• House of Representatives Approves Significant Increases in Research Funding
• Department of Defense Revises Proposed Restrictions on Basic Research
• NSF Warns of Over-Reliance on Foreigners in U.S. Science and Engineering
• Recent Declines in Physics and Engineering Doctorates
• Starting Salaries for Computer Science Graduates Decrease
• Decline in Applications for Undergraduate Computer Science Programs
• National Science Board Elects Leaders
• Collaborative Research Experience for Women Proposals Due June 15
• Andrew Bernat to Join Computing Research Association as Executive Director
• NSF REU Sites Program

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House of Representatives Approves Significant Increases in Research Funding

The US House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly approved legislation that would authorize significant increases in research, including networking and information technology research, funded by the National Science Foundation. The House voted 397 - 25 in favor of HR 4664, the "Investing in America's Future Act," originally introduced by House Science Subcommittee on Research Chairman Nick Smith (R-MI) and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX).

The legislation authorizes increases in research funding at NSF of 15 percent annually, beginning in FY 2003 through FY 2005, a path that would double NSF's current budget in five years. Included in the authorization is a specific call to increase funding for networking and information technology research at NSF to $704 million in FY 2003, up from $676 million estimated for FY 2002.

The strong support demonstrated for the authorization by the House should bode well for NSF during the appropriations process later this year. The bill now heads to the Senate, where Senate authorizers and appropriators have also expressed support.

CRA's press release marking the introduction of the bill: http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/content.php?cid=8

Department of Defense Revises Proposed Restrictions on Basic Research

The Chronicle for Higher Education reports that partly in response to the efforts of college lobbyists, the Department of Defense will revise its plan to place new restrictions on academic scientists doing military research. 

The proposed rules would have required scientists to seek authorization before they could disclose research findings or results, even for basic research. Unauthorized disclosure could have resulted in sanctions or criminal penalties. In addition, scientists who receive DoD funds would have had to report all foreign travel, new restrictions might have been placed on access by foreigners to "critical research technologies," and a database might have been used to track researchers using DoD funds.

According to The Chronicle, when the rules are released, it is unlikely that scientists performing basic research would need to get clearance to publish their findings or discuss their studies. 

The Chronicle's May 31 article, "Pentagon Backs Away From Strict Controls on Basic Research," is available to paid subscribers only at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v48/i38/38a02101.htm

NSF Warns of Over-Reliance on Foreigners in U.S. Science and Engineering

The NSF's Science and Engineering Indicators 2002 report indicates that industry and universities rely too heavily on foreign-born researchers and students. It warns that, "the country's international economic competitiveness ultimately rests on the capacity of its own labor force for innovation and productivity."

At the highest level of science and engineering (S&E) training, the United States has relied heavily on noncitizens, U.S. women, and small but growing numbers of minority students of both sexes to sustain its degree production without whose increasing participation the number of S&E doctorates would have stagnated or declined. This is because of a general decline in interest in S&E fields by white U.S. men.

Science and Engineering Indicators 2002 can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind02/start.htm

Recent Declines in Physics and Engineering Doctorates

The number of doctorates awarded annually in the U.S. in the field of physics, after hitting an all-time high in academic year 1994, declined 22 percent by 2000, according to a recent NSF InfoBrief. Engineering doctorate awards peaked about mid-decade (in 1996) and then declined 15 percent between 1996 and 2000, although there was stability between 1999 and 2000.

A drop in awards to non-U.S. citizens, particularly to those from China, South Korea, and Taiwan, accounted for 59 percent of the decline in physics doctorates and for 74 percent of the decline in engineering doctorates.

The April 2002 InfoBrief can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/infbrief/nsf02316/start.htm

Starting Salaries for Computer Science Graduates Decrease

Starting salaries for computer science and engineering graduates have decreased even as demand for those graduates remains relatively high, according to the Spring 2002 issue of Salary Survey.

Computer science grads, who remain among the most sought after graduates, have experienced a 3.6 decrease in their salary offers. They now average $50,352. Many of their offers have been for software design positions that average $54,922 (9 percent higher than their overall average). Computer systems design firms, government agencies, and aerospace employers have shown the most interest in them. The economy has been less kind to their counterparts in information sciences and systems. Their average offer now stands at $41,414, a decrease of 7.4 percent over last year at this time.

Electrical engineering graduates have posted a 3.5 percent decrease in their salary offers, dropping their average to $50,387. Design engineering, hardware design and development, power systems engineering, and systems engineering account for a number of their job offerings

The National Association of Colleges and Employers' Salary Survey is a quarterly report of starting salary offers to new college graduates in 70 disciplines at the bachelor's degree level. The survey compiles data from college and university career services offices nationwide. NACE's Press Release for the report can be found at http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=2002&prid=155.

Decline in Applications for Undergraduate Computer Science Programs

Applications for entry to several undergraduate computer science programs have declined significantly this year, according to a recent article in Education Week.

[From the Education Week article:] "Until this year, interest in computer-based programs among students seeking admittance to Carnegie Mellon was on the rise, having climbed the previous two years. But that trend reversed for this coming fall's class, when applications to the university's computer-science program fell from 3,229 in 2001 to 2,328 this year, a drop of 28 percent...

