CRA Bulletin

September 20, 2002

PCAST Recommends Doubling R&D in Physical Sciences & Engineering

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has drafted a letter to President Bush to express its concern with the current level of federal R&D funding for the physical sciences and engineering. The letter accompanies a draft report, "Assessing the U.S. R&D Investment," which is based on a study conducted for PCAST by the RAND Corporation and AAAS. PCAST worries that federal support for R&D lacks balance and focus. The draft letter makes three recommendations:

1. FY 2004 presents the appropriate opportunity to double federal research investments in physical sciences, and 4 major engineering fields (i.e., electrical, mechanical, chemical, and metallurgy & materials) from the FY 2002 levels.
2. A major program of fellowships should be established to attract and support the advanced graduate studies of U.S. citizens in fields of science and engineering that support critical national needs.
3. OSTP, in cooperation with the appropriate agencies and organizations, should develop means to assess and analyze the adequacy of federal R&D investments in light of national interests, international competition, and human resource needs.

The draft letter and report can be found on PCAST's website at http://www.ostp.gov/PCAST/02_8_28.html

White House Cyber-Security Report Released in Draft Form

An expected final report from the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board was released in draft form yesterday with a call for additional comments.  A final version of The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace is now expected in December, 2002 or early 2003 after eight more "town hall meetings" are held to solicit public input.  Although the draft contains many recommendations for home and academic computer users, its recommendations to industrial users were described in press reports as being "scaled back" and "soft."  In addition, several controversial sections that appeared in earlier drafts have reportedly been removed.

The draft can be downloaded at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/  Further discussion of the report's recommendations see:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35812-2002Sep18.html; http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-cyber17sep17(0,1665928).story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dtechnology; http://chronicle.com/free/2002/09/2002091901t.htm

Public comment on the draft can be made by emailing comments to feedback@who.eop.gov. 

"Blue Book" Report on NITRD Activities Released

The Supplement to the President's Budget, also known as the Blue Book, which reports on the coordinated research priorities and activities of the National Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) agencies for 2003 was released this week. The Blue Book's first two sections - "From Research to Reality" and "U.S. Priorities" - highlight technologies developed through Federal NITRD investments and their role in disaster response efforts after 9/11. Subsequent sections are devoted to each of the NITRD's major research areas: high-end computing, large-scale and broadband networking, human-computer interaction and information management, high-confidence software and systems, software design and productivity, and socioeconomic and workforce implications of IT and IT workforce development. Each section describes current issues and major research challenges and lists the proposed fiscal year 2003 research activities of the participating agencies.

A copy of the Blue Book Report is available on line at: http://www.nitrd.gov/

New Information Policy Office May be Subject to Senate Confirmation Process

A dispute over whether or not the head of the new e-government office within the Office of Management and Budget. should be confirmed by the Senate emerged during a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee's Technology and Procurement Policy Subcommittee.  The e-government office would be tasked with identifying duplicative technology initiatives among agencies.  Proponents of Senate confirmation argued that the the process would lend stature to the position, those opposed to confirmation felt it would be too time consuming for the fast-paced tech field.

More information is available at: http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0916/web-egov-09-19-02.asp;  Text of the Bill establishing the e-government office can be found at: http://capwiz.com/govexec/issues/bills/?congress=107&billtype=H.R.&billnumb=2458

NSF Expands IT Workforce Program

In a Dear Colleague Letter, NSF announced an expansion of its IT Workforce programs (ITWF) in order to address labor market factors that may affect the participation of women and minorities in IT careers. The modified program now seeks proposals for micro-economic research studies in areas such as:

• Studies that address the decisions of women and minorities to pursue careers as professionals in IT.
• Studies that examine the emergence of new forms of education and skill development of IT workers such as colleges of IT, and proprietary certification programs and how they affect, positively or negatively, the preparation for and success of women and underrepresented minorities in IT careers. 
• Research into the trend of employers turning to applicants from other disciplinary backgrounds to fill IT jobs. 

