In honor of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA) sponsored a Capitol Hill briefing titled Privacy and Security in a Connected Age on October 30.  This briefing was hosted by the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, including the Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Michael McCaul and Congressman James Langevin. Dr. C Suzanne Iacono, acting Assistant Director for the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate at NSF and moderator of the panel, opened the session by saying, “If we want a future with more individual choice and freedom, a future that we want to live in…we need to create large scale systems that […]

The following is a special contribution to this blog by Keith Marzullo, division director for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS).    Starting in 2008, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established a program called Cyber-Physical Systems, or CPS for short. What are CPS, and why did we establish this program? To answer these questions, I’d like you to imagine a world in which our physical environment interacts seamlessly and intelligently with us. Where our homes and offices respond to our needs while conserving our use of resources such as energy and water. Where we have access to autonomous vehicles that provide transportation while reducing congestion, fuel […]

On November 13, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will host it’s next Washington Area Trustworthy Computing Hour (WATCH) talk. The talk will be “The burden of authentication: What friction points reveal.” The speaker will be Dana Chisnell, from the Center for Civic Design. From the abstract: Everyone whines about dealing with passwords and authentication, but what is the real cost to individual users? In a study conducted with 23 people at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, we asked participants to tell us about every time they authenticated in a 24-hour period. From this, we learned that the friction of authentication goes beyond the specific act of authenticating, spilling over into tasks, productivity, and […]

The National Science Foundation recently featured University of Missouri computer scientist Marjorie Skubic in a Science360 radio episode. Skubic is engineering high speed networks that can remotely monitor movement and vital signs. The goal is to help provide independent living for the elderly. In this photo at the Smart America Expo, Skubic is showing sensors that are placed under a mattress to monitor vital signs. As part of the Closed Loop Healthcare team at the Expo, Skubic worked to connect the technologies she’s created with those developed by other teams with similar health care goals. Marjorie Skubic was a recent participant at the CCC Aging in Place Workshop. Aging in Place was a trans-NIH/interagency […]

The following is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) by the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Acting Assistant Director, Dr. Suzanne Iacono.   Dear Colleagues: Through its CISE Research Infrastructure (CRI) program (NSF 14-593 – http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf14593), the NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) supports world-class research infrastructure enabling focused research agendas in computer and information science and engineering. The CRI program funds both the creation of new infrastructure as well as the enhancement of existing infrastructure. CISE recognizes the importance of stable community infrastructure for its researchers. With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), CISE notes particular interest in proposals that […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) requested that the National Research Council (NRC) carry out a study examining anticipated priorities for advanced computing infrastructure in support of NSF-sponsored science and engineering research. The study encompasses advanced computing infrastructure activities and programs throughout NSF, including but not limited to, those of its Division on Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (ACI). In response to this request, the NRC established the Committee on Future Directions for NSF Advanced Computing Infrastructure. The committee has begun its work by gathering and reviewing relevant materials, receiving testimony and comments from individuals, and identifying additional experts to receive testimony from along with additional information. Information is still being collected, but some important […]