Congress and their staff. Just as important as the message they presented, they also made valuable connections with the officials who represent them in D.C. Those members now know more about the expertise and interesting (and important) computing work that occurs in their districts and states, and our participants have a better sense of just who represents them in Congress. And they’ve hopefully started a lasting dialogue on both sides.

2016 CRA Taulbee Survey Schedule


The 2016 CRA Taulbee Survey will be starting soon. As we did last year, the survey will be split into two parts, salary and main (everything else). This allows us to set an earlier deadline for the salary section in order to produce a preliminary salary report in December, while giving departments more time to collect and enter the information in the rest of the survey.

The schedule will be as follows:
By September 9: All doctoral departments will be contacted to update Taulbee user information. The academic unit head will receive an email and so will the Taulbee primary contact, if separate.
September 13: PDF will be available for data gathering.
September 27: Both sections of the Taulbee will open for input.
November 18: Due date for salary section.
December 19: Preliminary salary report available.
January 18, 2017: Due date for the main Taulbee section.
April 2017: Full Taulbee report to CRA members and participating departments.
May 2017: Published in CRN.
If you have any questions, contact Betsy Bizot at bizot@cra.org.

SnowbirdSnowbird

Reading Discussion Groups at the CRA Conference at Snowbird


We are excited to introduce a new discussion session at the 2016 CRA Conference at Snowbird that will facilitate dialogues about a number of thought-provoking topics in computing research. The group discussions will be based on the articles and books in this post. The session is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, July 19, so begin the final day of the conference with some stimulating conversation.

Cover Annual Report FY 2015Cover Annual Report FY 2015

CRA FY 2015 Annual Report Now Available


The Computing Research Association (CRA) had a very productive year in FY 2014-15, making great strides in our mission areas of policy, leadership and talent development. We are pleased to announce CRA’s annual report is now available for downloading as a PDF file. This report is a vignette of the diverse activities of CRA and its members. Please take a few moments view some of the highlights from the past year. CRA would also like to thank our generous volunteers who donate their valuable time and energy to ensure our programs are successful.

SnowbirdSnowbird

Reading Group Breakouts at the Conference at Snowbird


We are excited to introduce a new discussion session at the 2016 CRA Conference at Snowbird that will facilitate dialogues about a number of thought-provoking topics in computing research. The group discussions will be based on the articles and books in this post. The session is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, July 19, so begin the final day of the conference with some stimulating conversation.

CRA Best Practice Memo: Response to Surge in Postdocs


By Shar Steed, CRA Communications Specialist Similar to how we are currently facing a boom in undergraduate computer science enrollments, several years ago, the field encountered an exponential increase in postdoctoral appointments. In a Communications of the ACM Viewpoint article from February 2013, The Explosive Growth of Postdocs in Computer Science, Anita Jones wrote, “The […]

Kathryn McKinleyKathryn McKinley

CRA Women Celebrates Women’s History Month


As CRA-W celebrates Women’s History Month, we decided to highlight a CRA-W board member who is a leader in the field of compilers and computer architecture – Kathryn McKinley. As both an academic (University of Texas at Austin) and industry employee (Microsoft), Kathryn has had the opportunity to broaden participation in computing across our community by spearheading programs that increase the number and success of women and underrepresented groups.

2016 CRA Distinguished Service and A. Nico Habermann Awardees Announced


The CRA Board of Directors is pleased to announce its selections for the 2016 CRA Awards. Maria Klawe was selected as the 2016 recipient of the CRA Distinguished Service Award for her tireless commitment to and profound impact on the computing research community. Ayanna Howard was selected as the recipient of the 2016 A. Nico Habermann Award Winner for her sustained commitment to increasing diversity, combined with her distinction in research.

CRA Committee Member Accomplishments


10 women in networking/communications that you should know Congratulations to two CCC Council Members Jennifer Rexford and Klara Nahrstedt for being named “10 women in networking/communications that you should know.” Click here to read more: http://n2women.comsoc.org/10-women-in-networkingcommunications-that-you-should-know/   2016 IEEE – Fellows IEEE recently announced their list of 2016 elevated Fellows. CRA and CRA-W Board member […]

Headshot of Susanne HambruschHeadshot of Susanne Hambrusch

CRA Board Member Profile: Susanne Hambrusch


CRA is honored to have a prestigious group of computing researchers serve on its Board of Directors. These individuals volunteer their time to run CRA’s programs and committees and to develop and lead new initiatives. In this new series, CRA Board Member Profiles, we will highlight our board members and their contributions to the organization. Following is a profile on CRA Vice Chair Susanne Hambrusch.

CRA Women Undergraduate Town Hall


CRA-W’s Virtual Undergraduate Town Hall webinar is an online mentoring event where students learn about cutting edge research in computing and how to get involved with undergraduate research. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with distinguished computer scientists on topics such as professional development, reasons for pursuing a research career, and how to get into graduate school.

Congrats to Incoming IEEE-CS President Jean-Luc Gaudiot!


