Taulbee Report 2024

New Videos Encourage Undergraduates to Pursue Advanced Education in Computing

In: Education, For Students, Featured Announcements /

The Computing Research Association (CRA) and its education committee (CRA-E) are excited to announce the creation of five short videos entitled “Choosing a PhD in Computer Science.” These videos were designed in conjunction with award-winning producer Patrick Sammon (co-producer of “Codebreaker”) to explain the benefits of pursuing a PhD in CS. The videos showcase young researchers with PhDs who are now working in industry as they talk about what compelled them to pursue a doctorate and how they are using their advanced training in their work. While many undergraduates understand that a PhD is needed for a position in academia, these videos demonstrate how a PhD can be useful in industry as well.

Why CS Departments Should Embrace Computing Education Research

In: Conference at Snowbird, Education, For Researchers, Featured Announcements /

How can a CS Department benefit from hiring tenure-track faculty in the field of Computing Education Research (CER)? What are some of the major research questions in CER? How can CER enhance existing research in a CS department? A panel at the CRA Conference at Snowbird Meeting in July 2016 addressed these and other questions. The panelists included Diana Franklin (University of Chicago), Mark Guzdial (Georgia Tech), Scott Klemmer (UC San Diego), Amy Ko (University of Washington) and Ben Shapiro (University of Colorado-Boulder) in a session moderated by Ran Libeskind-Hadas (Harvey Mudd College).

Nominations Open for 2017 CRA Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Researchers

In: Education, Outstanding Undergrad Researchers, For Students, Featured Announcements /

The Computing Research Association is pleased to announce the annual CRA Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Researchers, which recognizes undergraduate students in North American colleges and universities who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research. The award is a terrific way to recognize your best student researchers and your department.

Profiles in Computing: Kim Hazelwood

In: CRA-WP, Profiles in Computing, For Researchers, Diversity, Featured Announcements /

The 2016 Graduate Cohort Workshop (Grad Cohort) brought together more than 30 accomplished speakers and 550 female graduate students in computing. Kim Hazelwood, who leads a performance and datacenter capacity engineering and analysis team within Facebook’s infrastructure division, was one of the speakers who shared her unique perspective with the attendees. Kim has always had an interest in technology and a love for math. Like many undergraduate students, Kim didn’t take any computer science classes in high school. However, she took a leap and declared computer engineering as her major heading into her undergraduate degree at Clemson University. “First time was a charm on actually picking the right area for me,” she explained.

CRA Women Early and Mid Career Mentoring Workshops

In: CRA-WP, For Researchers, Mentoring, Featured Announcements /

CRA’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W) will host early and mid career mentoring workshops on November 19-20 in Washington, D.C. The goal of these workshops is to provide an environment for mentoring, practical information, advice, and support among researchers and educators in computing. The application is free, there is a $250 registration fee for the workshop (for those accepted), and CRA-W will reimburse participants for expenses (hotel and airfare) after the workshop. In order to receive reimbursement applicants must be affiliated with a U.S. institution or be employed in the U.S. These workshops are open to individuals in their early career in research and labs, and mid career in education, research, and labs.

Profiles in Computing: Drew Williams

In: Profiles in Computing, CRA-WP, For Students, Featured Announcements /

An early love of science fiction is what initially lured Drew to a career in STEM. Her fascination with outer space and the future, recurrent themes in science fiction, inspired her to study astronomy and become a physics major. Although she didn’t take any high school computer science courses, she always enjoyed tinkering with computer programs on her own. She decided in college to take a coding class and “really loved it.” Drew soon changed her major to computer science because she wanted to be part of the movement that brings to life the technologies we dream about in science fiction.

Rice to Host Conference on Humans, Machines, and the Future of Work

In: Misc., People, Featured Announcements, For Researchers /

Those who attended this year’s CRA Snowbird conference may have heard Moshe Vardi’s provocative panel session on Humans, Machines, and the Future of Work, discussing the potential impact of computing technologies on employment and the nature of work over the coming years. Vardi makes a compelling case that the computing research community ought to be concerned with the impact its innovations will have on society, both positive and negative. To that end, Vardi has led an effort to pull together some of the leading thinkers from the computing, economics, and social science communities to consider the issue in Houston in December. The De Lange Conference on Humans, Machines, and the Future of Work will be held December 5-6, 2016, at Rice University. Here’s an announcement from the organizers (CRA is a co-sponsor).

Profiles in Computing: Bushra Anjum

In: Profiles in Computing, For Researchers, Diversity, Featured Announcements /

Bushra Anjum is a self-described “adventure seeker” in addition to her day job in computing.

“I’m into extreme sports–I like jumping out of planes or off of cliffs. I am an adventure seeker, at the bottom of my heart. So anything that sounds like an adventure to me –I will jump at that.”

