The New York Times article, “Killing the Computer to Save It,” takes a closer look at how Dr. Peter G. Neumann, a computer scientist who specializes in computer security, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are rethinking how to make computers and networks more secure. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta voiced concerns about “an epidemic of computer malware and rising concerns about cyberwarfare as a threat to global security.” Neumann, who is now 80 years old, and Robert N. Watson, a computer security researcher at Cambridge University’s Computer Laboratory, are currently leading a research program funded by DARPA to address these concerns. “The program includes two separate […]
Computing Community Consortium Blog
The goal of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) is to catalyze the computing research community to debate longer range, more audacious research challenges; to build consensus around research visions; to evolve the most promising visions toward clearly defined initiatives; and to work with the funding organizations to move challenges and visions toward funding initiatives. The purpose of this blog is to provide a more immediate, online mechanism for dissemination of visioning concepts and community discussion/debate about them.
CCC Council Member Featured in Big Data Discussion in New York Times
November 1st, 2012 / in CCC, Research News / by Shar SteedMicrosoft is taking steps to position itself as a cutting-edge technology provider by offering services that can analyze big data. That type of technology is being developed by Microsoft Research, Microsoft’s advanced research arm. In Monday’s issue of the New York Times, CCC Council member, Eric Horvitz, who is a distinguished scientist and deputy managing director at Microsoft Research in Redmond, offered his perspective. Since Horvitz joined Microsoft Research 20 years ago, his goal has been “to build predictive software that could continually get smarter.” In the coming months, Horvitz will see that goal realized and shared with the public with the release of updated versions of Excel, which will […]
Computing and Healthcare: New Opportunities and Directions
November 1st, 2012 / in CCC, research horizons / by Kenneth HinesThe following is a special contribution to this blog from the Gregory Hager (Johns Hopkins University) and Elizabeth Mynatt (Georgia Tech), co-chairs of the Computing Community Consortium’s visioning workshop on health information technology – Computing and Healthcare: New Opportunities and Directions– held last month in Bethesda, Maryland. The committee summarizes some of the highlights of the workshop. Computing and Healthcare have been receiving a great deal of attention in recent years. For example the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Healthcare has issued a series of reports, the most recent of which, “Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Healthcare in America.” provides a list of recommendations, many […]
CCC to Hold Second Leadership in Science Policy Institute
October 26th, 2012 / in pipeline, policy, resources / by Kenneth HinesLast year, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) & CRA’s Government Affairs Committee held it’s first Leadership in Science Policy Institute (LiSPI) to help nurture the next generation of computing research leaders. A total of 35 participants attended the institute, which featured a series of presentations from science policy experts, current and former Hill staff, and relevant agency and Administration officials. Topics covered included the mechanics of the legislative process, serving on advisory committees, and interfacing with Federal agencies. Today we are pleased to announce the second Leadership in Science Policy Institute (LiSPI), which will be held April 11-12, 2013 in Washington, DC. Please discuss this opportunity with your colleagues, identify those you believe would […]
DARPA Officially Launches Robotics Grand Challenge – Watch Pet-Proto Robot in Action
October 24th, 2012 / in big science, research horizons, Research News / by Kenneth HinesToday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officially kicked off its newest Grand Challenge, DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). As we’ve blogged previously, the Grand Challenge calls for “a humanoid robot (with a bias toward bipedal designs) that can be used in rough terrain and for industrial disasters.” DARPA also released a video of Pet-Proto, a humanoid robot manufactured by Boston Dynamics. Pet-Proto, a predecessor to DARPA’s Atlas robot, is an example of what the agency envisions for the challenge. Watch Pet-Proto in action, as it navigates obstacles: More about the challenge from DARPA: The Department of Defense’s strategic plan calls for the Joint Force to conduct humanitarian, disaster relief and related operations. The plan identifies requirements to extend aid […]
NSF Announces “Exploiting Parallelism and Scalability” (XPS) Program
October 23rd, 2012 / in big science, research horizons, resources / by Kenneth HinesThis week, the National Science Foundation issued a solicitation for its new Exploiting Parallelism and Scalability (XPS) program. The program aims to support groundbreaking research leading to a new era of scalable computing. NSF estimates that $15 million in awards will be made in FY 2013 for this program. As the solicitation notes, the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) furnished a white paper earlier this year titled 21st Century Computer Architecture, through which members of the computing research community contributed strategic thinking in this space. The white paper drew upon a number of earlier efforts, including CCC’s Advancing Computer Architecture Research (ACAR) visioning reports. Here is a synopsis of the Exploiting Parallelism and Scalability (XPS) program from the National Science Foundation: Computing […]
