July 31, 2014 marks Farnam Jahanian’s final day as Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this position, which he has held since February 1, 2011, Farnam has been a indefatigable champion for the computer science research community. He led the launch of three Presidential Initiatives: the National Robotics Initiative, the Big Data Research and Development Initiative, and US Ignite. He led the Directorate through the creation of 25 new solicitations, many of which were cross-directorate, and he spearheaded the expansion of interagency and international collaborations: Smart and Connected Health with NIH; Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience with NIH, Israel, France and Germany; and Cyber Physical Systems with DHS and DoT. Further, he has created new partnerships for joint solicitations with Intel and Semiconductor Research Corporation.
Here are a few comments about Farnam and his leadership from colleagues around the country:
“I have come to know Farnam Jahanian primarily through his service as the Director of CISE. In a long line of occupants of that post, he has stood out in my mind as an invigorating thinker who has challenged our community to tackle hard problems in creative ways. He has had a powerful influence on the adoption of collaborative research practices and a unifying force in the computer science and computer engineering disciplines. I wish him every success in his new post at CMU.”
— Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
“Farnam has done an amazing job leading CISE. He launched influential initiatives that will pay dividends for years to come, and he strengthened CISE’s connection with other funding agencies and other parts of government. Most importantly, Farnam truly engaged the community, actively seeking feedback and suggestions to strengthen how CISE works. I don’t envy his successor having to fill his shoes. I wish him all the best in his new gig at CMU.”
— Jen Rexford, Former AC co-chair, Princeton University
“Farnam has been a hugely successful AD. Part of it is his pedigree: a top-tier researcher, educator, entrepreneur, and leader from one of the nation’s premier engineering programs. Part of it is his personality: he’s gregarious, genuinely nice, and consultative; he’s partnership-oriented and seeks win-win outcomes.
Farnam has been a phenomenal partner with the computing research community and particularly with the Computing Community Consortium. He reached out continuously, and we could clearly see the results of our input in the shape of programs. This encouraged participation by researchers who hadn’t previously been engaged. The field is in a very different position as a result of his leadership.”
— Ed Lazowska, CCC Founding Chair, University of Washington
On behalf of the entire computer science research community, we all wish Farnam the best in his future at Carnegie Mellon University.