When Anjum is not jumping out of a plane or off a cliff, she works as a software and research engineer at Amazon, Inc. in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Specifically, Anjum has expertise in agile software development for large-scale distributed systems, with a special emphasis on system design and development for highly scalable, fault-tolerant systems. At CRA-W’s 2016 Graduate Cohort Workshop (Grad Cohort), I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Anjum, who described why she has a passion for CRA-W and increasing diversity in computing.

Public Workshop on the Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments

In: For Researchers, Featured Announcements /

On Monday, August 15, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will hold a public Workshop on the Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments.

This workshop is being convened as an information-gathering session of the Academies’ Study on the Growth of Computer Science Undergraduate Enrollments sponsored by the National Science Foundation and co-chaired by Susanne Hambrusch, professor of computer science at Purdue University, and Jared Cohon, president emeritus of Carnegie Mellon University.

2016 CRA Conference at Snowbird Recap

In: Conference at Snowbird, For Researchers, Featured Announcements /

From July 17-19, the Computing Research Association (CRA) held its biennial conference at Snowbird, with more than 300 people in attendance. Every two years, the chairs of computing and information departments from across the country, as well as the leaders of government and industrial laboratories, gather in Snowbird, Utah, to network and discuss common issues concerning the future of the field.

CRA Welcomes New FY 2016-17 Board Members

In: CRA Board of Directors, Featured Announcements /

July 1 marks a new fiscal year for CRA. Today, we welcome six new members to our board of directors: Elizabeth Mynatt, Mario Nascimento, Penny Rheingans, Shashi Shekhar, Josep Torrellas, and Min Wang. Retiring from the board as of June 30, 2016 are Tracy Camp, Ann Condon, Laura Haas, Fred Schneider, and Cary Williamson. CRA would like to thank each of them for contributions during their service on the board.

CRA Releases Letter Endorsing American Competitiveness and Innovation Act

In: Policy, Featured Announcements /

Yesterday, CRA released a letter to Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Gary Peters (D-MI), and Senate Commerce, Science Screenshot 2016-06-28 14.45.54and Transportation Committee Chair John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL), expressing support for their efforts to pass S. 3084, the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act, which will be marked up in committee on June 29, 2016.

Through the Screen of a Female Coder: A First Person Perspective on Diversity in STEM

In: Profiles in Computing, CRA-WP, For Students, Diversity, People, Featured Announcements /

Again and again we hear that earning computing degrees leads to one of the highest starting salaries for college graduates and almost a guaranteed job after graduation. This information is supported by data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers who report computer science graduates have the second highest starting salary ($61,321 this year) and the highest full-time employment rate (76% within six months of graduation). A blog post from the Computing Community Consortium in March highlights 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics job projection results, which found that computing occupations are projected to account for 73% of all newly-created STEM jobs during the decade (488,500 jobs), and 55% of all available STEM jobs, whether newly-created or available due to retirements (1,083,800 jobs over the decade). All of this isn’t new information. Many people are aware that the booming tech industry can be a ticket to job security and comfortable living. Data from the National Science Foundation in 2014, shows that there are approximately 17.8% of women studying computer science at the undergraduate level. So why is it every CS classroom I am in is filled with bright-eyed, eager young men, but a dismal number

CRA’s CRA-W Urges Continued Support for Diversity Efforts in Capitol Briefing

In: CRA-WP, Diversity, Featured Announcements /

At a briefing of the congressional Diversity in Tech Caucus, hosted by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the Capitol yesterday, CRA-W board member Rebecca Wright explained why efforts to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields — particularly computing — were worthy of continued Federal support. Wright, a professor of computer science at Rutgers University, was a member of a panel of experts assembled by the Diversity in Tech Caucus to explore the issue of diversity within the research and STEM Education communities.

Robotics Researchers Wow Congress with All Day Exhibition

In: Policy, Research, Featured Announcements /

On June 9th, the Congressional Robotics Caucus, with support from the National Science Foundation, held an all day event on Capitol Hill marking five years of the National Robotics Initiative (NRI). The event was broken up into a lunch briefing, where members of Congress and their staff would be able to hear from a panel of experts on the past accomplishment of the NRI and future challenges and benefits of continued funding of robotics research; and an afternoon exhibition of roboticists and their work, where guests were able to interact one-on-one with the researchers. CRA is a member of the steering committee for the Congressional Robotics Caucus.

