Tag Archive: CCCBlog

NSF Releases Open Knowledge Network Roadmap Report


Transformative advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology require large amounts of accurate, comprehensive data. There is a widening disparity between the types and amounts of datasets that organizations have access to. This not only hinders research, but widens the knowledge gap between entities. A commonly talked about solution is developing an open source knowledge structure that will be available to everyone and house a wide diversity of data to help address pressing issues such as economic growth, climate change, misinformation, pandemic prevention etc. Last week the National Science Foundation (NSF) released an “Open Knowledge Network Roadmap Report” as a guide towards realizing this type of infrastructure.

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

NITRD 30th Anniversary Symposium Recap


The NITRD 30th Anniversary Symposium was held in Washington D.C. at the National Spy Museum. The event provided an opportunity for the computing research community to come together and celebrate the impact that federal funding has had on computing technologies, innovations and the world at large. The day featured insightful remarks from key leaders in the community including Alondra Nelson (Deputy Assistant to the President Deputy Director for Science and Society White House Office of Science and Technology Policy), Barbara McQuiston (Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Research and Technology in the Department of Defense), Kamie Roberts (Director of the National Coordination Office for the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program), Sethuraman (“Panch”) Panchanathan (Director of the National Science Foundation), Erwin Gianchandani  (NSF) and the Computing Community Consortium’s Chair Elizabeth Bradley.

The event consisted of five panels, each composed of four to five experts discussing the impact federal funding has had on their field and what entities funding should focus on going forward.

AAAS Annual Meeting 2022 – Robotics: Empowering not Replacing People


As further advancements in Artificial Intelligence are made, automated processes and robotics are becoming a ubiquitous entity in the workforce. As a result, there is a growing concern among the public that robots will replace humans and cause a massive job shortage. The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) organized the “Robotics: Empowering not Replacing People” scientific session at the 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in February to address this concern in the public perception.

NITRD-NITRD-

NITRD 30th Anniversary Commemoration


The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program is the Nation’s primary source of federally funded work on pioneering information technologies (IT) in computing, networking, and software. On December 9th, 2021 the 30th Anniversary of the NITRD program occurred during the height of the pandemic, and accordingly a virtual commemoration was held on December 2nd, 2021 to celebrate the incredible achievements of the last 30 years while maintaining social distancing measures. While the anniversary has passed we will be hosting an in-person event on May 25th, 2022 in Washington, D.C. to commemorate this milestone.

Submit a Proposal for the 2023 AAAS Annual Meeting


After two years of being virtual, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is thrilled to announce the 2023 AAAS Annual Meeting will be held in person March 2-5, 2023 in Washington D.C. AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society dedicated to the advancement of science for societal good and each year they hold a Annual Meeting featuring lectures, flash talk sessions, e-poster presentations and international exhibit hall to bring together experts form a broad range of disciplines to discuss new research and developments in science, technology and policy.

The theme for next year is Science for Humanity and will aim to highlight groundbreaking multi-disciplinary research that advances knowledge and responds equitably to the needs of humanity. The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) has attended and hosted sessions since 2013. You can find out more about the CCC’s past contributions on our website.

They have just announced they are now accepting proposals for 2023 meeting sessions. Proposals are due before June 16th, 2022.

Community Response to RFI on Incentives, Infrastructure, and Research and Development Needs To Support a Strong Domestic Semiconductor Industry


The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) with input from CRA-Industry recently responded to the Department of Commerce and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Request for Information on Incentives, Infrastructure, and Research and Development Needs to Support a Strong Domestic Semiconductor Industry. The RFI was seeking information in order to inform
the planning and design of potential programs to: Incentivize investment in semiconductor manufacturing facilities and associated ecosystems; provide for shared infrastructure to accelerate semiconductor research, development, and prototyping; and support research related to advanced packaging and advanced metrology to ensure a robust domestic semiconductor industry.

CCC Releases “Meta Hybrid” Report Out


The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) sponsored a hybrid workshop “Best Practices for Hybrid Workshops” where around 30 participants from the fields of academia, industry, and government were given the opportunity to discuss the costs, benefits, and risks of Hybrid conferences, which have become increasingly prevalent since the beginning of Covid-19.

Organized by Sujata Banerjee (VMware), Maria Gini (University of Minnesota), Daniel P. Lopresti (Lehigh University), and Holly Yanco (University of Massachusetts Lowell), this workshop focused on discussing the increased inequities introduced by hybrid conferences, such as difficulties for visually and verbally impaired individuals to follow presentations, the loss of social interaction between conference participants, and problems with incompatible technologies, such as outdated software on participants’ computers.

We are very pleased to release the Meta Hybrid Visioning Report Out that synthesizes the findings and best practices from the visioning activity. The report focuses on sustainability, social factors, technology and accessibility in the context of hybrid settings.

You can view the full report here.

What Role Will Computing Research Play in the Future of Infrastructure?


Congress recently passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a bipartisan bill which includes $550 billion in new federal spending on infrastructure over five years. While designed as a traditional infrastructure bill, an analysis of the legislation by the Computing Research Policy Blog found several sections that are of note to the research community and the computing research community.

CCC cardCCC card

CCC 2021 Highlights


The Computing Community Consortium (CCC), like the rest of the world, continued to adapt and restructure our activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the unique issues this year brought, with the help of the computing research community, we were able to continue making an impact and provide support. Some highlights from the year are described below; please see our website for more details, as well as plans and opportunities for new activities in the coming new year.