The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) recently hosted a visioning workshop on Thermodynamic Computing in Honolulu, Hawaii in order to establish a community of like-minded visionaries; craft a statement of research needs; and summarize the current state of understanding within this new area of computing. The premise behind thermodynamic computing is that striving for thermodynamic efficiency is not only highly desirable in hardware components, but may also be used as an embedded capability in the creation of algorithms. Can dissipated heat be used to trigger adaptation/restructuring of (parts of) the functioning hardware, thus allowing hardware to evolve increasingly efficient computing strategies? Recent theoretical developments in non-equilibrium thermodynamics suggest that it drives […]

The following post was contributed by CCC Director, Ann Drobnis.  The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) National Coordination Office (NCO), on behalf of Federal agencies and the NITRD Cybersecurity and Information Assurance Integrity Working Group, put out a Request for Information (RFI) from the public on the update to the 2016 Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan. The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) responded to the RFI on behalf of the community. An overarching theme of the CCC response is that systems are now ubiquitous, and need to be considered as socio-technical systems that must be secured, not simply technical systems. One of the key recommendations for […]

The following is a special contribution to this blog by CCC Chair Mark D. Hill of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Quantum Computing (QC) is attracting considerable attention, including the National Quantum Initiative Act, The National Academies report on Quantum Computing Progress and Prospects, and the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Next Steps in Quantum Computing: Computer Science’s Role workshop report. QC has great potential especially for problems that have vast complex search spaces with positive implications like designing better chemical catalysts and negative implication like breaking public-key encryption. QC, however, is hard to understand in large part because it relies on quantum mechanics whose behavior defies the common sense that we humans have developed […]

The nomination period for the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists is now open and will close on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. The Blavatnik National Awards celebrate the excellence of outstanding young faculty-rank scientists and engineers from approximately 300 invited institutions across the United States. It recognizes exceptional individuals and their accomplishments in the areas of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. One Blavatnik National Laureate will be selected from each disciplinary category and will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds. Computer scientists are eligible for the award in Physical Sciences and Engineering. There are separate award competitions in the US, the UK, and Israel. In 2018, the winner in Physical Sciences and Engineering […]

Last Thursday, Politico held an AI Summit: Innovation and Governance as “a global leadership gathering of policymakers, business leaders and experts for solutions-driven conversations on the impact of AI on governments, industries and society.” Some notable government participants included Representative Will Hurd (Texas), France Córdova (National Science Foundation), and Stacy Dixon (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity). In his opening remarks, Hurd said that we need to “double down on basic research.”  The problem with basic research is that “often times it is hard to understand the return on investment of basic research. People believe the government should have the same returns as venture capital, private equity, but that’s just not possible. […]

The Computing Research Association’s Computing Community Consortium (CCC) mission is broad. Our mission is to catalyze the computing research community and enable the pursuit of innovative, high-impact research. CCC conducts activities that strengthen the research community, articulate compelling research visions, and align those visions with pressing national and global challenges. As a consequence, material on the CCC web site spans many areas of IT such as Intelligent Infrastructure, Privacy and Fairness, Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity. Most IT professionals, however, only focus on one of these areas in order to make deep connections. Until recently, users had to know exactly what to search for in order to find material in their focus area. For this […]