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CRA Bulletin

The CRA Bulletin frequently shares news, timely information about CRA initiatives, and items of interest to the general community.
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Posts categorized under: People

CRA Board Secretary Greg Morrisett Named Dean of Cornell Tech

June 7, 2019/In: Featured Announcements, People /

Today, Cornell University announced that CRA Board Secretary Greg Morrisett has been named the Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost of Cornell Tech, effective August 1. Morrisett is currently the dean of Computing and Information Sciences at Cornell University and an international expert in software security. He joined the CRA board of directors in 2012 and has served two year terms on the executive committee as board secretary. Morrisett has also been a member of the CCC Council since 2017.

CRA Board Member Mark D. Hill Receives Top Computer Architecture Award

June 5, 2019/In: Featured Announcements, People /

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and IEEE Computer Society recently announced that CRA Board Member and CCC Chair Mark D. Hill of the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the recipient of the 2019 Eckert-Mauchly Award. Hill was cited for contributions to the design and evaluation of memory systems and parallel computers. The Eckert-Mauchly Award is known as the computer architecture community’s most prestigious award.

Former CRA Board Chair Dan Reed Appointed to the National Science Board

May 13, 2019/In: People /

Today, President Trump announced his intent to appoint former CRA Board Chair Daniel A. Reed to the National Science Board (NSB). Reed will serve as a member of the NSB for the remainder of a six-year term, expiring May 10, 2024. He is currently senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Utah. Reed served on the CRA board of directors from 1999-2009.

Former Board Member Lance Fortnow Designated Dean of Illinois Tech College of Science

May 6, 2019/In: CRA, People /

Former CRA Board Member Lance Fortnow will take over as dean of the College of Science at Illinois Institute of Technology on August 15. Fortnow is currently professor and chair of the School of Computer Science of the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also a former member of the CCC Council.

Former CRA Board Chair James Foley Inducted into Georgia Tech College of Computing Hall of Fame

April 29, 2019/In: People /

Recently, former CRA Board Chair James Foley was inducted into the 2019 Georgia Tech College of Computing Hall of Fame. He was one of six luminaries from the Georgia Tech computing community inducted this year.

CRA Board Member Charles Isbell Named Dean of College of Computing at Georgia Tech

April 1, 2019/In: Featured Announcements, People /

CRA Board Member Charles Isbell has been named the next dean and John P. Imlay Jr. Chair in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, effective July 1. Isbell serves as the AAAI representative to the CRA Board.

Board Member Highlight: CRA Board Member Ran Libeskind-Hadas

March 22, 2019/In: Research, People, CRA Board of Directors, Education, Board Member Profiles /

My research explores algorithmic methods for determining whether a pair of species are likely to have coevolved and, if so, finding the “best” scenarios that explain their evolutionary histories. This work explores the computational complexity of these reconciliation problems, seeks to develop efficient reconciliation algorithms where possible, and, ultimately, to implement these algorithms in practical tools for biologists and educators.

2019 CRA Board Election Results and FY20 Executive Committee

March 5, 2019/In: Featured Announcements, People, CRA Board of Directors /

CRA members have elected three new members to its board of directors: Lorrie Cranor, Divesh Srivastava and Marvin Theimer. The CRA board of directors has elected new board officers to serve two-year terms beginning July 1, 2019. At the February board meeting, Ellen Zegura was elected chair; Nancy Amato was elected vice-chair; Ran Libeskind-Hadas was elected secretary; and James Allan was elected treasurer.

2019 CRA Distinguished Service and A. Nico Habermann Awardees Announced

March 1, 2019/In: Featured Announcements, People, Diversity, Mentoring, Awards, A. Nico Habermann, Distinguished Service /

The CRA board of directors is pleased to announce its selections for the 2019 CRA Awards.
Edward Felten – Distinguished Service Award Winner
Maria Gini – A. Nico Habermann Award Winner

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: NSF Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering

February 11, 2019/In: Featured Announcements, People, NSF /

The National Science Foundation is initiating a national search for the Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).

New York Times Article on High Demand for Computer Science Professors

January 24, 2019/In: Featured Announcements, People /

Today’s New York Times features an article “The Hard Part of Computer Science? Getting Into Class.” The story explores how the increasing student demand for computer science courses is outstripping the supply of professors. The article cites CRA Taulbee data and quotes several current and former CRA board members.

