Guest Article Archives

Tag Archive: Guest Article

These articles are written by guest authors to Computing Research News. Contact crnonline@cra.org to suggest an article.

Collaborative Research as the Key to Advancing AI

By: Brent Hailpern, Scientific Director, Cognitive Horizons Network and Head of Computer Science, IBM ResearchIn: August 2017, Vol. 29/No.7 /

Just about every day we learn about a new application of cognitive computing. From predicting schizophrenia to analyzing Wimbledon fan experiences, cognitive computing and artificial intelligence have arrived and are making a measurable difference in our daily lives. But with all the excitement around real-world applications of this powerful technology, it is easy to forget that the Cognitive Era, as we call it at IBM, is still in its infancy. And there is a tremendous amount of work yet to be done. Collaborating with leading minds around the world is the key to fulfilling the true potential of cognitive computing. And that’s why IBM formed the Cognitive Horizons Network (CHN), a network of the world’s leading universities committed to working with IBM to accelerate the development of core technologies needed to advance the promise of cognitive computing.

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Analysis of Current and Future Computer Science Needs via Advertised Faculty Searches for 2017

By: Craig E. Wills, professor and department head, Computer Science Department, Worcester Polytechnic InstituteIn: January 2017, Vol. 29/No.1 /

The wealth of faculty searches in Computer Science during this hiring season for positions starting in 2017 again affords the opportunity to study areas of Computer Science where departments are choosing to invest in new faculty hires. While the number and areas for faculty searches does not necessarily translate into the same for faculty hires, we believe that they provide insight into current and future needs within the discipline.

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Innovation Lab Maps the Future of Learning in Smart and Connected Communities

By: Jeremy Roschelle, SRI InternationalIn: June 2016, Vol. 28/No.6 /

As more than 30 leading researchers and innovators queued to enter the lab space for an intensive week of work, the excitement and uncertainty were apparent. Two questions were on the participants’ minds: What is a “smart and connected learning community”? And what will we be doing for an entire week together?

Technology is now enabling youth to engage in learning opportunities through their communities. In Seattle, young people are mapping the learning resources within their communities. In Chicago and several other cities, a social learning platform called iRemix connects youth with extended learning and mentorship opportunities. In New York, a major science museum is re-imagining itself as serving the needs of low-income youth by engaging with churches, community spaces, and neighborhood activists in coordinated city-scale literacy and STEM learning events.

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Revisiting the Human-Machine Symbiosis

By: William Regli, Defense Advanced Research Projects AgencyIn: April 2016, Vol. 28/No.4 /

“The hope is that, in not too many years, human brains and computing machines will be coupled together very tightly, and that the resulting partnership will think as no human brain has ever thought and process data in a way not approached by the information-handling machines we know today.”
J. C. R. Licklider, “Man-Computer Symbiosis,” 1960

Fifty-six years ago, J. C. R. Licklider outlined a prescient vision for computing machines coupled with human brains and, together, thinking thoughts previously unattainable by human beings thinking on their own. This vision influenced a generation of scientists and engineers and is largely the basis for our experience of computing today. Yet, I don’t feel a partnership with my current machines, and I often find myself bending my brain, and subjugating my will, to adapt to them. Shouldn’t it be vice versa? Did I miss the symbiosis?

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Mentoring the Whole STEM Person: Advancing LGBTQ+ students and professionals

By: By Allison Mattheis, Rochelle Diamond, and Mary FernándezIn: January 2016, Vol. 28/No.1 /

January is National Mentoring Month, a great time to learn how mentoring can help support students and professionals in computing research, and in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) more generally. Mentoring is especially important for individuals in STEM from underrepresented groups in promoting persistence and success in education and professional settings. Effective mentoring programs help mentors and mentees consider various attributes of their identities and experience, like race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and educational background, which may influence their persistence and success. Although effective programs aim to support the whole person, gender identity and expression and sexuality orientation are often overlooked.

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Analysis of Current and Future Computer Science Needs via Advertised Faculty Searches for 2016

By: By Craig E. Wills, Professor and Department Head, Computer Science Department, Worcester Polytechnic InstituteIn: January 2016, Vol. 28/No.1 /

The wealth of faculty searches in computer science during this hiring season for positions starting in the Fall of 2016 again affords the opportunity to study areas of computer science where departments are choosing to invest in new faculty hires. While the number and areas for faculty searches does not necessarily translate into the same for faculty hires, we believe that they provide insight into current and future needs within the discipline.

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Big Data Science at Johns Hopkins

By: Alex Szalay, Johns Hopkins UniversityIn: February 2015, Vol. 27/No.2 /

Last year Johns Hopkins University (JHU) started the Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science (IDIES, pronounced as “Ideas”), promoting the use of large data sets for scientific discovery across the whole university. IDIES spansAnchor the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Public Health, and Medicine. Hopkins president Ron Daniels and several deans have dedicated 10 new faculty positions to IDIES, all encouraging interdisciplinary research related to Big Data in science. Currently, IDIES has more than 80 faculty associates.

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Analysis of Current and Future Computer Science Needs via Advertised Faculty Searches

By: Craig E. Wills, Worcester Polytechnic InstituteIn: January 2015, Vol. 27/No.1 /

The wealth of faculty searches in Computer Science during this hiring season for positions starting in the Fall of 2015 affords the opportunity to study areas of Computer Science where departments are choosing to invest in new faculty hires. While the number and areas for faculty searches does not necessarily translate into the same for faculty hires, we believe that they provide insight into current and future needs within the discipline.

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Expanding the Pipeline: SC13 Supercomputing Conference

By: Geri Lamble, Santa Clara University and Mary Ann Leung, Sustainable Horizons, Inc.In: January 2014, Vol. 26/No.1 /

On November 16, 2013, in Denver, CO, the Broader Engagement (BE) Program at the Supercomputing conference opened its doors the day before SC13 to begin this year’s growing event. Kicking off the workshop, three key inclusion activities provided a solid introduction for newcomers to the SC experience.

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CODE.ORG Pursues Action on Getting Computer Science into Schools

By: Hadi Partovi, Founder, Code.orgIn: November 2013, Vol. 25/No.10 /

Startup non-profit Code.org is working to make inroads into one of the most gaping holes in education. Out of all students taking advanced math and science courses at the K-12 level, only two percent are studying computer science, despite the fact that over half of all STEM jobs are in computing. Code.org founders, tech entrepreneurs Ali and Hadi Partovi, saw something wrong with this picture. The organization’s first project, a short film on the importance of learning computer programming, went viral. Now, Code.org is advancing with long-term policy and education initiatives to bring computer science to all K-12 schools — and a campaign this December to get 10 million students to try it out.

CRA-WPGuest Article, Expanding the Pipeline

A Path Between: Mentoring the Next Generation of Computing Professionals

By: Mary Fernández, CEO, MentorNetIn: October 2013, Vol. 25/No.9 /

In the US, increasing the number of students who matriculate, graduate, and enter the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields—in particular, computing—is a national imperative. My 15 years of experience with MentorNet (http://www.mentornet.org), an online program that matches undergraduate and graduate students in STEM disciplines with working professionals and guides them through a one-on-one mentoring relationship for eight months, demonstrates that individuals can help to diversify and develop the next generation of computer scientists. You too can become a mentor and grow professionally and personally—not to mention have fun—while doing good.

CRA-WPGuest Article, Expanding the Pipeline