From msnbc.com’s Cosmic Log: Video-game players have solved a molecular puzzle that stumped scientists for years, and those scientists say the accomplishment could point the way to crowdsourced cures for AIDS and other diseases. “This is one small piece of the puzzle in being able to help with AIDS,” Firas Khatib, a biochemist at the University of Washington, told me. Khatib is the lead author of a research paper on the project, published today by Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. The feat, which was accomplished using a collaborative online game called Foldit, is also one giant leap for citizen science — a burgeoning field that enlists Internet users to look for alien planets, decipher ancient […]
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.
“Gamers Solve Molecular Puzzle That Baffled Scientists”
September 18th, 2011 / in big science, Research News / by Erwin GianchandaniPCAST Reviews Health IT Progress
September 17th, 2011 / in policy / by Erwin GianchandaniRounding out a busy Friday in Washington, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) spent time during its meeting yesterday reviewing the Federal government’s investment in modernizing the nation’s healthcare system. The discussion took place about 9 months after PCAST unveiled a report on health information technology, in which it argued for the need to “change the fact that health IT has historically been oriented toward administrative functions, not better care,” and emphasized the potential of real-time, real-world, comprehensive data in enhancing the way we deliver care to patients. Though yesterday’s discussion, much like the original PCAST report, did not focus on the research challenges in health IT — instead, […]
White House Launches “Digital Promise,” a National Learning Center
September 16th, 2011 / in big science, research horizons, Research News, resources / by Erwin Gianchandani(This post has been updated; please scroll down for the latest.) Moments ago at the White House, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Deputy Director Tom Kalil, Congressman John Yarmouth (D-Ky.), Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and a bright young 11-year-old from New York City launched Digital Promise — a new national center created by Congress and supported with funds from the Department of Education, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation — to advance technologies to transform learning and education. As part of the announcement, National Science Foundation (NSF) Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Farnam Jahanian, […]
Feds Launch Technology Fellows Program; Deadline Sept. 25
September 16th, 2011 / in pipeline, policy, resources / by Erwin GianchandaniThe Chief Information Officers Council (CIOC), working closely with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has just launched the Technology Fellows Program “to help the Federal government compete more effectively with the private sector for IT talent” and ultimately “increase the Federal government’s pool of qualified IT professionals.” From the official program announcement: The Chief Information Officers Council is recruiting the nation’s best and brightest IT and computer science professionals for the newly created Technology Fellows Program… aimed at cutting bureaucratic barriers to entering public service and providing access to unique career opportunities in Federal Agencies to highly talented technology professionals. Through a competitive application process, recent graduates of top […]
NSF Seeking Proposals at the Interface of Computing, Economics
September 15th, 2011 / in research horizons, resources / by Erwin GianchandaniThe National Science Foundation’s Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) have issued a joint solicitation for interdisciplinary research and education projects that develop new knowledge at the interface of between computer science and economics & social sciences. From the RFP: An important research interaction has emerged at the interface of computing and economics and social sciences. The synergy between these fields creates a rich opportunity for studying questions that involve interconnected systems with economic and social aspects. This research interaction has already led to the identification of a number of underlying principles and research themes. These include network structures in economic interaction, […]
Computer Scientists Among PopTech’s “Science Fellows”
September 14th, 2011 / in awards / by Erwin GianchandaniLast month, PopTech — a nonprofit network of innovation experts based in Camden, Maine — announced its Science and Public Leadership Fellows, a small number of high-potential, early- and mid-career scientists working in areas of critical importance to the nation and the planet. The Fellows are chosen for their strong innate communications skills and interest in public leadership — and in the coming year they will receive training and skills development from world-class communications, media training, public engagement, and leadership faculty, including our very own Peter Lee. The ultimate goal: to develop a corps of visible and trusted scientific leaders who can provide leadership, explore new collaborative approaches, and engage with […]
