This week (September 21-25) is the sixth annual National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW), sponsored by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA). NPAW, the nation’s largest celebration of postdoctoral scholars, was established with the goal of increasing awareness of postdocs. Institutions are encouraged to plan activities that honor postdocs and recognize the contributions they make to research and development in the United States. The Postdoc Best Practices (Postdoc BP) program is coming into its second year. This project is a joint effort of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), designed to create a set of best practices for postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) in computer science. The Postdocs BP […]

The Big Data to Knowledge Coordination Center (BD2KCC) is announcing a call for  hackathon event proposals related to biomedical big data science. The BD2KCC is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) program, which is committed to fostering consortium activities and collaborations among the nationwide BD2K investigator teams. The current request for applications aims to advance the mission of BD2K by inviting proposals to host public hackathon events that will harness broad expertise for the development and application of biomedical big data software tools. Applications for the first round of funding are due October 15th, 2015. More information about this opportunity can be found […]

National Science Foundation (NSF) Assistant Director for the Directorate of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) James Kurose has issued the following letter to the community describing the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTc) Program Director position available: Dear Colleague: The Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) announces a nationwide search to fill a Program Director position for the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Directors are in charge of specific research areas. They solicit, receive and review research and education proposals, make funding recommendations and administer awards. […]

The U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has awarded $75 million to help a consortium of high-tech firms and researchers develop electronic systems packed with sensors. The group will work to advance the development and manufacture of so-called flexible hybrid electronics, which can be embedded with sensors and stretched, twisted and bent to fit aircraft or other platform where they will be used. The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory will manage the consortium and add $90 million in federal funds, along with some additional funding from the local governments, to boost the total five-year funding level to $171 million. Normally, the Pentagon would develop most of this technology itself, but the […]

The Anita Borg Institute (ABI), a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in computing, has announced the winners of the 2015 Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) ABIE Awards. Each year, the GHC ABIE Awards recognize female leaders in the categories of technical leadership, social impact, innovative teaching practices, emerging leadership and international change agent.   The winners are nominated by their peers and chosen by a panel of fellow technologists and past ABIE Award winners based on their extraordinary achievements and commitment to excellence. This year’s GHC ABIE Awards and their winners, respectively, are: Technical Leadership ABIE Award  The Technical Leadership ABIE Award recognizes women technologists who demonstrate leadership through their contributions […]

The White House has kicked off the first ever Smart Cities Week (September 15-17, 2015) in Washington, DC, announcing new steps in support of a new National Smart Cities Initiative. The National Smart Cities Initiative will invest over $160 million in federal research and leverage more than 25 new technology collaborations to help local communities tackle key challenges such as reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services. The Administration’s Smart Cities Initiative will begin with a focus on three key strategies creating test beds for “Internet of Things” applications and developing new multi-sector collaborative models, collaborating with the […]