We all have seen pictures of a driverless car, loaded with quite a bit of equipment on top of the car to help in the autonomous nature of the car.  On June 24, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University brought their next generation driverless car to Washington, DC at the request of Congressman Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania.   This next generation car doesn’t look much like it’s predecessor, BOSS, who won the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.  Rather, it looks more like any “ordinary” car, as its top-of-the-line radar, cameras, sensors and other technologies are built into the body of the vehicle. The car’s computers are tucked away under the floor.  The goal of CMU’s researchers […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has recently released a toolkit that describes NSF’s investment in fundamental research. It has infographics, fact sheets, brochures, and a video on NSF’s merit review process.  One of the infographics highlights a “Day in the Life”-how your daily activities intersect with NSF supported efforts. The following is from the NSF Press Release. “NSF’s toolkit offers a range of information about the vital work of the Foundation in a compelling way using modern communications methods,” said NSF’s Office of Legislative and Public Affairs Director Judith Gan. “We encourage the NSF community and the general public to explore the materials we’re releasing today to learn more about […]

As reported in this blog earlier in the month, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and Intel Labs recently announced a new partnership to support novel, transformative, multidisciplinary approaches that address the problem of securing current and emerging cyber-physical systems, the infrastructures they form, and those integrated with them. A key part of this solicitation is the use of an Ideas Lab to identify and develop novel ideas.  A unique feature of an Ideas Lab is the multidisciplinary nature of the selected participants.  The Computing Research Association (CRA), CCC’s parent organization, is working with Knowinnovation to run the Ideas Lab.  The two organizations previously worked together on a successful Ideas […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) recently posted a new solicitation for the Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies (Cyberlearning) program. The following is from the Cyberlearning website. The purpose of the Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies program is to integrate opportunities offered by emerging technologies with advances in what is known about how people learn to advance three interconnected thrusts: Innovation: inventing and improving next-generation genres (types) of learning technologies, identifying new means of using technology for fostering and assessing learning, and proposing new ways of integrating learning technologies with each other and into learning environments to foster and assess learning; Advancing understanding of how people learn […]

The following is a special contribution to this blog from our Vice Chair Gregory Hager (Johns Hopkins University). In the following entry Greg reflects on the first annual PI meeting for the National Science Foundation’s Expeditions in Computing program held in May in Washington, DC. I had the privilege of attending the National Science Foundation (NSF) Expeditions in Computing program’s first annual PI meeting which took place on May 14 -16, 2013 in Washington, DC. In its most recent solicitation, CISE describes the Expeditions program as follows:  The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) has created the Expeditions in Computing (Expeditions) program to provide the CISE research and education […]

On June 21, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a nationwide search for multiple Program Directors in the Division of Information & Intelligent Systems (IIS) within the Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). From the Dear Colleague Letter: The Division of Information & Intelligent Systems (IIS), within the Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) announces a nationwide search to fill multiple Program Director positions in the areas of the Information Integration and Informatics (III) core program and the multi-agency Big Data program. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Directors are in charge of specific research areas. They solicit, receive and review research and education proposals, […]