The following is a special contribution to this blog by Shay Cohen. Cohen was a 2011-2013 Computing Innovation Fellow (CIFellow) at Columbia University. He is now a Chancellor’s Fellow in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. When I finished my graduate studies and defended my thesis at Carnegie Mellon in September 2011, I had already started my position at Columbia as a CIFellow with Michael Collins. It was actually not too long before my defense that I heard about being awarded a CIFellowship. It was a great relief to learn this — I had already heard from a few other previous-year CIFellows that the program is great and […]

On December 30, 2013, John Markoff wrote an article in The New York Times, titled Viewing Where the Internet Goes.  He takes a brief look back at what happened with the internet in 2013, primarily related to Edward Snowden and asks the two creators of the internet, Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn for their views of how the internet might change going forward. The contrasts of the internet and related policies are stated clearly, It was, for example, the Internet’s global reach that made classified documents available to Mr. Snowden — and made it so easy for him to distribute them to news organizations. Yet the Internet also made possible […]

The National Academies Board on Mathematical Sciences and their Applications is sponsoring a workshop on Training Students to Extract Value from Big Data, hosted by the Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics of the National Research Council of the National Academies. What are the key principles of a big data curriculum? How can big data courses serve an interdisciplinary audience? What are the best resources for students?   These and other questions will be addressed in a series of presentations and discussions. You can view the proposed workshop agenda here.  The workshop will be held April 11-12, 2014 in Washington, DC and is free and open to the public, both in person and […]

“Bold ideas are the currency of our knowledge economy and the lifeblood of our advancement as a culture.” – CNN 10: Ideas List Recently CNN put together a list of 10 emerging ideas that have the potential to change our world. What do most of these possibly revolutionary ideas have in common? A computing research component. These concepts have the potential to make us healthier, to keep us safer on the highways, and to help our computers think for themselves. Here is a quick look at a few ideas on the list that involve computer science: Touchscreens that fold like maps: In 2013, we saw the emergence of flexible display […]

Preparations for the second Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) are in full swing, and applications from young researchers to attend the second Forum are being accepted now. The Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (HLFF) is looking for outstanding young mathematicians and computer scientists from all over the world who would like to get the chance to personally meet distinguished experts from both disciplines and find out how to become a leading scientist in their field. Applications will be accepted until February 28, 2014. Submit applications online at: http://application.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org. Successful candidates will be selected by an international committee of experts that will ensure only the most qualified candidates are invited. The second Forum […]

On April 2, 2013, President Obama launched the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders. This multi-agency effort includes funding opportunities from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). In mid-November, DARPA announced two programs as a part of this Initiative: SUBNETS (Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies) and RAM (Restoring Active Memory). The NIH plans to invest $40 million in Fiscal Year 2014 and has announced six funding opportunities for the BRAIN Initiative. “The first wave of NIH investments in the BRAIN initiative will focus largely on technology development that will advance […]