This blog is a special contribution from Sitaram Asur, a Computing Innovation Fellow from 2009-2010.  When I graduated with my PhD from the Ohio State University in June 2009, it was a very disappointing job market. The economy was at its lowest ebb and most companies that I was interested in had established a freeze on their hiring. I was keen on an industrial research position but there were very few suitable opportunities available. I am very thankful to the CIFellows project for providing opportunities for fresh graduates like myself to stay in the research pipeline. My dissertation research focused on data mining on dynamic interaction networks. During my PhD, […]

On April 2, 2013, President Obama launched the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative as a bold new research effort to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders.  The Initiative is a joint program with funding through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). In mid-November, DARPA announced two programs as a part of this Initiative: SUBNETS (Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies) and RAM (Restoring Active Memory). The SUBNETS program asks researchers to develop novel, wireless devices, such as deep brain stimulators, that can cure neurological disorders.  From […]