Seven computer scientists were recently named members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a prestigious 233-year-old national honorary society of leaders from academia, business, public affairs and the humanities. The new members from computer science include: Anant Agarwal (MIT), David Dill (Stanford), Susan Eggers (Washington), Jitendra Malik (Berkeley), Peter Norvig (Google), Jen Rexford (Princeton), and Richard Tapia (Rice). According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences website, “The Academy’s greatest strength lies in the leadership of its active members and wide range of expertise they bring to its studies and publications. The Academy membership encompasses over 4,000 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members and reflects the full range of […]

The CCC is sad to announce that David Notkin passed away this morning. He will be greatly missed as a contributor and friend by the CRA and CCC family. David Notkin was a world leader in software engineering, and an extraordinary mentor, who served more than 7 years on the CRA Board. He recently received CRA’s 2013 A. Nico Habermann award for his deep commitment for increasing the participation of women and underrepresented groups in computing. On February 1, 2013, more than 300 people joined in recognizing the contributions of David Notkin at “Notkinfest” held at the University of Washington. There, UW CSE announced the establishment of the David Notkin Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Computer Science […]

The White House will be hosting a Big Data Workshop on May 3, 2013.  The workshop is sponsored by the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the NITRD Big Data Senior Steering Group. As we enter the second year of the National Big Data Research and Development Initiative (launched on March 29, 2012), the Obama Administration is encouraging multiple stakeholders—including Federal agencies, private industry, academia, state and local government, non-profits, and foundations—to  develop and participate in Big Data innovation projects across the country. The Administration is particularly interested in projects and initiatives that: Advance technologies that support Big Data and data analytics; Educate and expand the Big Data workforce; Develop, demonstrate, and […]

A joint report of Informatics Europe and the ACM Europe Working Group on Informatics Education was recently released.  The report highlights what is currently being done well and what needs to be changed.  Namely, the European schools are generally teaching digital literacy, but not informatics.  This is inline with what is currently going on in K-12 schools throughout the United States as well – US students are learning digital literacy – how to use a computer, write documents, etc., but students are not learning computer science – how to be creators of the technology. The European Report lays out the issues in a clear, succinct way and provides suggestions on […]

Yesterday, the President submitted his FY14 budget request to Congress.  This request included an 8.4% increase over 2012 levels for NSF, with a 9.8% increase in funding over 2012 for the Computer & Information Science & Engineering  Directorate. “The CISE FY 2014 Request is shaped by investments in core research, education and infrastructure programs as well as investments in a cross-cutting portfolio that aligns closely with national priorities and societal challenges.” – Farnam Jahanian, CISE AD You can read Farnam Jahanian’s letter to the CISE community about the FY14 Budget here.

Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County delivered an inspirational TED talk on the importance of STEM education. Click here to view the TED talk video: the four pilars of college success in science. During his 20-year run as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Freeman Hrabowski has transformed a young university into a research institution recognized as one of the most innovative in the country. His goal: continue building a campus that’s first-rate in research and instruction, and that prepares students of all backgrounds for success.