The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is pleased to announce a distinguished lecture on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 10:00AM ET by Dr. Lorrie Cranor titled Privacy Notice and Consent for an IoT World.  Lorrie Faith Cranor joined the US Federal Trade Commission as Chief Technologist in January 2016. She is on leave from Carnegie Mellon University where she is a Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering and Public Policy, Director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory (CUPS), and Co-director of the MSIT-Privacy Engineering masters program. She also co-founded Wombat Security Technologies, an information security awareness training company. Cranor has authored […]

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Smart and Autonomous Systems (S&AS) program focuses on Intelligent Physical Systems (IPS) that are cognizant, taskable, reflective, ethical, and knowledge-rich. The full proposal deadline date is December 19, 2016. From the solicitation (NSF 16-608): The S&AS program welcomes research on IPS that are aware of their capabilities and limitations, leading to long-term autonomy requiring minimal or no human operator intervention. Example IPS include, but are not limited to, robotic platforms and networked systems that combine computing, sensing, communication, and actuation. Cognizant IPS exhibit high-level awareness beyond primitive actions, in support of persistent and long-term autonomy. Taskable IPS can interpret high-level, possibly vague, instructions, translating them into concrete actions that […]

The following is a guest blog post by Tracy Kimbrel, Program Director, in Computing and Communication Foundations and Gera Jochum, Communications Specialist, in the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate at the National Science Foundation.  The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released a document, 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments, that seeks to “define a set of cutting-edge research agendas and processes.”   One of the Big Ideas is Harnessing Data for 21st Century Science and Engineering, described as “a bold initiative to develop a cohesive, national-scale approach to research data infrastructure and a 21st-century workforce capable of working effectively with data.” In April 2016, NSF sponsored a workshop Theoretical Foundations of […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced giving $10 million in awards to 10 “Big Data Spokes” projects in order to facilitate research on topics identified by the four Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs (BD Hubs). The BD Hubs, started by NSF last year, attempt to address regional specific needs for big data. For instance the Midwest Hub includes a focus on agriculture, while the South Hub includes coastal hazards. The Spokes cover a range of topics, including agriculture, data sharing, healthcare, and big data for environmental uses. “The BD Spokes advance the goals and regional priorities of each BD Hub, fusing the strengths of a range of institutions and […]

As part of the White House’s expansion of the Smart Cities Initiative, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a new program solicitation on Smart and Connected Communities. The following Dear Colleague Letter from Jim Kurose, Assistant Director of NSF for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, explains the new opportunities available. Dear Colleagues,   Yesterday, the White House announced that the federal government is committing over $80 million – led by NSF with a $60M commitment over two years – toward the Smart Cities Initiative that was launched just over a year ago.   NSF has long supported the fundamental research, education, and community-building activities that are catalyzing the multidisciplinary and […]

To kick off the start of Smart Cities Week, the White House has announced that it is expanding its Smart Cities initiative, by adding over $80 million dollars in new federal investments and doubling the number of participating communities (to over 70 in total). The Community Community Consortium (CCC) held a Smart Cities panel and discussion at the Computing Research Symposium: Addressing National Priorities and Societal Needs. You can see the full discussion here. Some highlights from the White House Fact Sheet are below: Today, to kick off Smart Cities Week, the Administration is expanding this initiative, with over $80 million in new Federal investments and a doubling of the number of […]