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Tag Archive: CRA

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CSGrad4US: Second Year Call for NSF Fellowship Opportunity for CS Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree Holders to Return for PhD

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NSFThis post was originally published in CRA Bulletin on April 4, 2022 here.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate has announced the second year of the CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship program.

Goal and Motivation To increase the number of diverse, domestic graduate students pursuing research and innovation careers in the CISE fields. The fellowship program, which will provide 3-year fellowship opportunities for new Ph.D. students in the computing disciplines, was released in response to the increased demand for people with a Ph.D. in CISE fields, the continued decrease of domestic students pursuing research and completing a Ph.D., and the overall small number of bachelor’s degree recipients in CS pursuing graduate school. In particular, the percentage of domestic Ph.D. students in Computer Science graduating has decreased from 69% in 1985 to 37% in 2018 [1].

NSF seeks candidates from a broad array of backgrounds and strongly encourages women, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders, and persons with disabilities to apply.

Benefits

  • A year-long preparation program, organized by CRA-E and CRA-WP, in which individuals selected for the Fellowship will receive mentoring support in identifying a graduate program, finding a research mentor, and applying to graduate programs; during this year, the individuals will also have opportunities to form a network with one another and with faculty advisors;
  • For those who enroll in an accredited doctoral degree-granting program at an institution of higher education having a campus located in the United States, its territories or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an annual stipend of $34,000 for three years out of five; and

  • Cost-of-education allowance of $12,000 per year for the three years noted above to the institution of higher education.

Timeline and Eligibility
The 2022 solicitation has expanded the eligibility rules. In particular, applicants must have graduated with a bachelor’s degree in a CISE field before June 30, 2021, and can have received an MS degree.  Applications for the CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship are due June 30, 2022.

Please visit https://www.nsf.gov/cise/CSGrad4US/ for all eligibility criteria and additional details and deadlines.
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[1] Addressing the National Need for Increasing the Domestic Ph.D. Yield in Computer Science. Susanne Hambrusch, Lori Pollock, Ran Libeskind-Hadas, and Christine Alvarado, Quadrennial Paper, CRA, November 2020.

Help us publicize this unique opportunity by…

  • Forwarding this email to your faculty and alums
  • Posting on your Social Media

Submit your 2022 BPC-related events to the BPCnet.org Community Calendar

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BPCnet.org is accepting submissions for BPC-related activities and events to the BPC Community Calendar. If you would like your event to be advertised on the calendar, please submit them here.

If you have any questions about the BPC Community Calendar or any event found there, contact the BPCnet.org team at bpcinfo@cra.org.

BPCnet.org Resource Portal is an initiative of the Computing Research Association (CRA) with support from the National Science Foundation (CNS-1830364, CNS-2032231, and CNS-1940460). Subscribe to the BPCnet.org newsletter & bulletin by clicking here.

Register for This Year’s Final Departmental BPC Plan Working Session

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BPCnet.org will be hosting its last working session for this year on Thursday, November 18th, 2021, from 3:00 PM- 5:00 PM ET. The session will assist participants with updating their existing Departmental BPC Plan or creating a new one to meet the updated National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate of Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) guidelines. You can review the details of the session and register prior to Thursday, November 11th.

 

If you are unable to participate in the working session, we encourage you to schedule a free appointment with our BPC consultants before the December 1st, 2021 – December 22nd, 2021 proposal window deadline for NSF CISE Core Medium projects.

 

Questions about these Departmental BPC Plan Working Sessions should be directed to bpcinfo@cra.org or through our contact form.

 

BPCnet.org has the full announcement about the changes to BPC Plan requirements from NSF.

BPCnet.org Resource Portal is an initiative of the Computing Research Association (CRA) with support from the National Science Foundation (CNS-1830364, CNS-2032231, and CNS-1940460). Subscribe to the BPCnet.org newsletter & bulletin by clicking here.

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CRA-WP 2022 Distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates (DREU) – Applications Open!