CRA Board Member Highlight: Jaime Teevan

November 9, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, CRA Board of Directors, Board Member Profiles /

Research shows that it takes 25 minutes to reach full productivity after an interruption, yet we are interrupted every 3 minutes. And even without external interruptions, our focus is fragmented. We look at any given desktop window for an average of only 40 seconds, constantly self-interrupting to check email or Facebook. We also try to complete multiple tasks at once, even though we all know that multitasking typically fails. Our tendency to be easily distracted kept our hunter-and-gatherer ancestors alive when they needed to attend to potential predators, but now, in the safety of our offices, it is amazing we manage to get anything done. Chances are you won’t even read this entire article in one go.

Former Board Member Sarita Adve Named Recipient of the ACM-IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award

October 31, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, Awards, ACM /

Former CRA Board Member Sarita Adve (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) was recently named the 2018 recipient of the ACM-IEEE CS Ken Kennedy Award. She is being recognized “for research contributions and leadership in the development of memory consistency models for C++ and Java, for service to numerous computer science organizations, and for exceptional mentoring.” […]

Why Women (and Everyone Else) Should Code

August 16, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, Diversity, Mentoring, CRA-W /

Stuart Reges’ recent article entitled “Why Women Don’t Code” elicited strong reactions. I am a colleague of Reges’ in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington (UW). Like a number of my colleagues, I found myself surprised and troubled by his article.

Congratulations to Ayanna Howard – 2018 Richard Tapia Award Winner

August 8, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, Diversity, CRA Board of Directors /

CRA and CRA-W Board Member Ayanna Howard was recently named the recipient of the 2018 Richard A. Tapia Achievement Award for Scientific Scholarship, Civic Science and Diversifying Computing from the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology (CMD-IT). “The Richard A. Tapia Award is awarded annually to an individual who demonstrates significant research leadership and strong commitment and contributions to diversifying computing.

CRA Board Member Highlight: Carla Brodley

July 31, 2018/In: CRA, Featured Announcements, People, Diversity, CRA Board of Directors, Board Member Profiles /

For the past 30 years I have had two passions – machine learning (ML) that makes a difference in the real world and increasing diversity in computer science (CS). For the first 26 years, I focused on my first passion and developed new approaches to ML though applications to remote sensing, neuroscience, digital libraries, astrophysics, content-based image retrieval of medical images, computational biology, chemistry, evidence-based medicine, detecting lesions in the MRIs of epilepsy patients, and predicting disease progression for MS patients. For the last four years, my focus has been on my second passion: increasing diversity in CS.

CRA Board Member Nancy Amato to Head University of Illinois Department of Computer Science

July 13, 2018/In: People, Diversity, CRA Board of Directors /

Recently, Nancy Amato, a robotics expert and CRA board member, was selected to lead the University of Illinois Department of Computer Science. She will be the first woman to hold this position at the University.

Mary Fernández Receives 2018 Service to CRA Award

May 17, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, Diversity, Awards, CRA Board of Directors, CRA-W, Conference at Snowbird /

The Computing Research Association (CRA) is pleased to honor Mary Fernández with the 2018 Service to CRA Award for her work in transforming the visual identity and communications of the organization. Mary was a member of the CRA Board from 2009 to 2015, during which time she spearheaded several key initiatives to re-brand and revitalize communications.

Jan Cuny Receives 2017 ACM Distinguished Service Award

May 15, 2018/In: CRA, Featured Announcements, People, Diversity, For Researchers, CRA Board of Directors /

Recently ACM announced that former CRA and CRA-W board member Jan Cuny has been named the recipient of the 2017 ACM Distinguished Service Award. She received the award for the establishment and tireless promotion of projects that have nationally transformed computer science education by increasing and diversifying access to high-quality CS education. From the announcement: When she joined […]

SAVE THE DATE: An NSF/CISE Workshop for Department Chairs at Snowbird

May 11, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, Diversity /

As you prepare to attend the biennial CRA Conference at Snowbird, we invite you to join an important event that is being organized by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) on Monday, July 16, 2018, from 10:00am to 1:00pm, in Salt Lake City, UT (this event will take place just prior to the main conference, and just a short distance away from Snowbird). This three-hour workshop will be an opportunity for the CISE community – and as department chairs, you all are a key part of this community! – to gather regarding a new effort on Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC). This effort involves the NSF/CISE core research programs, as well as the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace and Cyber-Physical Systems programs. The effort therefore impacts nearly all faculty who submit proposals to NSF/CISE.