2016 BECA Winners – Martha Kim and Hanna Wallach

In: CRA-WP, For Researchers, Awards, Featured Announcements /

Today, CRA-Women (CRA-W) announced that Martha Kim and Hanna Wallach are the recipients of this year’s 2016 Borg Early Career Award (BECA). The award honors the late Anita Borg, who was an early member of CRA-W and an inspiration for her commitment in increasing the participation of women in computing research. The annual award is given to a woman in computer […]

NSF Funded Vision Assistance Technology Amazes at the 2016 CNSF Exhibition

In: Funding, Policy, Research, Featured Announcements /

Originally posted by Brian Mosley on the CRA Policy Blog On April 26th, the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), an alliance of over 140 professional organizations, universities, and businesses, held their 22nd Annual Capitol Hill Exhibition. CNSF supports the goal of increasing the federal investment in the National Science Foundation’s research and education programs, […]

CRA FY 2015 Annual Report Now Available

In: CRA, Featured Announcements /

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.

Reading Group Breakouts at the Conference at Snowbird

In: Conference at Snowbird, Featured Announcements, CRA /

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-W Kicks off Grad Cohort 2016

In: CRA-WP, Featured Announcements /

Imagine going to class or work everyday, and you rarely see anyone who looks like you or shares your cultural experiences or background. This is a situation many women in computing face; sometimes, they can feel isolated, because they often experience being the only woman in a room full of men. Now imagine walking into a conference filled with people who share many of these same experiences. The CRA-W’s Graduate Cohort Workshop (Grad Cohort) brings together female graduate students in their first three years of graduate school and senior computing researchers to share information on succeeding in graduate school and fostering mentoring relationships.

CRA Best Practice Memo: Response to Surge in Postdocs

In: CERP, Best Practices, Resources, Featured Announcements, CRA /

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 […]

CRA-E Selects Graduate Student Fellows

In: Featured Announcements, Education /

The CRA Education Committee (CRA-E) has recently selected two Ph.D. students, Keith Feldman and Max Grossman, to serve as CRA-E Graduate Fellows. The Graduate Fellows Program was established last year to give graduate students the opportunity to contribute to CRA-E projects, engage in advocacy for mentoring undergraduate students and promote computer science research and undergraduate education at the national level.

2016 CRA Career Mentoring Workshop

In: Career Mentoring Workshop, Featured Announcements /

The 2016 CRA Career Mentoring Workshop was held February 22-23 in Arlington, Virginia. More than 80 attendees had an opportunity to learn from about 20 speakers who are distinguished researchers, including several CRA board members, and representatives from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The workshop provided career advice and mentoring activities for assistant professors computer science.

CERP Presents Data Buddies Data at SIGCSE 2016

In: Education, CERP, Featured Announcements /

The CRA’s Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP) made several contributions to the 2016 SIGCSE conference. Using data collected through the Data Buddies Project, the CERP team presented three talks during the event.

New Coalition, to Push for Computer Science in K-12, Launches Today!

In: Policy, Featured Announcements /

A new coalition, the Computer Science Education Coalition, whose mission is to focuses on securing federal funds to provide computer science education to all K-12 students, launches today.

Fred Schneider Receives Service to CRA Award

In: Awards, People, Featured Announcements /

The Computing Research Association (CRA) is pleased to honor Fred Schneider, the Samuel B. Eckert Professor and Chair of Computer Science at Cornell University, with a Service to CRA Award for his work with the organization. Fred was a member of the CRA Board from 2007 to 2016, during which time he thought deeply about how to have positive impact on the computing research community and spearheaded several key initiatives.

2016 CRA Board Election Results

In: CRA Board of Directors, Featured Announcements /

CRA members have elected four new members to its board of directors: Penny Rheingans, Shashi Shekhar, Josep Torrellas, and Min Wang. Current board members Chris Johnson and Ron Brachman were re-elected to the CRA board. Their terms run from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2019. Retiring from the board as of June 30, 2016 are Tracy Camp, Ann Condon, Laura Haas, and Fred Schneider. CRA thanks them all for contributions during their service on the board.

Rolling Stone Special Report on Artificial Intelligence

In: R&D in the Press, People, Featured Announcements /

Yesterday, Rolling Stone released part one of a special report on the artificial intelligence revolution. The article opens with a quote from Pieter Abbeel, a researcher at UC Berkeley and one of CRA’s 2016 CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Awardees. Pieter is one of three winners of the inaugural award which recognizes individuals for providing exceptional mentorship, undergraduate research experiences, and, in parallel, guidance on admission and matriculation of these students to research-focused graduate programs in computing.

2016 CRA Distinguished Service and A. Nico Habermann Awardees Announced

In: CRA-WP, Distinguished Service, A. Nico Habermann, Featured Announcements, CRA /

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.

Want to explore the Data Buddies data?

In: For Researchers, CERP, For Students, Diversity, Featured Announcements /

CERP is thrilled to launch its new data visualization website displaying Data Buddies data. Dr. Ron Metoyer, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame designed the website, alongside a team of student developers and CERP Research Scientist, Dr. Burçin Tamer.