The National Science Foundation (NSF) has three new announcements today related to the BRAIN Initiative and NSF’s Understanding the Brain activities:   NSF 14-611  Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NSF-NCS) This solicitation describes the first phase of a new NSF program to support transformative and integrative research that will accelerate understanding of neural and cognitive systems. INTEGRATIVE FOUNDATIONS awards will support projects that develop foundational advances that are deeply connected to a broad scope of important research questions in cognitive and neural systems, and have significant potential for transformative advances in one or more of the FY 2015 thematic areas. CORE+ EXTENSIONS will provide additional support to projects selected for […]

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced its first wave of investments totaling $46 million to support the goals of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. President Obama launched the BRAIN Initiative in April 2013 as a 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). This first wave of investments through NIH will fund more than 100 investigators so they can develop new tools and technologies to understand neural circuit […]

Dr. James F. Kurose, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), was named the next Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) at NSF, effective January 2015.  Dr. Kurose will assume the position that Dr. Farnam Jahanian successfully held for three years before leaving NSF to become the Vice President for Research at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Dr. Kurose is currently a member of the Computing Research Association (CRA) Board of Directors. For Dr. Kurose’s complete bio click here. The official NSF announcement is available here.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) announced nine research awards to 10 universities totaling nearly $4 million to develop Secure, Trustworthy, Assured, and Resilient Semiconductors and Systems (STARSS). The STARSS program is part of a $75 million cyber security effort by the NSF, aimed at making chips immune from being exploited by hackers who take advantage of hidden Trojan horses that are intentionally or unintentionally inserted into chips by intellectual property (IP).  The goal is to also make it easier to spot counterfeit chips, chips that have been tampered with, and used chips being passed off as new. For more information about this program and the nine […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) Fellowship Program provides U.S. graduate students in science and engineering with an opportunity to spend 8 weeks (10 weeks for Japan) during the summer conducting research at one of seven host locations in East Asia and the Pacific: Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan. The program is a collaboration between NSF and counterpart agencies in each host location. EAPSI is open to graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and are enrolled in a research-oriented Masters or Ph.D. program in science or engineering. Applicants must propose a research project in a field of […]

In March 2012, the Obama Administration announced the “Big Data Research and Development Initiative.” The goal is to help solve some of the Nation’s most pressing challenges by improving our ability to extract knowledge from large and complex collections of digital data. The Administration encouraged multiple stakeholders including federal agencies, private industry, academia, state and local government, non-profits, and foundations, to develop and participate in Big Data innovation projects across the country. National Science Foundation is exploring the establishment of a national network of “Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs.” These Hubs will help to sustain new regional and grassroots partnerships around Big Data. Potential roles for Hubs include, but are […]