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The CRA-WP Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates (DREU) program matches students with a faculty mentor for a summer research experience at the faculty mentor’s home institution. We invite applications from both (a) undergraduate students interested in exploring research in computer science and (b) faculty members interested in being a research mentor.

DREU interns will have the opportunity to be directly involved in a research project and interact with graduate students and professors on a daily basis. This experience is invaluable for those who are considering graduate school; DREU will provide a close-up view of what graduate school is really like and increase interns’ competitiveness as an applicant for graduate admissions and fellowships. Faculty mentors will have the opportunity to work on their research project with new students from other institutions and to mentor future graduate students.

Application Link:
https://www.abstractscorecard.com/cfp/submit/login.asp?EventKey=HHZUSJCT

Application Period:

October 15, 2021 – February 15, 2022

Learn More: 

Hear from previous attendees: https://youtu.be/363fwY4ZwTk

 

This community update is brought to you by the CRA’s Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP). CERP provides social science research and comparative evaluation for the computing community. Subscribe to the CERP newsletter & bulletin by clicking here. Volunteer for Data Buddies by signing up here.

Attend Upcoming Departmental BPC Plan Working Sessions from BPCnet.org

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate of Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) announced an updated Core Programs solicitation (NSF 21-616) with new guidelines for submitting Project Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Plans. BPCnet.org has a full announcement about these changes published here.

All Medium project proposals to the Core Programs solicitation (NSF 21-616) are due December 1, 2021 – December 22, 2021. In preparation for the proposal due date, BPCnet.org is hosting two working sessions on October 22nd (2:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET) and November 18th (3:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET).

These working sessions will be tailored toward departments that are seeking to update an existing Departmental BPC Plan or create a new one.

More details, along with an agenda and registration, can be found here on BPCnet.org.

Questions about these Departmental BPC Plan Working Sessions should be directed to bpcinfo@cra.org or through our contact form here.

 

 

BPCnet.org Resource Portal is an initiative of the Computing Research Association (CRA) with support from the National Science Foundation (CNS-1830364, CNS-2032231, and CNS-1940460). Subscribe to the BPCnet.org newsletter & bulletin by clicking here.

Taulbee, Talent, and Trends: CRA Session at Upcoming DOE ASCAC Meeting

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The Computing Research Association (CRA) will be represented by CRA staff (Betsy Bizot, Erik Russell, and Burçin Tamer) and CRA-WP Co-Chairs (Sandhya Dwarkadas and Amanda Stent) during the upcoming U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee (ASCAC) meeting. In their session entitled “Taulbee, Talent, and Trends”, the CRA team will be discussing trends in the computing research pipeline over time, the ways in which CRA supports that pipeline, and how CRA collects data to track that progression. You can catch “Taulbee, Talent, and Trends” from 1:00-1:45 PM ET this Thursday, September 30, 2021.

Click here to view the full agenda for the meeting held from September 29-30. The full meeting information, including the Zoom link, can be found here.

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CRA Executive Director Andrew Bernat Retires After Nearly Two Decades of Leadership

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After nearly 20 years at the helm of the Computing Research Association, Executive Director Andrew Bernat has retired from his position, marking the close of his incredible career that has spanned more than 40 years. Over the course of his career, he was founding member and chair of the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas at El Paso, a NSF Program Director and finally executive director of CRA since 2002. Under his leadership the association has seen a dramatic, positive transformation, more than tripling in size and launching significant new efforts in research visioning, widening participation, and postgraduate support, while remaining the organization of record for computing research issues in Washington policy circles.

At the July CRA board meeting, Bernat reflected on how he has seen the organization evolve over the past two decades. During his tenure, CRA has seen incredible growth – strengthened its financial position, expanded scope of initiatives and increased staffing support. He also recognized CRA’s shift to becoming more active in leading the computing community.

CRA would like to thank Bernat for all he has done for the organization and the computing field. In recognition of his many years of service, CRA staff organized a Hawaiian luau themed farewell party and surprised him at a virtual staff meeting with a custom Zoom background in his honor. He will be greatly missed!

