In response to the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014, federal agencies are developing a Federal cybersecurity research and development strategic plan. On behalf of the agencies, the NITRD Cybersecurity R&D Senior Steering Group seeks public input on research objectives for the strategic plan. The strategic plan will be used to guide and coordinate federally-funded cybersecurity research. Responses must be 25 pages or less and are due by June 19, 2015 to cybersecurity@nitrd.gov. For more information, please see the RFI’s link on the Federal Register.  Responders are asked to answer one or more of the following questions:   1. Section 201 (a)(1) of the Act identifies a number of cybersecurity objectives. What scientific, […]

A careful distinction between quality and quantity is key to promoting the future growth of the computing and information field. Toward that end, Batya Friedman, Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington, and Fred B. Schneider, Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University, put together a Best Practices Memo that advocates adjustments to hiring, promotion, and tenure practices as well as to the publication culture. Contributions in a small number of high quality publications or artifacts are what should be emphasized; success as a researcher is then not primarily a matter of numbers. These Best Practices recommendations were developed over an 18-month period by the Computing […]

Due the advancement in computer science, π (Pi) has now been calculated to over one trillion digits past its decimal. Only 39 digits past the decimal are needed to accurately calculate the spherical volume of our entire universe, but because of Pi’s infinite & patternless nature it is fun to computationally calculate more and more digits. Plus, it give us a reason to celebrate March 14th or 3.14 with a delicious pie! The National Institute of Health (NIH) is holding a Pi Day Celebration on the NIH main campus (Building 35/Porter, basement rooms 620/630) on Pi Day Eve, March 13, 2015.  The day will be packed full of events, including a keynote […]

The Global City Teams Challenge, an initiative by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and US Ignite, is designed to advance the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies within a smart city / smart community environment around the world. More than 30 teams are pursuing projects related to sectors including public safety, energy and transportation. Participants in the Global City Teams Challenge are working to deploy an emerging technology within a cyber physical system (CPS) by June 2015. On February 12-13, 2015, NIST and US Ignite will host a Tech Jam that will provide existing teams with an opportunity to present their project plans and identify additional project […]

The following is a guest blog post from Craig E. Wills,  Professor and Department Head of the Computer Science Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  The wealth of faculty searches in Computer Science during this hiring season for positions starting in the Fall of 2015 affords the opportunity to study areas of Computer Science where departments are choosing to invest in new faculty hires. While the number and areas for faculty searches does not necessarily translate into the same for faculty hires, we believe that they provide insight into current and future needs within the discipline. We analyzed ads from 223 institutions for hundreds of tenure-track faculty positions in Computer Science. […]

Last week the National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Agriculture and NASA announced $31.5 million in new awards to spur the development and use of robots that work cooperatively with people (known as co-robots). The awards mark the third round of funding made through the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), a multi-agency program launched in September 2012 as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Initiative, with NSF as the lead federal agency. The 52 new research awards, ranging from $300,000 to $1.8 million over one to four years, advance fundamental understanding of robotic sensing, motion, computer vision, machine learning and human-computer interaction. The awards […]