Editor’s note: As we’ve previously noted in this space, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting applications for its 2012 East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students (EAPSI). Mike Stilman — an Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing and Director of the Humanoid Robotics Lab in the Robotics and Intelligent Machines Center — participated in the 2005 EAPSI program, visiting the Digital Human Research Center (DHRC) in Tokyo, Japan, while a Ph.D. student at Carnegie Mellon University. Here Mike shares his experiences — and encourages others in computer science (and related fields) to apply. The NSF/JSPS EAPSI program was an essential experience that contributed to the formation of my identity, my world perspective and my career. I […]

A reminder that proposals responsive to the Computing Community Consortium’s (CCC) call for workshop programs that will define visions and agendas for exciting frontiers of computing research are due by 5pm EDT next Friday, Oct. 14th. From the official solicitation: Successful [workshop] programs will ultimately articulate and mobilize community support for a research vision(s), with the intention of generating support from funding agencies. Proposals are encouraged across the full spectrum of work in the creation and application of information technologies to important challenges, from the theoretical to the practical. Awards can range from $10,000 to $200,000. (Proposers are encouraged to ask for an amount commensurate with activities outlined in their […]

(This post has been updated; please scroll down to see the latest.) At 11am EDT today, National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Subra Suresh — joined by numerous U.S. and international researchers, government officials, and National Academy of Sciences President Ralph Cicerone — will launch Science Across Virtual Institutes (SAVI), “an effort to facilitate collaboration among scientists, engineers and educators across the globe to better leverage taxpayer resources to spur innovation, enable discovery and help solve society’s most vexing problems.” According to the official NSF press release: Building on beneficial partnerships initiated by NSF-supported researchers, research institutes and universities, SAVI projects will address common challenges and serve as creative hubs for […]

Late last month, NASA announced that it plans to run an International Space Apps Challenge in 2012, bringing together officials from international space agencies, scientists, and citizens in an effort to use publicly-released scientific data to create, build, and invent new solutions that address challenges of global importance, from the impact of weather upon the global economy to the depletion of ocean resources. According to the Challenge website:

At an event in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) released results of its first Quadrennial Technology Review (QTR) — launched earlier this year at the recommendation of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) to help the Department identify a set of priorities for its energy technology R&D activities. As Energy Secretary Steven Chu noted: Traditionally, the Department’s energy strategy has been organized along individual program lines and based on annual budgets. With this QTR, we bind together multiple energy technologies, as well as multiple DoE energy technology programs, in the common purpose of solving our energy challenges. In addition, this QTR provides a multi-year framework […]

The following is a special contribution to this blog by Krishna Kant, a Program Director in the Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) within the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). Krishna is CISE’s point person for the Foundation-wide Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) initiative. Here he provides guidance to the computing research community about the various SEES solicitations NSF has released in recent weeks. If you have questions or comments, post them below or e-mail Krishna directly. Sustainability has been defined as the ability to meet the needs of current and future generations while preserving earth’s ecosystems. Meeting this challenge requires a […]