We’re still in the midst of reviewing applications for the 2011-12 Computing Innovation Fellows Project, but I thought I would take a moment today to begin highlighting the stories of our current and former CIFellows. The CIFellows Project was always intended to provide recent Ph.D.s in computer science (and allied fields) with short-term postdoctoral positions in academia and industry, to keep them in research and teaching despite the economic downturn. In the past two years, we’ve heard great things about the CIFellows, the CIFellow-mentor relationships, the research results borne out of the program, and, most importantly, the outcomes for many of the CIFellows in terms of the permanent opportunities that […]

As thousands of firefighters battle huge wildfires in the Southwestern U.S this week, some are using a new tool in their kit: a computerized model that calculates the fire risk in real time — drawing on data about the fire’s behavior, danger, moisture over the past several decades, and terrain topology — to swiftly produce a priority map for where firefighters are most needed. Severe fire seasons of the past decade in the western United States have spurred many government agencies to manage lands to reduce fire intensity and severity to ultimately protect human life and property.   However, seven decades of fire exclusion policies have resulted in the dense forest […]

Artificial intelligence, the holy grail of computer science for decades, is becoming a reality — not Skynet nor Cylons, but as a versatile tool for some types of complex problems, the kinds of problems with which our squishy, human brains struggle. (Cue the “I, for one, welcome our robot overlords” cubicle stickers.) In an article (free registration required) in New Scientist this week, a new way of problem-solving — one in which humans help machines — is discussed. Already widely-used examples include reCAPTCHA (the clever OCR crowdsourcer) and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, but ambitious plans from Dafna Shahaf and Eric Horvitz (a member of the CCC Council) would create a labor pool […]

NSF/CISE Assistant Director Farnam Jahanian has issued the following letter to the community, describing the National Robotics Initiative (NRI) launched last week: Dear CISE Community,   On Friday, in a speech at Carnegie Mellon University, President Obama announced the plan for major federal investments in next-generation robotics. The National Robotics Initiative (NRI) is a bold program that supports the development and use of robots that work beside, or cooperatively with, people and that enhance individual human capabilities, performance and safety. NSF is the lead agency in this multi-agency program that also includes NASA, NIH and USDA. NRI calls for cross-agency investments of up to $70 million in the first year […]

The National Science Foundation and IEEE Spectrum Radio have partnered to produce a terrific series of reports describing the frontiers of engineering research: These researchers are investigating new phenomena, devising new capabilities and designing new technologies. Innovations in engineering can help us overcome challenges in sustainability, launch whole industries and help people enjoy happier and healthier lives. Through their dedication to creating and discovering cutting-edge solutions, engineers are at the forefront of shaping our new millennium. What’s interesting for us is that there are lots of CISE-related research challenges amidst the featured topics — robotics, sustainability, and energy: Robots are emerging from industrial settings to help humans perform surgery, catch criminals and […]

The CCC Council is scheduled to meet in Washington, DC, on Friday, July 15, and will be discussing the role of fundamental computing research in Smart Health & Wellbeing as well as Sustainability. Here’s a formal announcement for the public portion of the meeting — which is open to anyone: You are invited to the public portion of a meeting of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), a committee of 20 leading computer scientists from around the country.   The meeting will feature panel discussions on Smart Health and Wellbeing as well as the Role of Information Sciences and Engineering in Sustainability.   Friday, July 15, 2011 1:00 – 4:30pm ET Hotel Sofitel […]