Archive of articles published in the 2022 issue.

Making-SpaceMaking-Space

Expanding the Pipeline: Design to Disrupt – Making Space for Every Student in CS

By: Dr. Nicki WashingtonIn: /

In 2011, my team of six instructors led a yearlong CS course for 120 Black/Latinx middle-school students in Washington, DC. After first-day introductions, we asked them to name a computer scientist. Despite six Black men/women in front of them, we heard only three names: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. It was then that I realized if they didn’t see us as computer scientists, then how would they ever be able to see themselves as one? We knew we had work to do.

We spent the entire year dismantling the narrative that CS was restricted to White and Asian men and reinforcing how not only were they computer scientists, but also change agents. Students learned much more than what CS was, but also whom it should represent and why these identities mattered.

We were fortunate to have a team that didn’t fit the “traditional” narrative leading that effort. However, this won’t always be the case. As we continue to make strides in CS education, the following strategies can help to ensure that the who and why are prioritized, regardless of the student or instructor.

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CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

Mechanism Design for Improving Hardware Security Orientation Recap

In: /

On January 13th, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) held an orientation webinar as an introduction for a CCC visioning workshop on Mechanism Design for Improving Hardware Security to be held in the summer of 2022 (exact date and location TBD). The orientation outlined the goals of the workshop and expanded on what the organizers are looking for in the white papers. We are seeking short white papers to help create the agenda for the workshop and select attendees.

At this workshop, participants will investigate ways to improve the design and uptake of hardware security mechanisms. In addition to looking at traditional technical solutions, the workshop will also consider new mechanisms to incentivize designers, system integrators, and users to create and maintain security of their systems. The workshop will bring together hardware and software security experts and economists and experts in devising and implementing governmental policies.

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CCC

CCC White Paper on Research Opportunities in Evidence-Based Elections is Now Available

In: /

The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) recently released the Research Opportunities in Evidence-Based Elections white paper, written by Josh Benaloh (Microsoft Research), Philip B. Stark (University of California, Berkeley), Vanessa Teague (Australian National University), Melanie Volkamer (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), and Dan Wallach (Rice University). 

This white paper highlights the need for evidence-based elections, which can convince people that the results of elections are accurate, and suggests several technologies that could play a role in this, mostly focused on risk-limiting audits and end-to-end verifiability. 

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CCC
NITRD-30th-anniversary-bannerNITRD-30th-anniversary-banner

NITRD 30th Anniversary Commemoration

In: /

On Thursday, December 2nd, a virtual celebratory event was held for the 30th anniversary of the  Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) program. The event was organized by NITRD National Coordination Office (NCO) with support from Computing Research Association’s Computing Community Consortium (CCC) to highlight and reflect on the impact federal investment in the network information technology research and development has had on society over the past three decades.

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CCC

House of Representatives Passes America COMPETES Act of 2022, Calling for Significant New Research Investments at the National Science Foundation and Other Federal Research Agencies

In: /

On February 4th, the House of Representatives passed the America COMPETES Act of 2022, a legislative package containing a bold reauthorization of the National Science Foundation and calling for significant new investments in the country’s research enterprise, among other provisions. While the bill passed the House on a partisan vote, it does set up a better legislative counterpart to the Senate’s NSF reauthorization bill, the US Innovation and Competitiveness Act (USICA), which passed last summer. The hope within the S&T policy community is that a final piece of legislation can be agreed to quickly by both chambers of Congress and then be sent to the President’s desk for signing into law. However, final passage is not guaranteed at the moment.

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GovAffairs
UFMA 2022 AwardeesUFMA 2022 Awardees

Darko Marinov and Jelani Nelson Receive the 2022 CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award

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The Education Committee of the Computing Research Association (CRA-E) is proud to announce two recipients of the 2022 CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award: Darko Marinov from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Jelani Nelson from the University of California Berkeley.

These outstanding individuals are being recognized for providing exceptional mentorship, undergraduate research experiences, and, in parallel, guidance on admission and matriculation of their students to research-focused graduate programs in computing.

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CRA-E
Thumbnail for CERP infographicThumbnail for CERP infographic

Although Most Computer Science Doctoral Students Earned Their Undergraduate Degree in a Computing Field, One Quarter Earned Their Degree in Another Field

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CERP examined the undergraduate degree earned by students seeking a doctoral degree in computer science. Results indicate 41% of computer science doctoral students earned their undergraduate degree in computer science, followed by 26% earning their undergraduate degree in a computing-related engineering field.

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CERP
Tracy CampTracy Camp

Tracy Camp Named Computing Research Association Executive Director

In: /

The Computing Research Association recently announced Dr. Tracy Camp will become the organization’s fourth Executive Director in its 50 year history. Camp is the former Department Head of Computer Science at Colorado School of Mines. She brings to the role strong experience as a leader in the computing research community at the national level, a history spearheading diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in computing, and a detailed vision for leading the organization into the future. She will assume the role on July 1, 2022.

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CRA
snowbird 2022snowbird 2022

2022 CRA Conference at Snowbird Update

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This year’s CRA Conference at Snowbird will explore the tremendous opportunities for computing research to dramatically benefit the human condition, as well as the related responsibility for computing research to consider the risks inherent in the work we do. Ensuring socially responsible intentions and practices is critical to realizing the future potential of computing research.

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CRA
CRA-WP-AwardsCRA-WP-Awards

Nominations Open for the 2022 CRA-WP Early Career Awards

In: /

CRA-WP welcomes your nominations for the Early Career Awards honoring Anita Borg and Clarence “Skip” Ellis. Nominations are due February 15, 2022, at 11:59 PM ET.

Anita Borg Early Career Award (BECA)
The Anita Borg Early Career Award (BECA) is named in honor of Anita Borg, who was an early member of CRA-WP and is inspired by her commitment to increasing the participation of women in computing research.

Skip Ellis Early Career Award (SEECA)
The Skip Ellis Early Career Award is in honor of Clarence “Skip” Ellis; he was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in computer science and the first African-American to be elected a Fellow of the ACM.

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CRA-WP