Peter Harsha, CRA’s Director of Government Affairs, will serve as CRA’s Interim Executive Director while the search for Bernat’s successor continues.

Attend the Upcoming BPC Plan Panel at Tapia Conference

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Are you attending the CMD-IT/ACM Richard Tapia Conference? If so, please consider attending “The NSF’s BPC Initiative: Resources and Opportunities to Contribute” on Wednesday, September 15 from 1:30 – 2:15 CDT!

Dr. Burçin Tamer, Director of CERP, will be moderating a panel of BPC experts and NSF representative to discuss the National Science Foundation’s BPC Plan requirements. Below you can find the detailed description with a link to the Tapia session.

Description:
Broadening participation in computing (BPC) requires our individual and collective effort. The National Science Foundation is leading an effort to encourage NSF PIs and all computing departments to create BPC plans. Panelists will share resources and advice for how attendees can get involved. Students, staff, and faculty can all play an important role in broadening participation in computing. Since the NSF initiative and supporting resources on BPCnet.org are relatively new, attendees can help by sharing information within their institution and broader network. 

More details about the panel can be found here.

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CISE Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program Webinar

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NSF’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is providing information on the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program solicitation NSF 19-582 via a webinar on August 6th, 2021 starting at 12:00 pm ET. The event page can be found by clicking here, which includes more information about the webinar and a list of clarifications for specifically REU Site proposals.

One important clarification is the new option for the required evaluation component of the REU Site proposal. PIs are encouraged to work with the CRA Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline to fulfill the evaluation requirement of the REU Sites program. Submit an interest form to sign up and for a statement to include in your proposal. If you choose to participate in this evaluation, you do not have to include evaluation in your budget.

Additionally, the webinar will include a briefing on the CISE REU program and key solicitation requirements followed by a question-and-answer session. Prior to the webinar, you can submit questions to cise.reu@nsf.gov.

Register in advance for this webinar, which will take place via Zoom:
https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_OMIx_4NoQd6AXF8w7VTr0g

After registering, a confirmation email will be sent containing information about how to join the webinar. Participants will be able to join in a listen-only mode and interact through the Q&A function.

Contact: Rebecca Shearman rshearman@nsf.gov

This community update is brought to you by the CRA’s Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP). CERP provides social science research and comparative evaluation for the computing community. Subscribe to the CERP newsletter & bulletin by clicking here. Volunteer for Data Buddies by signing up here.

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Job Openings at CRA

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The Computing Research Association (CRA) is hiring! There are three new job openings available for motivated individuals looking to make a difference in the computing research field.

Executive Director of CRA

Executive Director Andrew Bernat recently announced his retirement, staring September 1, 2021. CRA seeks an inclusive, transparent, and enterprising leader to serve as its next Executive Director (ED). CRA has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in the recruitment of the Executive Director. All inquiries, nominations/referrals, and CVs with cover letters should be sent electronically to the following via http://www.imsearch.com/7971.

Program Assistant, CERP

CRA Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP) seeks a full-time employee to join the team as a Program Assistant. The Program Assistant will be primarily responsible for the administrative aspects of CERP’s activities and projects such as coordinating meetings (both virtual and in- person) and website administration. Interested parties should send a cover letter, resume, and a list of 2-3 references to employment[at]cra.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Senior Program Associate, CRA-Industry

The Computing Research Association (CRA) seeks a full-time employee to join our team as a Senior Program Associate for the CRA Industry standing committee (CRA-Industry). The Senior Program Associate will engage with members of the CRA-Industry committee and the industry computing research community to further develop awareness of CRA-Industry and its work.  They will work closely with the CRA-Industry steering committee, which consists of senior leaders of the computing research community. Please send a cover letter, resume, a recent writing sample (e.g., technical report, article), and a list of 2-3 references to employment[at]cra.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis at least through August 2021 and until the position is filled.

This post is brought to you by the CRA’s Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP). CERP provides social science research and comparative evaluation for the computing community. Subscribe to the CERP newsletter & bulletin by clicking here. Volunteer for Data Buddies by signing up here.