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 […]

Be sure to tune into the White House Science Fair on Monday to see future computer science researchers like Sreya Atluri, Maureen “Reeny” Botros, and Sophia Sánchez-Maes. They are honored guests at the fifth White House Science Fair and recipients of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing. Included at the Science Fair will be a TV personality, Cierra Ramirez who plays Mariana Foster in the ABC Family series, The Fosters. On the show, Cierra’s character is learning how to code and will attend a hackathon this season. She is working hard to change stereotypes and be a role model for young girls. For more information, see the White House […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), have joined to support the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science program. This program supports active long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, Computer and Information Science, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers and community college and university faculty and students to bring knowledge of engineering or computer and information science and engineering as well as technological innovation to pre-college/community college classrooms. The goal of these partnerships is to enable K-12 STEM teachers and community college faculty to translate their research experiences and new knowledge gained in […]

The next WATCH Talk is Thursday, March 19, 12:00-1:00PM EDT. Mary Ellen Callahan, will discuss Cybersecurity and Privacy: Complementary– Not Mutually Exclusive– Concepts. Mary Ellen Callahan, Chair of Jenner & Block’s Privacy and Information Governance Practice, has unique and broad experience advising clients at the interface of privacy protection with cybersecurity and national security.  A nationally recognized privacy attorney, she served as Chief Privacy Officer of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2009 until August 2012.  She is a prolific writer and speaker on cutting-edge commercial privacy issues. Abstract   Cybersecurity information sharing is vital to protect the private and public sector assets. With that said, privacy protections must […]

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 National Institute of Health (NIH) is determined to reduce the cost and time it takes to discover viable therapeutic targets, which drive the changes in the molecular networks leading to the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. NIH is leading the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and various other industry and academic scientists in a public-private partnership effort to create a Big Data portal for Alzheimer’s drug discovery. This Accelerating Medicine Partnership for Alzheimer’s disease (AMP-AD) Knowledge Portal is public so it will enable sharing, transparency, reproducibility, and analysis of large biomedical datasets. The hope is that it will shorten the time between discovery of potential drug targets to development […]