This week (September 21-25) is the sixth annual National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW), sponsored by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA). NPAW, the nation’s largest celebration of postdoctoral scholars, was established with the goal of increasing awareness of postdocs. Institutions are encouraged to plan activities that honor postdocs and recognize the contributions they make to research and development in the United States. The Postdoc Best Practices (Postdoc BP) program is coming into its second year. This project is a joint effort of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), designed to create a set of best practices for postdoctoral researchers (postdocs) in computer science. The Postdocs BP […]

National Science Foundation (NSF) Assistant Director for the Directorate of Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) James Kurose has issued the following letter to the community describing the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTc) Program Director position available: Dear Colleague: The Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) announces a nationwide search to fill a Program Director position for the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Directors are in charge of specific research areas. They solicit, receive and review research and education proposals, make funding recommendations and administer awards. […]

The White House has kicked off the first ever Smart Cities Week (September 15-17, 2015) in Washington, DC, announcing new steps in support of a new National Smart Cities Initiative. The National Smart Cities Initiative will invest over $160 million in federal research and leverage more than 25 new technology collaborations to help local communities tackle key challenges such as reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services. The Administration’s Smart Cities Initiative will begin with a focus on three key strategies creating test beds for “Internet of Things” applications and developing new multi-sector collaborative models, collaborating with the […]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has recently announced a partnership with Intel Corporation  on two new grants for $6 million to research security and privacy solutions of cyber-physical systems (CPS). Cyber-physical systems, such as smart-homes and autonomous vehicles, are part of the rise of the new Internet of Things (IoT). “Advances in the integration of information and communications technologies are transforming the way people interact with engineered systems,” said Jim Kurose, head of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at NSF. “Rigorous interdisciplinary research, such as the projects announced today in partnership with Intel, can help to better understand and mitigate threats to our critical cyber-physical systems and secure the nation’s […]

The organizing committee for the Research Interfaces between Brain Science and Computer Science (BRAIN) have released their workshop report. This two-day workshop, sponsored by the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), brought together brain researchers and computer scientists for a scientific dialogue aimed at exposing new opportunities for joint research in the many exciting facets, established and new, of the interface between the two fields. Videos of the workshop presentations as well as the presentation slides are posted on the workshop website in the agenda. The reports suggests that the study of computing and the study of the brain interrelate in three ways, each suggesting a major research direction. First, the experimental study of brain architecture […]

The National Science Foundation is in the middle of a summer-long social media campaign highlighting the #beautyofcomputing. We see beautifully computer-rendered images daily, but we rarely step back to consider the simulation, modeling and visualization technologies behind these images. The #beautyofcomputing campaign highlights these aspects of art, science, and technology and celebrates the aesthetic and creative possibilities of computing, and in particular, the use of computer-rendered images for communicating science. It is easy to take for granted the incredible discoveries made by researchers at institutions around the country, but without funding for computational tools to simulate, analyze and visualize data, many of these discoveries would be impossible. The Computing Community […]