CRA-I Blog

The CRA-I Blog frequently shares news, timely information about the computing research industry community, and items of interest to the general community. Subscribe to blog emails here to stay connected.

Hector Gonzalez (SpiNNcloud Systems) Joins CRA-Industry Council

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CRA-Industry (CRA-I) is excited to announce that Hector Gonzalez of SpiNNcloud Systems has joined the CRA-I Council. Hector joins a vibrant group of council members led by CRA-I Council Chair Ron Brachman from Cornell Tech. Together, they are committed to working with the CRA-I Steering Committee to guide the direction of future initiatives, engage with the community, and advance the goals of CRA-I.

Hector is the co-founder and co-CEO of SpiNNcloud Systems, a deep-tech company providing brain-inspired microchips and systems for the third generation of AI. Hector has helped position SpiNNcloud among the most relevant hardware startups in Germany. Under his co-leadership, the company has received several recognitions, including the largest EU grant for startups (EIC Transition) in the challenge of “Green digital devices of the future”. Hector is a Fellow of the Konrad Zuse School of Excellence in Embedded Composite Artificial Intelligence (SECAI). He holds a B.Sc. degree in Electronics Engineering and is a graduate of the MIT and Masdar Institute Cooperative Program in Abu Dhabi, where he earned an M.Sc. degree in Microsystems after conducting research on AI hardware for EEG-based emotion detection. His PhD studies at TU Dresden focused on chip design for AI-enabled Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) for automotive radars. Hector has held senior industrial positions in Instrumentation & Control across various countries and has received numerous international academic honors and awards. He has authored or co-authored more than 23 peer-reviewed articles, is the inventor of a patent in the cognitive radar field, and has been part of numerous press communications from prominent sources such as IEEE Spectrum, the BBC, Arm, EE Times, Sandia National Labs, eeNews Europe, Silicon Angle, and the the EU flagship Human Brain Project, among others.

Please help the industry research community by continuing to nominate outstanding colleagues for the CRA-I Council. Read more here and send nominations to industryinfo@cra.org.

Welcome, Hector!

Industry’s Growing Presence at the CRA Conference at Snowbird

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Industry Participants at CRA Conference at Snowbird 2024

The Computing Research Association (CRA) Industry Committee (CRA-I) was pleased to welcome over 60 industry professionals and affiliates to the CRA Conference at Snowbird this July.

One of CRA and CRA-I’s primary goals is to foster collaboration between industry, academia, and government. The CRA’s biannual conference, historically attended by around 350 computing research leaders, including chairs/heads/deans of departments/schools/colleges of computer science, computer engineering, and information technology, as well as leaders from U.S. industrial and government computing research laboratories and centers interested in computing research issues, provides an excellent platform for such interaction. In recent years, the inclusion of an Industry track has further enriched the conference, catering not only to industry professionals but also to academics interested in industry collaboration. This year, CRA-I organized three well-received sessions in the industry track: Best Practices in Industry Affiliate Programs, Dual Appointments: Straddling Academia and Industry, and GenAI for Research and Discovery. Each session attracted over 50 participants and sparked substantial discussion.

In addition to the industry track, an industry “Meet and Greet” was held before the official sessions to facilitate early engagement. Participants were able to introduce themselves before the conference began. They were asked what areas CRA-I could focus on next to bring more industry to the table. Participants recommended that CRA-I could put together best practices and or develop models for partnerships in new areas such as sustainable computing and networking. Delving deeper into topics like these could generate new directions and collaborations between academia and industry. 

On the last day of the conference, CRA-I hosted a wrap-up lunch for industry participants and affiliates. The lunch provided a platform for valuable feedback on how to enhance industry participation in future conferences and identify topics of mutual interest. During the lunch, participants proposed initiating educational initiatives where industry could play a more active role in mentorship programs. Two challenges frequently faced by students seeking industrial internships were highlighted: navigating the CPT (Curricular Practical Training) approval processes at universities and managing the credit fees associated with internships. Participants encouraged CRA-I to explore these areas further. Another significant discussion point was the issue of establishing best practices for the diversity of companies that make up today’s computing industry to participate in research and build productive relationships with academia. Dubbed “Research in a Box”, this would enable companies to learn from each other on what approaches work most effectively. This would benefit CRA-I, the industries involved, and their academic partners.

These are just a few of the many insightful ideas shared throughout the week. CRA-I extends its gratitude to all participants at Snowbird for their invaluable contributions. Your insights are crucial to our growth and addressing the pressing issues facing the industry today. We look forward to seeing you at future CRA and CRA-I events! Please sign up for our updates here.

NSF Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing in Practice (PDaSP)

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In our hyperconnected world, increasing computational power and the rapid growth of data offer vast opportunities for data-driven decision-making and scientific advancement. To harness these benefits responsibly, especially for training AI models, we need scalable technologies for privacy-preserving data sharing. Despite significant research progress, these technologies are still at varying stages of practical deployment.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) just released a new solicitation for a new program called Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing in Practice (PDaSP). 

From the press release: 

The goals of the PDaSP program are aligned with the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI EO), which emphasizes the role for privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) in a responsible and safe AI future. The EO directs NSF to, “where feasible and appropriate, prioritize research — including efforts to translate research discoveries into practical applications — that encourage the adoption of leading-edge PETs solutions for agencies’ use.” It also tasks NSF with “developing and helping to ensure the availability of testing environments, such as testbeds, to support the development of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI technologies, as well as to support the design, development, and deployment of associated PETs.” In addition to meeting these directives in the AI EO, the PDaSP program strives to address key recommendations made in the National Strategy to Advance Privacy Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics (PPDSA). In particular, the program strives to advance the strategy’s priority to “Accelerate Transition to Practice,” which includes efforts to “promote applied and translational research and systems development,” develop “tool repositories, measurement methods, benchmarking, and testbeds,” and “improve usability and inclusiveness of PPDSA solutions.”

The full proposal deadline is September 27, 2024 and it welcomes proposals from qualified researchers and multidisciplinary teams in the following tracks with expected funding ranges for proposals as shown below.

Track 1: Advancing key technologies to enable practical PPDSA solutions:

  • Track 1 projects are expected to be budgeted in the $500K – $1M range for up to 2 years

Track 2: Integrated and comprehensive solutions for trustworthy data sharing in application settings: 

  • Track 2 projects are expected to be budgeted in the  $1M – $1.5M range for up to 3 years

Track 3: Usable tools, and testbeds for trustworthy sharing of private or otherwise confidential data.

  • Track 3 projects are expected to be budgeted in the $500K – $1.5M range for up to 3 years

The PDaSP program represents the collaborative efforts of the NSF Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorates, Intel Corporation and VMware LLC as industry partners, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as federal agency partners.

There is a virtual question and answer session in which program directors will discuss eligibility and how the program is structured. After an initial presentation, ample time will be allotted for questions from attendees.  They will be held on Friday, July 12, 1:30–3:00 p.m. EDT  and Tuesday, July 23, 1–2:30 p.m. EDT. Please click those dates to register for a session.