Tag Archive: CRA

Computing Research Association information.

These Are Interesting Times Indeed

By: Dan Reed, CRA Board ChairIn: /

That awful gurgling noise you hear in the background is the global economy draining through the hole that is the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. We do not yet know how bad the economic downturn will be. However, if history is a guide, we can expect the weakened economy to depress rates of return on university endowments, tighten state budgets due to decreased tax revenues, constrain corporate R&D spending, and increase the already large pressure on federal government discretionary spending. In short, we are likely to experience constraints on faculty and researcher hiring and on overall education and research funding.

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CRA

Best Practices in Promotion and Tenure of Interdisciplinary Faculty

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Interdisciplinary research and education is an increasingly important feature of the academic landscape. The fields of computing and information science and engineering are no exception: CISE researchers collaborate with electrical engineers in the design of low-power chips; with linguists in the development of natural-language processing systems; with education experts on the use of digital technologies in formal and informal education; with biologists in the exploration of the genetic code; with economists in the formation of theories of on-line commerce; and with statisticians in the discovery of new ways to extract information from rich sets of data—to name just a few examples. Some of these efforts have even led to the establishment of new disciplines, such as bioinformatics and data mining. While “core” areas of computation, such as operating systems, programming languages, networking, and others, will continue to produce key advances, there is an emergent agreement among computer and information scientists that close interactions with other disciplines are essential to the health and advancement of our field.

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CRA

Research, Teaching and Service: Dynamic Balance

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You are a newly minted Ph.D. recipient who landed a faculty position at a research university. The fall semester is just beginning, and you are simultaneously excited and a bit apprehensive. University life is unchanged and also surprisingly new—writing research proposals, teaching classes and serving on faculty committees. Your friends and new colleagues are giving you sometimes conflicting advice on time management and priorities. What really matters? How do you choose? How do you find your own path?

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CRAMusings from the Chair

CS Majors Ten Years After Graduation

In: /

There are few good sources of information about what happens to undergraduates after they receive their degrees. One is the National Center for Education Statistics‘ Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B). The most recent B&B report provides snapshots of work and life experiences in 1994, 1997 and 2003 for those who received undergraduate degrees in 1992-93. It divides majors into those that are “academic” or “career-oriented”, with computer science (CS) included in the latter (along with business, education, health, and engineering).

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CRA

Snowbird and the Big Data Avalanche

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As I write this column, a late spring snow has settled over Seattle, covering my freshly mown lawn. This prompted me to think about the upcoming CRA Conference at Snowbird, Utah. Every two years, the chairs of the Ph.D.-granting departments of computer science and engineering, as well as the leaders of government and industrial laboratories, gather at Snowbird to discuss all aspects of the state of computing— research, education, recruiting, diversity and inclusion, government and industrial policies, and collaboration. The Snowbird meeting a great opportunity for networking—the social kind—meeting new and old friends, exchanging ideas and experiences and sharing best practices.

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CRA

Research Funding and Education: Stay the Course, Keep the Faith

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As all of you undoubtedly know by now, at the eleventh hour, the new funding for physical science research (including computer science) disappeared from the omnibus appropriations bill. This was especially disheartening after all the work invested by so many and after the America COMPETES Act authorized major increases earlier in the year, with strong bipartisan support. Thus, we rightfully had high hopes for a corresponding appropriation. It was not to be.

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CRAMusings from the Chair

National Center for Supercomputing Applications Powers Scientific Breakthroughs

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The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) is a unique partnership of the University of Illinois, the state of Illinois, and the federal government. For more than two decades, the center has aided scientists and engineers across the country with powerful computers, innovative technologies and tools, and the knowledge and dedication of its expert staff. Investment in NCSA continues to yield concrete dividends for scientists, government, industry, education, and society.

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CRA

Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing: 2007 Event Strongest Ever; Next Event Planned

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The Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference, a biennial event sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) in cooperation with the Computing Research Association (CRA), had its most successful event to date on October 14-17, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. The conference is the premier event for the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC), a joint organization of the ACM, CRA, and IEEE-CS. The next celebration will take place April 1-4, 2009, on the West Coast of the United States.

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CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

2008 CRA Snowbird Session Focus: “Practical Solutions to a Continuing Problem: Sexual Harassment”

In: /

Many believe that the problems of sexual harassment and gender discrimination have largely vanished in our computer science community. While the prevalence of explicit discrimination and open harassment has diminished, it has not gone away entirely and implicit bias continues to exist. Discussions among female researchers on on-line forums and in professional groups indicate that graduate students and junior faculty in particular have concerns, and at times experience disturbing instances. There seems to be a consensus that departmental leadership plays a crucial role in creating a better environment. With this in mind, the 2008 CRA Conference at Snowbird for department chairs and labs/centers directors will include a panel session on sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

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CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

Do You Remember? Why Research and Education Really Matter

In: /

As technologists, we often focus on the technical aspects of our profession. Yet the cultural transformation wrought by the technologies we create is deep and profound, with implications for how we train a new generation of researchers and how we attract new and more diverse computing students. Herewith are a few memories to personalize and ponder.

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CRAMusings from the Chair