CRA Update: “In Case You Missed It” Items From Across CRA
By Matt Hazenbush, Director of Communications
For CRA, 2024 is off to a blazing start! We have so many opportunities for members of the community to get involved, we couldn’t choose just one to focus on for this month’s CRA Update.
Below are just a few of the ways you (and people in your network!) can get involved with the work of CRA and our subcommittees. We encourage you to think about who in your circles might be interested in one of the opportunities below, and share it with them.
Do you want to be considered for upcoming CRA volunteer opportunities based on your interests? Fill out our volunteer form at cra.org/getinvolved.
NSF CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship and Mentoring Program Now Accepting Applications
Are you looking to grow the number of PhD students in your research group? Or have you or someone you know been out of school for a while and might be interested in pursuing a PhD in a computing field?
If so, the NSF Computer and Information Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (CSGrad4US) may be an excellent fit!
CSGrad4US provides mentorship and NSF funding to help early career professionals go back to school to pursue innovative projects enroute to a PhD in computing.
Accepted applicants participate in a year-long preparation program, during which mentors and coaches help them identify a graduate program, find a research mentor, and apply to graduate programs. Once enrolled in a qualifying graduate program, Fellows receive funding for 3 years of their selected graduate program.
Read the profiles of Fellows currently in the program. Faculty: Do any of these Fellows remind you of a former student who might be interested in going back to school? Be sure to let them know about this great opportunity to get the funding and mentorship they need.
Applications are now open! The deadline to apply is May 31, 2024.
What Is the NSF CSGrad4US Fellowship & Mentoring Program?│NSF CSGrad4US
Nominate Future CRA Leaders to Attend Snowbird 2024
By now, CRA member leaders (e.g., department chair, lab leader) should have marked their calendars for the 2024 CRA Conference at Snowbird, taking place July 23-25 in Snowbird, Utah. Our flagship, invitation-only conference is a unique opportunity for computing research leaders from across North America to gather, network, and address common issues in the field. And as revealed last month, the theme for this year will be generative AI.
And now, for the first time this year, a select number of researchers who have demonstrated the potential to be a future leader in the field will be selected to attend the 2024 CRA Conference as a part of the inaugural cohort of the Future CRA Leaders Program.
In addition to being full conference attendees with access to attend sessions and network with senior leaders, Future CRA Leaders will receive special recognition during the conference’s opening session and be invited to an exclusive Future CRA Leaders networking event. The researchers selected for this opportunity will also present a lightning talk on a computing research topic of their choosing during a special Future CRA Leaders conference session.
If you’re a CRA member leader and would like to nominate a researcher to be a part of the Future CRA Leader Program, complete this form by March 15, 2024. Nominations must be completed by a CRA member leader, and each member unit may submit only one nomination for consideration. Individuals of all levels of seniority may be nominated.
CRA-WP Alumni @ SIGCSE 2024
CRA-WP is gathering interest for an Alumni meet up at SIGCSE 2024 in Portland this year. We hope to check in with you, connect you with other CRA-WP alumni, and share ways you can get involved!
If you are a CRA-WP (formerly CRA-W) alumni and will be attending SIGCSE 2024, please complete this interest form.
UR2PhD Accepting New Institutional Partners for the Fall Term
Do you wish you could scale your department’s research capabilities? Are faculty members at your institution interested in expanding the reach and diversity of their research labs? Would your graduate students benefit from hands-on mentorship training? Would your undergraduate researchers benefit from receiving the foundational and peer support they need to be successful?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, we highly encourage you to consider applying to be an institutional partner for the UR2PhD program. The Undergraduate Research to PhD Mentoring (UR2PhD) Program was launched last year to help increase the number of women and gender-marginalized students pursuing graduate studies in a CISE field. To accomplish that goal, the UR2PhD team created two courses to help institutions scale their research efforts without dramatically increasing their faculty and staff workload.
Institutions are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible, but no later than March 15, 2024.
CRA-I Call for Council Member Nominations
The Computing Research Association – Industry (CRA-I) is charged with increasing interaction between industry partners and other organizations involved in computing research for the benefit of all. To fulfill its mission, CRA-I needs visionary leaders—people with fresh perspectives, discernment, and the ability to work as a team to achieve big things.
To that end, CRA-I is growing a Council of (eventually 21) leaders from industry and academia representing the breadth and diversity of the computing discipline today. Please help the industry research community by nominating outstanding colleagues for the CRA-I Council. Send nominations to industryinfo@cra.org.
CCC Call for Visioning Proposals
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) welcomes visioning proposals year-round from the community to catalyze innovative research at the frontiers of computing. If you have an idea for a visioning activity, please consider submitting a proposal.
Successful activities will articulate new research visions, galvanize community interest and mobilize support in those visions from community members, government leaders, and funding agencies, and encourage broader segments of society to participate in computing research and education. Workshop proposals are evaluated on a rolling basis, and you should expect at least 9 months will be needed between the date you submit your proposal and the date of the proposed workshop.
For more information on submitting visioning proposals, please consult our Request for Visioning Proposals webpage and updated Best Practices.