For information, see program announcement NSF 01-33 at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2001/nsf0133/nsf0133.htm) The deadline for proposal submission, is 5pm Eastern Standard Time on Monday, November 4, 2002.

Office of Technology Administration Releases "Visonary" Report on Education and Technology

A collection of forward looking essays and article form the basis of a new report, VISIONS 2020: Transforming Education and Training Through Advanced Technologies, from the Commerce Department's Office of Technology Administration (OTA). OTA called on a wide ranging group of authors active in technology and education, including Ruzena Bajcsy and Vinton Cerf, to write about their vision of education and technology in the year 2020.

The report can be downloaded at http://www.ta.doc.gov/reports.htm

U.S. News Releases National Ranking of Universities

U.S. News & World Report released its annual ranking of "America's Best Colleges" this week.  According to the survey, there are 249 universities (162 public and 87 private) offering doctoral degrees in 2002 with many of these schools strongly emphasizing research. U.S. News boasts of a 95% response rate for its survey and ranks colleges and universities based on seven indicators: peer assessment, student retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and (for national universities-doctoral and liberal arts colleges-bachelor's) "graduation rate performance." 

The rankings can be found at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php

New Study on Latino College Enrollment Trends Released

Using current population survey data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau from 1997 to 2000, the Pew Hispanic Center (PHC) conducted an analysis of the educational performance of Latino high school graduates. The PHC report, Latinos in Higher Education: Many Enroll, Too Few Graduate, shows that although large numbers of Latinos are enrolled in postsecondary education, the numbers of students who reach graduation are reduced several factors including:

• Part-time enrollment
• A concentration in two-year institutions
• Prolonging undergraduate education beyond the traditional age.  

PHC found that about 10 percent of all Latino high school graduates are enrolled in some form of college compared to 7 percent of the total population of high school graduates.  Nevertheless, Latinos very clearly lag behind in the pursuit of graduate and professional degrees.  According to the study, among 25- to 34-year-old high school graduates, nearly 3.8 percent of whites are enrolled in graduate school while only 1.9 percent of similarly aged Latino high school graduates are pursuing post-baccalaureate studies.  

The report recommends further study into the work obligations and work patterns of Latino undergraduates and the role of student financial aid in improving college persistence.

The Report can be downloaded at: http://www.pewhispanic.org/reports.jsp?s=allreports

IEEE-CS Announces Undergraduate Computer Design Competition

Applications are now being accepted for the  fourth annual IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition (CSIDC).  The IEEE Computer Society invites teams of undergraduate students from around the world to compete with their peers to build a unique computer-driven device based on the theme, “Added Value: Turning a Computer into a System.” The best working prototype will win the top prize of $15,000.

The deadline for applying to CSIDC 2003 is November 1, 2002.  Students have until April 28, 2003 to submit their project reports. The ten best projects are selected by May 21, 2003 and those top teams receive a trip to the Washington, DC area to participate in the World Finals event, held June 29, 2003 . 

For more information about the IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition or to apply online, go to http://computer.org/csidc/

CRA Mentoring Programs To Be Celebrated at Grace Hopper Conference

Two mentoring programs sponsored by CRA's Committee on the Status of Women in Computing will host a joint reunion of past participants at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference.  CRA-W's Distributed Mentoring Program and the Collaborative Research Experiences for Women will hold a joint reunion at Hopper to highlight these successful programs which serve to further CRA-W's goal of taking positive action to increase the number of women participating in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) research and education.  The reunion program will include remarks by past DMP/CREW students and mentors and an update on CRA-W mentoring programs and expansions.  

The reunion will be held on Friday, October 11, 2002 at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, British Columbia.

For more information about DMP, CREW and other CRA-W activities see: http://www.cra.org/Activities/craw/index.html.  To RSVP for the reunion, email reunion@cra.org