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CRA Bulletin

September 23, 2004

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<< Previous Bulletin (August 6, 2004)

Appropriations Update: Defense, NSF, NIST, Homeland Security

As the federal government approaches the end of the 2004 fiscal year (on September 30, 2004), Congress has, to date, completed only one of the 13 annual appropriations bills necessary to fund the operations of government. They have, however, made some progress on others, including some actions that impact computing researchers. For the full report see: http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/archives/000146.html.

For updated information about the appropriations process, visit the Computing Research Policy Blog: http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/index.php.

OMB Guidance to Agencies: High End Computing, Cyberinfrastructure are Priorities

The White House Office of Management and Budget -- the gatekeepers of agency budgets in the executive branch -- and OSTP have issued guidance to federal science agencies directing them to make high end computing and cyberinfrastructure investments a priority in their FY 2006 budget requests, even at the expense of "lower-priority" research within the federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) initiative.

While the Administration's focus on high-end computing and cyberinfrastructure research is welcome news, the thought that they may ask agencies to cannibalize other research within the NITRD program is very worrisome.

For the full story: http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/archives/000130.html.

Outsourcing May Mean More IT Jobs for US?

Economist Catherine L. Mann, of the Institute for International Economics in DC, argues in the July 2004 issue of ACM's Queue on the potential positive effect of the "global sourcing" trend in IT.

Mann suggests that just as outsourcing IT hardware production during the 1990s lowered product costs (by 20%), encouraging increased IT investment throughout the economy, the current wave of outsourcing software and IT services will have a similar effect on costs. This will, in turn, encourage large sectors of the US economy that haven't yet heavily invested in IT (health, education, and much of the small to medium size enterprises SMEs sector) to do so, creating a demand for IT workers in those sectors here in the US, as well as moving jobs "up the IT skills ladder."

She recommends a two-prong approach for dealing with this situation. First, she says, the US needs to encourage foreign macroeconomic growth, because as foreign countries increase their GDPs, they become bigger markets for IT services, where US providers currently dominate. Second, she thinks we need to focus domestically on the displaced workers by providing "extended unemployment benefits (providing more time for adjustment), training assistance, wage insurance, and portable health insurance" to ease the transition to new jobs and careers. She also sees a "human-capital-investment tax credit" to achieve a better-functioning skills pipeline of IT workers, for incumbent as well as for entry-level workers.

More coverage on this story at http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/archives/000135.html.

NSF Early Career Awards Announced

Fifty-seven young government-supported scientists and engineers have been named to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest national honor for investigators in the early stages of promising research careers who have also displayed leadership in their fields.

Twelve women are among the honored group of 20 NSF-supported researchers, along with 37 more from other federally-sponsored science and engineering programs, to receive a PECASE.  The honorees for the 2003 PECASE include three computer scientists: Cyrus Shahabi of the University of Southern California, Sandeep K. Shukla of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Yoky Matsuoka of Carnegie-Mellon University.

The full press release is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/newsroom/pr.cfm?ni=15000000000116

Close to 40% Employed in Computer Science and Math Occupations Do Not Have a B.S.

Significant numbers of individuals employed in computer and math science occupations and engineering occupations have high school diplomas or associate's degrees but no higher college degrees. Approximately 40 percent of all individuals employed in computer and math science occupations and 20 percent of all individuals employed in engineering occupations have no higher than an associate's degree. The three other major occupational groups examined, life science occupations, physical science occupations, and social science occupations, have substantially smaller proportions (10 percent or less) of individuals with less than a bachelor's degree education. Data included in this report are from the April 2003 Current Population Survey (CPS) and was compiled in a recent NSF InfoBrief.

The NSF InfoBrief is available online at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/infbrief/nsf04333/start.htm

CRA-W Adds Booklist to Website

The Computing Research Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W), has added a valuable resource to its website. An extensive book list, moderated by Dr. Susan Landau, highlights books on the subject of Computer Science written by women computer scientists. The book list is available online at http://www.cra.org/Activities/craw/booklist/index.php and will be distributed at the 2004 Grace Hopper Conference in Chicago.

Microsoft Research Announces New Programs

Microsoft Research University Relations is embarking on several new programs in Academic year 2004-05, including a recently-announced set of Request for Proposals designed to investigate innovative curriculum and research. RFPs details can be found at http://research.microsoft.com/ur/us/fundingopps/.

Also new this year is the creation of the Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship Program. This fellowship aims to identify, recognize, and support exceptional new faculty members who are advancing computing research in novel directions with the potential for high impact, and who demonstrate the likelihood of becoming thought leaders of the field. Microsoft Research is seeking nominees for this fellowship -- the online application became available in early September, with awards announced in early 2005. For more information, please visit http://research.microsoft.com/ur/us/.