Dan Reed Named Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Utah

April 30, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People /

Former CRA Board Chair Dan Reed has been named senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Utah.

CRA-E Showcases Stories of Undergraduate Researchers on its Conquer Website

March 22, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, For Students, Education /

CRA-E’s new “Undergraduate Research Highlights” series showcases outstanding research done by undergraduate students at universities and colleges across North America. Each article features the story of a successful undergraduate researcher and offers personal insights into their experiences with finding an advisor, undertaking new research projects, and discovering how research can impact their personal and professional futures.

CRA Board Member Farnam Jahanian Named President of Carnegie Mellon University

March 8, 2018/In: CRA, Featured Announcements, Research, People, CRA Board of Directors /

CRA Board Member Farnam Jahanian has been named President of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). From 2011 to 2014, Jahanian served as Assistant Director (AD) for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In 2015, he was elected to the CRA Board of Directors and also received the CRA Distinguished Service Award. Jahanian is currently […]

CRA Welcomes Daniela Cárdenas

February 23, 2018/In: CRA, Featured Announcements, People, CRA-W /

CRA has recently hired Daniela Cárdenas as a program assistant. In her new role, Daniela supports CRA and CRA-W program activities with administrative and logistical matters such as planning meetings, workshops, outreach activities, and committee support.

Michael Ernst and Catherine Putonti Receive the 2018 CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award

February 12, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, Mentoring, Awards, For Researchers, Education, CRA-E Faculty Mentoring Award /

The Education Committee of the Computing Research Association (CRA-E) is proud to announce two recipients of the 2018 CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award: Michael Ernst from the University of Washington in Seattle and Catherine Putonti from Loyola University in Chicago.

Meeting the Needs of Individuals with Disabilities- Accessible Computing

January 24, 2018/In: Featured Announcements, People, For Researchers, CRA Board of Directors, Board Member Profiles /

My research focuses on empowering individuals through computing technologies that more effectively match their knowledge, experience, abilities, and goals. The majority of my recent research has focused on accessibility-related issues. Working with my students, our research employs a broad definition of accessibility, seeking to empower individuals with disabilities as well as individuals who may experience challenges due to the environment in which they are using computing technologies.

CRA Executive Director Andrew Bernat Elected 2017 AAAS Fellow

November 20, 2017/In: CRA, Featured Announcements, People, CRA Board of Directors /

CRA Executive Director Andrew Bernat, board member H.V. Jagadish and former board member M. Tamer Özsu have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

New Approaches to Producing High-Performance Code, Thanks to Compiler Technology

November 16, 2017/In: CRA, People, For Researchers, CRA Board of Directors, Board Member Profiles, Profiles in Computing /

What does it take to produce application code that performs as close as possible to a parallel architecture’s compute or memory peak performance? This question is one that programmers of high-performance architectures contemplate regularly since using such systems efficiently can solve problems faster, or solve larger or more complex problems.

This question fundamentally changes the approach to programming.

Gender Diversity Article in Computer Architecture Today

October 11, 2017/In: Featured Announcements, People, Diversity, CERP, For Researchers, CRA-W /

Recently, CRA board member Kim Hazelwood (Facebook) and Natalie Enright Jerger (University of Toronto) published an article in Computer Architecture Today that analyzed gender diversity in the sub-discipline. CRA’s Jane Stout provides her commentary.

CRA Board Member Highlight: IEEE Honors Susan Davidson With TCDE Impact Award

September 29, 2017/In: Featured Announcements, People, Awards, For Researchers, CRA Board of Directors, Board Member Profiles, Profiles in Computing /

This year, CRA Board Chair Susan Davidson received the IEEE TCDE Impact Award for “expanding the reach of data engineering within scientific disciplines.” In this interview, Davidson reveals how her interest in bioinformatics came about and how her career led to this award. Two of her favorite problems have been data integration and data provenance.