The Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award program recognizes undergraduate students in North American colleges and universities who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research. Eligible nominees are enrolled as undergraduates in a North American college or university throughout the academic year September 2012 to May 2013. They must be nominated by two faculty members and recommended by the chair of their home department. No more than two male and two female candidates can be recommended by the same department chair in the same year. A cash prize of $1,000 will be awarded to each of two undergraduate students, one female and one male. A small […]

In a Communications of the ACM blog post, Mark Guzdial raises some probing “Research Questions About MOOCs.” He points to recent articles that explore the impact of MOOCs, such as “Will MOOCs destroy academia?” by Moshe Vardi and “In the Year of Disruptive Education” by Paul Hyman, both published in CACM, and then offered his perspective as a computing education researcher: What will be the impact of MOOCs on diversity in computing? Computing (encompassing computer science, information systems, information technology, computer engineering, and software engineering) is predominantly white or Asian and male.  The percentage of women in computing continues to decline.  Only 11.7% of Bachelor’s degrees in CS went to women in 2011. … Are […]

On February 14, Kelly Gaither (Texas Advanced Computing Center), Kathryn McKinley (Microsoft Research), and Ed Lazowska (University of Washington and Computing Community Consortium) testified to the Subcommittee on Research of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology at a hearing on “Applications for Information Technology Research & Development.” Lazowska sang a familiar refrain:  Research often takes a long time before it pays off – often 15 years or more. Research often pays off in unanticipated ways – we can’t predict what the biggest impact will be. Advances in one sector enable advances in other sectors. The research ecosystem is fueled by the flow of people and ideas back and […]

Last Saturday, Erwin Gianchandani, formerly the director of the Computing Community Consortium and now the deputy director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Computer and Network Systems, organized and moderated a symposium at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) 2013 Annual Meeting in Boston. The 90-minute session – titled How Fundamental Computing Research Touches Everyday Lives — sought to describe how fundamental research in computing over the last several decades has transformed our world, and promises to facilitate enormous opportunities for still more game-changing breakthroughs in the years ahead. Nearly 85 people packed into a room at the Hynes Convention Center to hear the session’s featured […]

The following is a special contribution to the CCC blog from Will Barkis, Project Lead, Mozilla Ignite. Mozilla, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, US Ignite, KC Digital Drive and the Kauffman Foundation would like to invite you to “Hacking the Gigabit City” on March 22-24 in the Google Fiber Space in Kansas City. Gigabit networks might just be to the 21st century what railroads, electricity, highways and telephones were to the 20th.  That future is here in Kansas City, home of broadband and barbecue.  Following previous events in San Francisco and Chattanooga, we invite you to Kansas City to come hack the gig. At “Hacking the Gigabit City”, we’ll […]

Congratulations to CCC Council member Anita Jones for being named the recipient of the 2012 Philip Hauge Ableson Award. The Ableson award is the highest award conferred by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Jones was actively involved in supporting the Computing Research Association’s proposal to create the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), and has served on the CCC Council since its inception. She is currently University Professor Emerita at the University of Virginia. Jones was selected for the honor by AAAS “for her outstanding scientific-technical achievements; her contributions as a mentor, inspiration, and role model for other scientists and engineers; and her lifetime of exemplary public service to government, professional […]