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 have opened up for them as a result of their CIFellowship experiences.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing in this space the backgrounds and research projects of some of our current CIFellows — in most cases in under 1,000 words for each CIFellow. As a reminder, the CIFellows Project supports recent Ph.D.s for up to two years — so the 2009 CIFellows featured below (and in future postings) will be departing the program later this summer. A majority of the 2010 CIFellows are continuing for a second year to complete their research projects and begin the job search process.

Read about the first six — bright young stars who stand to become of our field’s future leaders! — after the jump…

» Read more: Who Are the CIFellows?

The following is a special contribution to this blog by Cindy L. Bethel, a 2009 Computing Innovation Fellow (CIFellow) working with Brian Scassellati in the Social Robotics Laboratory at Yale University. Cindy received her Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Florida in 2009 under the direction of co-advisors Robin Murphy and Larry Hall. Her research focuses on the areas of human-robot interaction and social robotics. Click here for more information about Cindy, or here for more details about the CIFellows Project.

Entering the workforce following the support and protection of graduate school can be challenging. These challenges were compounded by a difficult economy with limited prospects for research and academic positions in 2009. It was such an honor to be selected as one of the 60 inaugural CIFellows out of 526 very worthy applicants. The CIFellows Project was designed to provide new doctoral graduates postdoctoral opportunities to continue research careers and develop new skills to improve their marketability in the academic and research job market.

My dissertation research focused on the use of affective expression in appearance-constrained robots for victim management in robot-assisted urban search and rescue. Though this research was exciting and interesting to me, I wanted the opportunity to learn about different applications for robots and how robots can be used with different populations. The CIFellows Project allowed me the opportunity to explore new research ideas and gain new skills.

As a CIFellow, I started exploring new research interests by working with students in the Social Robotics Laboratory at Yale University and with professionals at the Yale Child Study Center. I assisted with a project that investigated the use of robots for interactions with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). It appears that the rate of diagnosis for ASD has become more prevalent and it even personally touched my life, so it was important to me to be involved in determining if robots could impact these children in a positive way. The CIFellows Project and Yale University provided me with the opportunity to learn to work with protected populations in a clinical setting. I would not have gained this type of experience in any other research position. It was exciting and rewarding to watch these children respond to the robots and learn how to evaluate their reactions. My participation in this type of research endeavor required an entirely new skill set and review of literature. The CIFellows Project provided me the support to develop these skills and the time to acquire this new knowledge to enhance my research expertise.

» Read more: “My Experiences as a CIFellow”

A final reminder that the deadline for applications to the 2011-12 Computing Innovation Fellows (CIFellows) Project is 5pm EDT next Tuesday, May 31. Graduates awarded the Ph.D. or equivalent in computing or allied fields from U.S. institutions between May 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011, are eligible to apply. All application materials — including confidential letters of recommendation to be provided separately by the letter writers — must be submitted through the CIFellows Project website by the deadline. The full announcement appears below.

A few common questions thus far:

• To help meet the deadline, applicants may provide names of recommenders prior to submitting an application; CRA/CCC will contact the recommenders while the applicants are gathering the other application materials. To specify recommenders, click here.

• Applicants’ may provide only one (two-page) statement of goals. However, variations in these goals or scholarly activities can be provided in each of the mentor rationale statements as needed.

• The two-page statement of goals for scholarly activity, teaching, and/or other proposed activities must include a statement of the intellectual merits and broader impacts of the proposed work. However, a Data Management Plan is not necessary.

• We expect to notify applicants of their status by July 15, 2011.

If you have additional questions, please e-mail us.

Program details

The goals of the CIFellows Project are to retain new Ph.D. scholars in research and teaching during challenging economic times, while also supporting intellectual renewal and diversity in the computing fields at U.S. organizations. A total of 107 Ph.D.s have been supported through the program since 2009. These CIFellows have received outstanding research and teaching enrichment experiences, and several have landed permanent positions (including tenure-track faculty appointments) in academia and industry as a result of their experiences. (For more details, see here and here for previous blog posts about our CIFellows.)

 

CRA/CCC will make awards for the 2011-12 academic year. The exact number of awards will be contingent upon the quality of applications received as well as the outcome of a proposal for funding that we have submitted.

 

For prospective applicants

Graduates awarded the Ph.D. or equivalent from U.S. institutions between May 1, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2011, have until 5 p.m. EDT on May 31, 2011, to apply to be a 2011-12 CIFellow. Applications must be submitted online (through the CIFellows Project website).

All applicants must secure and submit written commitments from one to three prospective hosts/mentors at U.S. institutions. Each prospective mentor must be with an organization other than the institution of the applicant’s graduate research, and the CIFellow is expected to be in residence at the mentor’s organization during the CIFellowship period. (You can find possible mentors at a matchmaking website we’ve created, and you can indicate your interest in finding possible mentors by creating a profile of yourself.) Applicants must also provide (a) statements describing their research accomplishments and goals for the CIFellowship; (b) a letter from the Ph.D. advisor or department chair affirming their graduation date; and (c) two confidential letters of recommendation that are to be submitted separately by the application deadline.

 

CRA/CCC will announce the awards by July 15, 2011, and the positions will begin this fall.

 

For prospective mentors

If you are interested in hosting a 2011-12 CIFellow, please create a profile on the CIFellows Project matchmaking website as soon as possible.  You need only specify your name, location, personal research webpage URL (if you have one), a few keywords describing your research interests, and your e-mail address. We are pointing candidates to this website as a resource for finding mentors.

 

Those of you who may have already created a profile on this website in past years, please visit the website and review your information as soon as possible. Any updates may be submitted here. If you have previously created a profile but are no longer able to host a CIFellow, please tell us that through the update form so that we may archive your profile.

 

(We also have a companion website for prospective CIFellows to indicate their interest in finding possible mentors.)

 

More information

For more information, please visit the CIFellows Project website.  Complete details on the submission procedures for applicants and mentors as well as the eligibility requirements can be found there. Again, all application materials must be received by 5 p.m. EDT on May 31, 2011.

(Contributed by Erwin Gianchandani, CCC & CIFellows Project Director)