Today marks a significant step forward in fostering groundbreaking interdisciplinary collaborations within the computing research community. The Computing Research Association (CRA) and CRA’s Computing Community Consortium (CCC) are proud to announce the release of a crucial new document: Catalyzing Interdisciplinary Computing Research: Best Practices for Organizational Leadership. For years, it has been widely acknowledged that computing research holds immense potential to address society’s most complex challenges. However, unlocking this potential through large-scale societal impact hinges on effective interdisciplinary collaborations. Despite decades of research into optimal interdisciplinary practices, researchers continue to face significant hurdles. This new document directly confronts these challenges, offering actionable recommendations for leaders across research sectors.   […]

CCC is pleased to announce we are sponsoring another Blue Sky Ideas track at the ACM SIGKDD 2025 Health Day conference on August 5 in Toronto, Canada, and submissions are open until Friday, June 27. If you are interested in submitting a paper, please see the submission details below or check out the conference website for more information.   Call for Papers: ACM SIGKDD 2025 Health Day Blue Sky Ideas Track Event: KDD 2025 Health Day Track: Blue Sky Ideas Date: Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Location: Toronto, Canada Website: https://kdd2025.kdd.org/special-days/ Aims and Scope The Blue Sky Ideas Track at KDD 2025 Health Day seeks bold, visionary contributions at the frontier […]

  In our previous post, “From Science Fiction to Science Fact: Beth Mynatt Traces the Multi-Trillion Dollar Impact of Computing Innovation in the U.S.”, we explored how Beth Mynatt, Dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, highlighted the profound impact of federally funded computing research in her May keynote speech at the CCC Computing Futures Symposium, held in Washington, D.C.  While her keynote expertly mapped out the “tire tracks” of innovation — tracing ideas back and forth between university labs and companies, eventually contributing to trillion-dollar industries — a critical question lingers: In an era dominated by tech giants, why does government funding for academic research […]

  Beth Mynatt, Dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, recently delivered a compelling keynote at the CCC Computing Futures Symposium that underscored the often-overlooked yet profound impact of federally funded computer science research. She began with thought-provoking “what if” scenarios, inviting us to imagine a world without key computational advancements rooted in decades of federal investments. What if the internet hadn’t emerged from US-backed research? If computational innovations hadn’t driven a significant reduction in cancer mortality, saving millions of lives and trillions in economic impact? Or if IT-driven innovations hadn’t revolutionized agriculture and today’s crop yields were 50 percent lower across the world? These hypotheticals […]

  A recent CCC Computing Futures Symposium panel, featuring luminaries in the field — Robin Murphy (Texas A&M University), Melanie Moses (University of New Mexico), Chad Jenkins (University of Michigan), and Holly Yanco (University of Massachusetts – Lowell) — offered a captivating glimpse into the evolving landscape of robotics and autonomy. Moderated by Weisong Shi (University of Delaware), the discussion highlighted pivotal advancements in sensing, computation, and intelligence, exploring their profound implications for society, research, and education. Charting the Present and Future of Robotics  The panelists began by painting a vivid picture of the current state and future potential of robotics. Murphy, a pioneer in rescue robots, challenged conventional notions […]

Artificial intelligence stands at a “great juncture,” a moment brimming with excitement and profound responsibility. This was the central theme of a recent insightful panel discussion where leading minds in AI — Yolanda Gil (University of Southern California), David Jensen (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Aarti Singh (AI Institute for Societal Decision Making), and Bart Selman (Cornell University) —explored its current trajectory and charted its future horizons. The panel was moderated by Bob Bond (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The conversation moved beyond the hype, offering a grounded yet ambitious vision for where AI is headed and what it will take to get there responsibly.   Shifting the Focus of AI Development  […]