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CRA Bulletin
October 25, 2004
- Senate Passes DOE Supercomputing Bill
- CSTB Calls for E-Voting White Papers
- Slight Increases Among Starting Salaries for Class of 2004
- Fellowship Opportunity at Harvard
- ACM Deadlines Approaching
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<< Previous Bulletin (September 23, 2004)
Senate Passes DOE Supercomputing Bill
The Senate has passed HR 4516, the High End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004, which would authorize the creation of a "leadership class" supercomputer at DOE and a "High-end Software Development Center." The bill is expected to be re-passed in the House during a lame-duck session and signed by the President.
The bill is a melding of the House version of HR 4516, introduced by Reps. Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Lincoln Davis (D-TN) and Senate bill S. 2176, introduced by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). Both bills are based on the recommendations from the High End Computing Revitalization Task Force Workshop CRA hosted in June, 2003.
The compromise bill adopts the House's less prescriptive (and lower)
authorized funding amounts ($50 million in FY 05, $55 million in FY 06, $60
million in FY 07), but adds the software development center from the Senate bill
and strips language added at the insistence of Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) that
would have required a study on the implications of artificial intelligence
research.
http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/archives/000160.html
CSTB Calls for E-Voting White Papers
The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) is seeking comments and white papers "relevant to the use of electronic voting systems." Serious comments and white papers need to be received by November 22, 2004: http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/archives/000165.html.
Slight Increases Among Starting Salaries for Class of 2004
Many undergraduates who graduated in 2004 received slightly higher salaries than their 2003 counterparts, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) year-end Salary Survey.
| Average Starting Salary, $ | % Change from Previous Year | |
| Chemical engineering | 52,539 | 0.3 |
| Computer engineering | 51,297 | -0.1 |
| Computer science | 49,036 | 4.1 |
| Mechanical engineering | 48,578 | 0.0 |
| Industrial/manufacturing engineering | 46,036 | -2.2 |
| Information sciences and systems | 42,375 | 10.7 |
| Civil engineering | 42,056 | 0.9 |
| Management information systems | 41,579 | 2.5 |
| Accounting | 41,058 | 1.0 |
| Economics/finance | 40,630 | 3.0 |
| Nursing | 38,920 | 0.4 |
| Business administration | 38,254 | 6.2 |
| Marketing | 34,712 | 2.0 |
| Political science | 32,296 | 3.6 |
| English | 31,113 | 8.1 |
| History | 30,344 | -4.8 |
| Liberal arts (as a group) | 30,212 | 3.7 |
| Biological/life sciences | 29,629 | 0.6 |
| Psychology | 28,230 | 2.0 |
| Source: CNN |
According to a CNN article on the report,
If [figures for computer science] sound enticing, it's probably because computer science graduates are long overdue for a pay increase.
"They haven't seen an increase since 2001 and this is the first year, in all four reports, that they showed an increase," Koncz says. "With the economy coming back, they are just starting to regain the ground lost in those two years."
The CNN article is online at http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/21/pf/college/starting_salaries/.
The press release for the NACE survey is online at http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=&prid=197.
Fellowship Opportunity
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study is accepting applications for their Fellowships in Science. Scientists participate in the program both as individual researchers and in small research clusters. In 2003, one cluster brought together a group of theoretical computer scientists examining multiple roles of randomness in computation. Proposals are accepted from women and men from around the globe in any field with the receipt of a doctorate or appropriate terminal degree at least two years prior to appointment in the area of the proposed project. Radcliffe also welcomes proposals from small groups of scholars who have research interests or projects in common. Fellows receive a stipend of up to $50,000, office space, computer support and other resources at Harvard University. Residence in the Boston area and participation in the Institute community are required during the fellowship year (9/05-6/06). Applications must be postmarked by December 1, 2004. For more information visit www.radcliffe.edu or e-mail science@radcliffe.edu.
ACM Deadlines Approaching
The deadline for nominations for ACM's 2004 Award Program is October 31, 2004 (the deadline for Fellows and the Doctoral Dissertation Award was Sept. 7, 2004). Please refer to the ACM Awards page, http://www.acm.org/awards/award_nominations.html, for award descriptions and listings. By clicking on the name of the award you will be able to access the description and lists containing the names and citations of the previous ACM Award winners, nomination procedures for the 2004 awards, and contact information for the Chairs of the 2004 Award Subcommittees.
The deadline for the Call for Papers for an upcoming special issue of ACM JERIC (Journal on Educational Resources in Computing) is November 1, 2004. The special issue will be called 'Gender Balancing Computing Education' and they are soliciting reports of research into the influence educational practices may have on the gender composition of post-secondary computer science. Of particular interest are articles that explore the role of pedagogical practices including collaborative learning and closed labs, curriculum, classroom practices, departmental culture and support programs. The CFP is available online at: http://www.acm.org/pubs/jeric/special_editions/gender.shtml.