The future is bright for 40 young finalists from Intel’s 2015 Science Talent Search, who as high school seniors are already completing and publishing graduate level science projects. The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS), a program of the Society for Science & the Public, is the nation’s most prestigious pre-college science competition. Alumni of STS have made extraordinary contributions to science and hold more than 100 of the world’s most distinguished science and math honors, including the Nobel Prize and the National Medal of Science. Each year, 300 Intel STS semifinalists and their schools are recognized. From that select pool of semifinalists, 40 student finalists are invited to Washington, […]

The following is a guest blog post by Ran Libeskind-Hadas, R. Michael Shanahan Professor and Computer Science Department Chair at Harvey Mudd College.  This year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate (CISE) CISE made its first CAREER awards for research in computer science education.  The awardees are  Kristy Boyer, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University, and Ben Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at Tufts University. Dr. Boyer’s work explores collaborative learning among computer science undergraduates.  Students collaborate through a system that supports text-based natural language dialog, synchronized code ending, and shared repository control.  Her research   uses techniques in machine learning to analyze […]

Using mobile technologies to more rapidly and accurately assess and modify behavior, biological states and contextual variables has great potential to transform medical research.  Recent advances in mobile technologies and the ubiquitous nature of these technologies in daily life (e.g., smart phones, sensors) have created opportunities for research applications that were not previously possible (e.g., simultaneously assessing biological, behavioral, physiological, and psychological states in the real world and intervening in real-time). Importantly, much of the work being done in mobile and wireless health (mHealth)  arises from siloed fields with a focus on the creation of products with little reference to previous research or to have any potential application in biomedical settings. Further, […]

The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) congratulates Michael Stonebraker from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on receiving the 2014 ACM Turing Award for fundamental contributions to the concepts and practices underlying modern database systems. From the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) Website: An adjunct professor of computer science and engineering at MIT and a principal investigator at CSAIL, Stonebraker sometimes jokes that he didn’t know what he was researching for more than 30 years. “But then, out of nowhere, some marketing guys started talking about ‘big data,’” he says. “That’s when I realized that I’d been studying this thing for the better part of my academic life.” From the Turing […]

A careful distinction between quality and quantity is key to promoting the future growth of the computing and information field. Toward that end, Batya Friedman, Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington, and Fred B. Schneider, Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University, put together a Best Practices Memo that advocates adjustments to hiring, promotion, and tenure practices as well as to the publication culture. Contributions in a small number of high quality publications or artifacts are what should be emphasized; success as a researcher is then not primarily a matter of numbers. These Best Practices recommendations were developed over an 18-month period by the Computing […]

Be sure to tune into the White House Science Fair on Monday to see future computer science researchers like Sreya Atluri, Maureen “Reeny” Botros, and Sophia Sánchez-Maes. They are honored guests at the fifth White House Science Fair and recipients of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing. Included at the Science Fair will be a TV personality, Cierra Ramirez who plays Mariana Foster in the ABC Family series, The Fosters. On the show, Cierra’s character is learning how to code and will attend a hackathon this season. She is working hard to change stereotypes and be a role model for young girls. For more information, see the White House […]