Published: November 2020, Issue: Vol. 32/No. 10 Download as PDF

Archive of articles published in the November 2020, Vol. 32/No. 10 issue.

CRA Releases ‘2020 Quadrennial Papers’ Focused on Illuminating Computing Research Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Four Years


The Computing Research Association (CRA) recently released the first of more than a dozen white papers produced through its subcommittees, exploring areas and issues around computing research with the potential to address national priorities over the next four years. Called Quadrennial Papers, the white papers attempt to portray a broad picture of computing research detailing potential research directions, challenges, and recommendations for policymakers and the computing research community. The release of the 2020 Quadrennial Papers covers five thematic areas: Core Computer Science, Broad Computing, Socio-Technical Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Diversity & Education.

CCC Quadrennial Papers: Core Computer Science


As part of the rollout of the 2020 CRA Quadrennial Papers, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) is pleased to publish the first four papers around the “Core Computer Science” theme, including papers on post quantum cryptography, the foundations of our algorithmic world, opportunities with next generation wireless technologies and computing challenges in the post-Moore’s Law world.

CCC Quadrennial Papers: Broad Computer Science


As part of the rollout of the 2020 CRA Quadrennial Papers, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) is pleased to publish the second group of papers around the “Broad Computer Science” theme, including papers on pandemic informatics, infrastructure for AI, High Performance Computing (HPC) and Quantum, robotics in the workforce.

CRA-E Graduate Fellows ProgramCRA-E Graduate Fellows Program

CRA-E Graduate Fellows Program Accepting Nominations


The Computing Research Association Education Committee (CRA-E) is now accepting nominations for the CRA-E Graduate Fellows Program. The program opportunities for Ph.D. candidates in a computing field to contribute to CRA-E projects, to network with computer science education advocates on the committee, and to engage in advocacy for mentoring undergraduate students and promote computer science research and undergraduate education at the national level.

CRA-E Releases Report on Best Practices for Scaling Undergraduate CS Research Opportunities


Undergraduate enrollments in CS have grown considerably and continue to grow.  Yet opportunities for undergraduates to engage in CS research have not grown proportionally.  Engaging undergraduates in research has tremendous benefits for students, and is critical to the health of the North American CS PhD pipeline.

The CRA’s Education committee has released a new report documenting best practices and concrete suggestions for departments wishing to expand undergraduate research opportunities in CS (without overwhelming their faculty!).  The report is based on a broad examination of existing structured research programs at universities across North America. It compiles the main challenges departments face in implementing undergraduate research programs, and provides best practices for addressing these challenges. 

research highlightsresearch highlights

CRA-E Spotlights Outstanding Undergraduate Researchers in the Highlights Series


The CRA-E Undergraduate Research Highlights series is now in its third year of featuring outstanding undergraduate researchers from universities across North America. It is one of the many CRA-E activities that supports the computing research pipeline by honoring undergraduate research and promoting graduate education and research careers in computing fields.

Each article describes the journey of a successful undergraduate researcher, from finding research opportunities to disseminating their work. The highlights series features students from the Finalists and Honorable Mentions of the CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher competition, with the goal of offering guidance to the next generation of undergraduate researchers and to share how research has shaped their career aspirations. CRA-E chooses a diverse set of students for the highlights series to reflect the wide range of undergraduate institutions, research areas, and paths to research.

More than 150 Data Buddies Departments Reach Across the US and Canada


CRA’s Data Buddies Project started as a pilot in 2011 and has been growing in its reach since then. As of 2020, 159 departments across the US and Canada are participating in the project. The 2020 Data Buddies Survey was launched on October 26th for the students in the DBS longitudinal sample and was distributed to the participating departments on November 3rd.

Grad CohortGrad Cohort

CRA-WP Renames the Grad Cohort for URMD Workshop


CRA-WP has renamed the Grad Cohort for URMD Workshop to the Grad Cohort for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership Skills – The IDEALS Workshop. We would like to sincerely thank everyone involved in this renaming process. The community’s willingness to discuss, listen, and provide insightful feedback was essential to improving the process and outcome.