The Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS) Foundation’s 2011 Conference (NIPS 2011) has announced a special two-day workshop on parallel and large-scale machine learning called Big Learning: Algorithms, Systems, and Tools for Learning at Scale. The workshop, collocated with NIPS 2011 in Granada, Spain, aims “to bring together parallel system builders in industry and academia, machine learning algorithms experts, and end users to identify the key challenges, opportunities, and myths of Big Learning.” There will be a focus on practical case studies, demos, benchmarks, and lessons-learned papers. From the official call for papers:

(This post has been updated; please scroll down for the latest.) The NSF’s CISE Directorate has issued a call for white papers for the new US Ignite initiative: The National Science Foundation invites white papers from individuals and organizations (e.g., academic, non-profit, industry, associations, government agencies) that want to express particular interest in the US Ignite initiative — as a partner/resource/infrastructure provider; researcher/innovator for gigabit application development in areas of national priority; or as an entity willing to set up a not-for-profit to govern US Ignite resources in a public-private partnership…

The following is a special contribution to this blog from Shashi Shekhar and Mohamed Mokbel, faculty in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Minnesota. The pair organized the 12th International Symposium on Spatial and Temporal Databases in Minneapolis, MN, this week. We were delighted to host a successful Vision and Challenge Track at the 12th International Symposium on Spatial and Temporal Databases this past Wednesday through Friday. SSTD 2011 was the twelfth event in a series of biennial symposia that discuss research in spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal data management. This year’s SSTD program exhibited diversity across organizations (e.g., academic, industry, and government), career stage (e.g., graduate students, early-stage, mid-stage, […]

(This post has been updated; please scroll down for the latest.) Despite some slight weakening over the last few hours, Hurricane Irene is being called the “storm of a lifetime” — on its current path, it will affect over 65 million people in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. over the next 72 hours. Packing winds of 100 mph (as of this writing) and ocean waves in excess of 25 feet near its center, Irene looks every bit as ferocious as it sounds — and forecasters are warning of destructive flooding and wind damage. And as those of us on the East coast prepare for the storm, at a cost of millions […]

The organizers of the second annual symposium on Computing for Development (DEV 2012) — to be colocated with the Fifth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD 2012) in Atlanta, GA, March 10-11, 2012 — have issued a call for papers: DEV 2012 provides an international forum for research in the design and implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for social and economic development. In particular, we focus on emerging contexts where conventional computing solutions are often inappropriate due to various contextual factors – including, but not limited to, cost, language, literacy, and the availability of power and bandwidth. Focusing on innovative technical solutions to these unique application, infrastructure and user challenges, DEV fosters exchange […]

The NSF’s CISE Directorate has issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), calling to attention the outputs of a multi-agency, invitational workshop on Cyber Security Data for Experimentation (CSDE). The workshop — which was held last year through the collaboration of the NSF, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Treasury Department, as well as other Federal agencies — sought to find new ways for industrial partners to exchange relevant data with academic researchers. Academic, industry, and government participants engaged in spirited discussion and developed a deeper understanding of the issues involved in gaining access to industrial data sources and sharing research results based on those data…   One positive outcome […]