At the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, applications to the school of computer science plummeted from 1,541 in 2001— an all-time high—to 1,077 for next fall's class...

California Polytechnic in San Luis Obispo received 1,752 undergraduate applications last year to its computer-science department, but only 1,334 for fall of 2002, a 24 percent decrease. The university's school of computer engineering saw a drop in applications, too..."

The May 1 Education Week article, "Computer Science Attracting Fewer Applicants," can be found at http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=33computer.h21

National Science Board Elects Leaders

The National Science Board (NSB) has elected a leading atmospheric scientist as its new chair, and the president of a major state university as its returning vice chair. At its May meeting, the Board elected National Center for Atmospheric Research executive Warren Washington to serve as chair, and University of Texas-El Paso President Diana Natalicio to serve as vice chair.

The NSB is the policy body of the National Science Foundation, and is made up of 24 top representatives from industry and academia. Members are appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate and serve six-year terms. The chair and vice chair are elected from among board members, for two-year terms in those positions. Washington joined the board in 1994. Natalicio joined the board in 1995, and served as vice chair from 1996 through 2000.

The full text of the May 10 NSF Press Release can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/02/pa0202.htm

Collaborative Research Experience for Women Proposals Due June 15

The Computing Research Association Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W) is calling for proposals for its ongoing initiative to support women involved in undergraduate research. The program, Collaborative Research Experience for Women in Undergraduate Computer Science and Engineering (CREW), is designed to provide collaborative research experiences for groups of two to three undergraduate women during the academic year.

Eligible students must be entering their junior or senior year in 2001-2002. All projects must be directly related to computer science or computer engineering and be suitable for undergraduate research. The scope and goals of the project should be reasonable and realistic, based upon students' prior education and experience.

The deadline for proposals is June 15, 2002. Notification of awards will occur by July 31, 2002 for research projects conducted between September 1, 2002 - June 1, 2003. Proposals should be submitted electronically in plain ASCII text to Joan Francioni at jfrancioni@winona.edu.

More information, including reports from previous years and proposals from last year, can be accessed at http://www.cra.org/Activities/craw/crew.

Andrew Bernat to Join Computing Research Association as Executive Director

The Computing Research Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Bernat as its new Executive Director, beginning August 1, 2002. Bernat succeeds Bill Aspray, who earlier announced his plans to take up an academic position at Indiana University.

Bernat brings to the job a wide range of experience and accomplishments. He was a founding member of the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas El Paso, and as chair built the department into one of the country's strongest computer science departments at a minority-serving institution. He headed the National Science Foundation-funded Model Institutions for Excellence program, which created dramatic improvements in student retention and achievement across the UTEP campus. He has co-chaired the Coalition to Diversify Computing, an organization sponsored by ACM, CRA, and the IEEE Computer Society to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in the computing profession. For his many contributions in advancing underrepresented groups in the computing field, CRA awarded Bernat the A. Nico Habermann Award in 1997.

Pursuing his strong interest in academic reform and development for the computing field, Bernat is currently completing his second year as a program officer in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation while on leave from UTEP. He is responsible for the computer science undergraduate education programs at NSF and also directs the Scholarship for Service Program in information assurance and security, which is a component of the federal CyberCorps program. He has been active for many years as an author, lecturer, reviewer, and panelist for government and professional organizations including the U.S. Army, NASA, NSF, and the Computer Science Accreditation Board. He has organized a series of workshops between U.S. and Mexican computer science researchers. Bernat received a B.S. in physics from Harvey Mudd College in 1970 and a doctorate in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin in 1976.

The CRA Press Release can be found at http://www.cra.org/temp/bernat.html

NSF REU Sites Program

[From the NSF's Carl Smith:] Many of you have discovered the Research for Undergraduate (REU) supplements to NSF grants. Under this program, anyone with an NSF grant may ask for a supplement to support the activities of a student to work on the NSF supported project. There is also another component to the REU program, namely the REU sites. Under this program, half a dozen nationally recruited students participate in a summer research program. Some, but not all, of the students may come from the institution receiving the grant. This program has a reputation at NSF of being an effective bridge bringing students from underrepresented groups into graduate schools and, eventually, into careers in science and engineering. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many students participating in CISE REU projects end up in graduate programs.

The new CISE REU sites for this year are at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN, Hope College, Holland, MI, National Institute of Standards & Technology-Gaithersburg, MD, North Carolina State University - Greensboro, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater, University of California - Berkeley, University of Alaska - Fairbanks, University of Central Florida - Orlando, University of Idaho, Moscow, University of North Texas - Denton, University of Texas - Arlington, Washington University - St. Louis and West Virginia University - Morgantown.

Running such a program involves a considerable amount of work to recruit students and arrange housing and recreational activities, in addition to research supervision and guidance. However, with broad support from faculty, the burden becomes minimal compared to the rewards. Teaching colleges get placement for some of their students in top graduate programs and research universities find the programs effective at recruiting graduate students, especially from underrepresented groups.

Proposals that arrive by September 15, 2002 will be considered for start dates next summer. Information about the program can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/start.htm