The following is an article published in the August 2013 edition of Computing Research News.  Computing Researchers Get ‘Schooled’ on Science Policy at LiSPI 2013 By Peter Harsha, CRA Director of Government Affairs and Fred Schneider, Cornell University and CCC Council Member As part of its mission to develop a next generation of leaders in the computing research community, the Computing Research Association’s Computing Community Consortium recently held its second Leadership in Science Policy Institute (LiSPI). This one and a half-day workshop was intended to educate a cadre of computing researchers on how science policy in the U.S. is formulated and how our government works. Participants heard candid and “off the […]

The following is an article published in the August 2013 edition of Computing Research News.  Ideas Lab Fostering Transformative Approaches to Teaching and Learning: Data-Intensive Research to Improve Teaching and Learning By Andrew Bernat, CRA Executive Director NSF has announced a new funding opportunity to explore using large data sets to improve STEM teaching and learning environments (RFP 13-565) that will be of interest to many CRN readers. But this new activity includes a radically different funding mechanism – participation in an Ideas Lab workshop which is designed to foster novel, transformative, multidisciplinary approaches (and proposals). Participants in the Ideas Lab workshop will build interdisciplinary teams solely eligible to submit proposals […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has opened the application for the 2014 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).  These Fellowships give 3 years of funding to students in research based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) master’s and doctoral programs. This fellowship is the oldest of it’s kind and considered very prestigious.  What is unique about this fellowship from other NSF awards is that the funds are awarded to the student, not the Principal Investigator.  This helps to ensure that the student can use the funds towards their graduate education in the way they deem best for their personal interests. The Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Directorate at NSF […]

The White House has been hosting a series of Google+ hangouts called “We the Geeks” that highlight the future of scientific innovation in the United States.  The next hangout will focus on Robots, scheduled for Friday, August 9, 2013 at 2pm EDT.  From the White House: You’ll meet American inventors giving robots incredible new capabilities in manufacturing and medicine. You’ll also hear how the Obama Administration’s National Robotics Initiative is accelerating innovations that will expand the horizons of human capacity and potentially add over $100 billion to the American economy in the next decade. The Hangout will be moderated by Vijay Kumar, Assistant Director for Robotics and Cyberphysical Systems, and Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation […]

The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) has a website for Computer Science Undergraduate Research and Graduate Education (CS URGE), which can be found here.  You will find explanations, resources, summer research opportunities and more, targeted at undergraduate computer science students. One of the opportunities highlighted on the Summer Research Opportunities page is The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science’s, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program.  In this program, students perform research under the guidance of laboratory staff scientists or engineers.  In addition to their summer opportunities, SULI also offers 16-week lab research experiences in DOE labs during the school year.  Applications […]

Chris Isidore of CNN Money, wrote on July 29 about Amazon’s announcement to hire 7,000 new employees, 5,000 of which are for their nationwide distribution centers in an article titled Amazon hiring 7,000 workers.  Last week, the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers – Robotics & Automation Society (IEEE-RAS) held a briefing for the Robotics Caucus on Robots & Job Creation.  Read further to understand how Amazon’s hiring and the briefing are related. Raj Madhavan , Vice President of the Industrial Activities Board of IEEE-RAS, opened the session by asking questions on how best to use robotics.  He then turned the microphone over to Jeff Burnstein, President of the Association for […]