CRA Board Member Jean-Luc Gaudiot was recently elected to be the 2017 president of IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS). Jean-Luc (University of California – Irvine) has served on the CRA Board for several years as the IEEE-CS representative and is currently a member of the CRA Education Committee. Jean-Luc Gaudiot has been an active member of the IEEE […]

julia-stoyanovich-headshotjulia-stoyanovich-headshot

Career Mentoring Workshop: a participant’s perspective


CRA is gearing up for its biennial Career Mentoring Workshop (CMW) on February 22-23, 2016. The CRA CMW is a great opportunity for assistant professors, and individuals just starting as industrial researchers in the computing and information fields to get career advice and participate in mentoring activities. To get a first hand perspective on what to expect, I spoke with Julia Stoyanovich, from Drexel University. Julia has been fortunate enough to attend two workshops. She attended her first workshop in 2012 as part of the Computing Innovation Fellows program, followed by the 2014 workshop as an assistant professor at Drexel University.

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum Nomination Process Open


The following is a special contribution the CRA Bulletin by ACM CEO Bobby Schnabel.  Dear Colleague, I’m writing to seek your help in generating awareness of and interest in the Fourth Heidelberg Laureate Forum. The Heidelberg Laureate Forum was created by the Klaus Tschira Foundation, the Heidelberg Institute of Theoretical Studies, ACM, the International Mathematical Union, and […]

Application Open for CRA-W Grad Cohort 2016


CRA-W is now accepting applications for Grad Cohort 2016, a 2-day workshop during which participants will learn graduate school survival skills, receive mentoring, and develop networks with senior female computing researchers. This is a great opportunity for female graduate students to build mentoring relationships and develop peer networks to form the foundation of their graduate career and beyond.

House STEM Education Caucus Briefing on Building a STEM Education Pipeline for Industry Needs


Earlier this week, the House STEM Education Caucus sponsored a briefing for Congressional staff titled, “Building a STEM Education Pipeline Aligned with Industry Needs: Perspectives from the Field.” The briefing was moderated by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and partnered with CRA, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). The briefing focused on ways […]

BRAID LogoBRAID Logo

Call for applications – Become a BRAID affiliate school


BRAID is now accepting applications for up to five new BRAID affiliate schools. Affiliates are schools that are working toward implementing BRAID commitments to increase diversity in their computing departments but are not receiving funding through the initiative. Affiliates will be eligible to receive consultation from Harvey Mudd College and NCWIT. In addition, affiliates will have the opportunity to be a part of a network of other BRAID schools and to share and learn best practices from one another in increasing diversity in computing departments. It is required that this work be led by the Department Chair who will be the main liaison on the BRAID project. Department Chairs from affiliates will be expected to attend the annual BRAID Summit, which will occur July 15-17, 2016 in Snowbird, Utah.

BRAID/CRA Collaboration to Study and Evaluate Diversity Initiatives in Computing


CRA’s Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP) will be working with Linda Sax, Professor of Education at UCLA, and a team of graduate students, on the research component of the Building Recruiting and Inclusion for Diversity (BRAID) initiative. The BRAID initiative was established in 2014 by Harvey Mudd College and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, and currently involves 15 computing departments across the U.S. that are committed to recruiting and retaining women as well as underrepresented men in computing majors. To that end, BRAID departments implement changes to their introductory computer science courses, and pathways into the major, as well as improve departmental climate, and promote outreach efforts for students.

Call For Nominations – 2016 Alan T. Waterman Award


The National Science Foundation (NSF) is now accepting nominations for the 2016 Alan T. Waterman award, the NSF’s highest honor. This annual award recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science or engineering supported by the National Science Foundation. In addition to a medal, the awardee receives a grant of $1,000,000 over a five-year period for scientific research or advanced study in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, social, or other sciences at the institution of the recipient’s choice.

New CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award


CRA is pleased to announce a new award program that honors faculty members in computing who have made a significant impact on students they have mentored. The CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award recognizes faculty members who have provided exceptional mentorship and undergraduate research experiences, and, in parallel, guidance on admission and matriculation of these students […]

person holding ipadperson holding ipad

CRA-W Undergraduate Town Hall October 8


CRA-Women invites undergraduate students for to the Virtual Undergraduate Town Hall Event on Thursday, October 8, at 5pm ET. This event will be a webinar style discussion with A.J. Bernheim Brush, Senior Researcher at Microsoft. A.J. will begin the event with a presentation about her current research on Inventing Technology for Homes and Families. This is […]

Call for Nominations: NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing in Computer Science


This year, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Award for Scientific Reviewing will recognize a person in the field of computer science who has contributed to surveying the literature. The winner will receive a $20,000 award.

“The NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing has been presented annually since 1979 to recognize authors, whose reviews have synthesized extensive and difficult material, rendering a significant service to science and influencing the course of scientific thought.”

Opportunities for Students


Call for participation: Explore Graduate Studies in CSE Workshop October 17, 2015 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor http://cse.umich.edu/Explore_Grad_Studies_2015/ The goal of this workshop is to help undergraduates better prepare for the graduate school application process and broaden participation in computing research.  Students can apply online by clicking here. *Travel Awards* are available. Women and underrepresented […]

Towards Big Steps Enabled by Big Data Science


Towards Big Steps Enabled by Big Data Science Two workshops on big data in education were organized. The first workshop, held in January, focused on case studies of effective partnerships outside of education between big data producers and consumers (see below for the agenda and slides). The second workshop held in early June and focused on case […]