The United States has a remarkably effective, yet often misunderstood, system for technological innovation. It’s a powerful collaboration between universities, government, and private industry. This synergy is responsible for many of the technological breakthroughs we rely on today, from the internet to GPS to AI. In a recent episode of the Mindscape podcast, host Sean Carroll sat down with Elizabeth Mynatt, Dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University and former CCC Council Chair, to demystify this system. The discussion covered Mynatt’s own research in human-centered computing and the broader topic of how academic research translates into real-world impact. Beyond the “Silicon Valley Garage” Story Many people […]

  In our previous post, “From Science Fiction to Science Fact: Beth Mynatt Traces the Multi-Trillion Dollar Impact of Computing Innovation in the U.S.”, we explored how Beth Mynatt, Dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, highlighted the profound impact of federally funded computing research in her May keynote speech at the CCC Computing Futures Symposium, held in Washington, D.C.  While her keynote expertly mapped out the “tire tracks” of innovation — tracing ideas back and forth between university labs and companies, eventually contributing to trillion-dollar industries — a critical question lingers: In an era dominated by tech giants, why does government funding for academic research […]

  Beth Mynatt, Dean of the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University, recently delivered a compelling keynote at the CCC Computing Futures Symposium that underscored the often-overlooked yet profound impact of federally funded computer science research. She began with thought-provoking “what if” scenarios, inviting us to imagine a world without key computational advancements rooted in decades of federal investments. What if the internet hadn’t emerged from US-backed research? If computational innovations hadn’t driven a significant reduction in cancer mortality, saving millions of lives and trillions in economic impact? Or if IT-driven innovations hadn’t revolutionized agriculture and today’s crop yields were 50 percent lower across the world? These hypotheticals […]

A new episode of the Catalyzing Computing podcast is now available. In this episode, Khari Douglas continues his interview with Peter Harsha, the Director of Government Affairs for the Computing Research Association (CRA), to discuss the impact of the 2013 budget sequestration on federal funding for science, the recent push for regulations on foreign research collaborations, and the history of CRA. Stream in the embedded player below or find the podcast on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Youtube. Have question for Peter about federal funding for computing and science research? Send your questions to cccpodcastletters@cra.org and we’ll answer them on a future episode! If you listen to the podcast, please take a moment […]