In the New York Times’ Sunday Review, technology writer Steve Lohr pens a story all about the “Internet of Things,” noting how “low-cost sensors, clever software, and advancing computer firepower are opening the door to new uses in energy conservation, transportation, health care, and food distribution.” From the article: The concept has been around for years, sometimes called the Internet of Things or the Industrial Internet. Yet it takes time for the economics and engineering to catch up with the predictions. And that moment is upon us.   “We’re going to put the digital ‘smarts’ into everything,” said Edward D. Lazowska, a computer scientist at the University of Washington [and CCC Council chair]. These abundant smart […]

The following is a special contribution to this blog from Cui Tao and Matt-Mouley Bouamrane, the organizing chairs of the First International Workshop on Managing Interoperability and compleXity in Health Systems, which was held in October 2011 in Scotland (U.K.). We were delighted to host a successful Vision and Challenge Track at the First International Workshop on Managing Interoperability and compleXity in Health Systems. MIXHS 2011 was a forum focused on recent research and technical results in knowledge management and information systems in bio-medical and electronic health systems. The workshop was designed to provide an opportunity for sharing practical experiences and best practices in e-Health information infrastructure development and management. Of particular interest to the […]

In The Washington Post yesterday: Modern technological advances have sparked many concerns that supercomputers, robots and other sophisticated machinery will soon erase the need for skilled workers, especially in industries like manufacturing and construction, perhaps driving the nation’s unemployment rate even higher in the years ahead.   Similarly, Americans’ increasing dependence on technology, ranging from constant computer use to around-the-clock interaction with mobile phones, has prompted many observers and academics to question whether the line separating people and technology is blurring in an all too dangerous manner.   On Monday, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt offered words to mollify those concerns [after the jump].  

Earlier this month, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) released a new report — Rebuilding the Mosaic: Fostering Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation in the Next Decade — representing the results of a year-long visioning process assessing the directorate’s existing research investments and identifying important research directions for the future. What’s interesting is that the report, which is based on 252 white paper submissions from 240 authors (received through an open submission process) specifically touts “an interdisciplinary, data-intensive, and collaborative vision for the future of SBE research” — one that necessitates new partnerships and synergies between social […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is out with a brief overview of the results of its annual Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED) for 2010, finding that the numbers of Ph.D.s in the computer sciences increased by 3.5 percent that year, more than in any other discipline. (The total number of doctorates awarded by U.S. academic institutions declined for the first time since 2002 — and NSF notes that reclassification of degrees and discontinuation of data collection in certain areas contributed at least in part to this drop.) According to the NSF InfoBrief:

A series of computing research advances making the news in the past week: A New Forecasting Algorithm to Predict Hurricane Intensity and Wind Speed Scientists at Southern Methodist University’s (SMU) Intelligent Data Analysis Lab (IDA) [have] developed a new forecasting algorithm called the Prediction Intensity Interval model for Hurricanes (PIIH) to help better predict hurricane intensity.   PIIH also predicts the potential ranges, from high to low, of maximum hurricane wind speeds, specifying the likelihood of wind speeds in varying ranges.   “Accurately predicting intensity means vastly improving hurricane readiness and reducing the risk to property and human life,” said Michael Hahsler, visiting assistant professor for Computer Science and Engineering at SMU. “With […]