In 2009, President Obama issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.  That memorandum has been followed by additional memorandums and Executive Orders resulting in the Open Government Initiative.  As a result of this initiative, governments (both federal and local) are releasing data feeds, which have enabled the creation and use of new applications, from real-time accurate traffic information to localized crime reporting. While the Initiative is presented as “an unqualified good” there are some questions about the impact on citizens.  As such, the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and Microsoft have issued an RFP to further explore the technical, legal, and regulatory implications of Open Data.  From the solicitation: The […]

Last month, 24 teams from around the country convened in Washington, D.C. to showcase their work in Cyber-Physical Systems at the Smart America Expo.  The demonstrations showcased ways that the these projects and others in the realm of the Internet of Things can improve transportation, emergency services, health care, security, energy conservation, manufacturing and more. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has been a strong supporter of these projects, through the Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) program, investing more than $200 million over the last five years.  For more information and videos about some of the NSF-funded projects that were a part of the Smart America showcase, see this Huffington Post article titled “Dispatches […]

There are many reasons for research funding agencies (DARPA, NSF, etc.) to invest in the education of students. Producing the next generation of innovators is the most obvious one. In addition, though, there are an impressive number of instances in our field in which undergraduate and graduate students have made truly game-changing contributions in the course of their studies. The inspiring list in the attached PDF was compiled by the following individuals and their colleagues: Bill Bonvillian (MIT), Susan Graham (Berkeley), Anita Jones (University of Virginia), Ed Lazowska (University of Washington), Pat Lincoln (SRI), Fred Schneider (Cornell), and Victor Zue (MIT). We solicit your suggestions for additional student contributions of […]