(IOPADS) Parallel andDistributedSystems Distributed Simulation(PADS) (METRICS) on ParallelandDistributedTools Programming (PPOPP) Principles andPracticesofParallel Implementation (PLDI) Programming LanguageDesignand (ISCA) sium ofComputerArchitecture Science (CRA-W) Careers forWomen inComputing and Workshops (sixteen): plus arecordnumberofSymposia was composedoffourteentutorials Philadelphia (FCRC’96),FCRC’99 events inSanDiego(FCRC’93)and than one.Followingonsuccessful events, manyregisteringformore 1,450 peopleattendingthevarious by allaccountsasuccess,withsome Atlanta HiltonandTowers, andwas Thursday, May6,1999,atthe held Friday, April30through Research Conference(FCRC)was 1999 FCRCinAtlantaaSuccess! avoid deepcutsintheirprograms. money becomesavailablesotheycan a fewarewaitingtoseeifmore written theirFY2000spendingbills, most appropriationspanelshave enacted severalyearsago.While caps ondiscretionaryspending FY 2000federalbudgetundertight openly. SoCongressispreparingthe willing tobethefirstsuggestit discretionary spending,neithersideis to applysomeofthesurplus even manyRepublicanswouldlike most oftherestit. billion taxcutbillthatwoulduse Republicans havepassedan$800 Trust Fund.AndCongressional should beleftintheSocialSecurity sides agreethatabouttwo-thirdsofit disagree abouthowtouseit.Both years, theWhiteHouseandCongress reach $3trillionoverthenextten that thefederalbudgetsurpluswill cloudy. Althoughforecastssuggest ber, theoverallbudgetpictureisstill business thesecondweekofSeptem- By Lisa Thompson Appropriators CutFY 2000FundingForIT Vol. 11/No. 4 September 1999 C Undergraduate Awards Seed Corn Expanding thePipeline ACM/IEEE Workshop onI/Oin ACM Workshop onParallel and ACM SIGMETRICSSymposium ACM SIGPLANSymposiumon ACM SIGPLANConferenceon ACM/IEEE InternationalSympo- CRA Workshop onAcademic The ThirdFederatedComputing Although theWhiteHouseand As Congresspreparestoreturn OMPUTING ...... 3-4 ...... 2 ...... 5 ...... Inside CRN Professional Opportunities CRA ElectionResults Policy News a latedate. workshops totheschedule, even at making iteasytoaddone-day have relativelysmallbudgets, and thus allowingindividualeventsto fee” chargedoncetoeachattendee, bundled intoanoverall“FCRC FCRC, inwhichmostcostswere this year’s for financialmodel made possiblebytheflexibilityof (WISP) on InternetServerPerformance Modelling andAnalysis(MAMA) on MathematicalPerformance cessors (WSSMM) Scalable, Shared-MemoryMultipro- Embedded Systems(LCTES) Languages, Compilers,andTools for Software (WCSSS) Computer SupportforSystem Parallel Algorithms(WOPA) of DistributedComputing(PODC) tional Complexity(Complexity) Computing (STOC) million increase.Anadditional$36 well belowCISE’s requestfora$110 funding theITinitiative.Thisis above CISE’s currentbudgettobegin provided a$35millionincrease subcommittee responsibleforNSF ent reasonsthough). have considereditsofar(fordiffer- has beencutbyallthepanelsthat Twenty-First Century(IT the InformationTechnology forthe Administration’s budgetrequestfor The high The high ACM SIGMETRICSWorkshop ACM SIGMETRICSWorkshop ACM SIGARCHWorkshop on ACM SIGPLANWorkshop on ACM SIGPLANWorkshop on ACM/UMIACS Workshop on ACM SymposiumonPrinciples IEEE ConferenceonComputa- ACM SymposiumonTheoryof The Houseappropriations As aresultoftheimpasse, support fortheITresearchinitiative,inparticularurgingSenateto work towardaVA-HUD appropriationsbillthatmakesuptheNSF’s IT The appropriationsprocessisfarfromoverandtherestillachance research communitytoredoubleitseffortspromoteCongressional funding shortfallsintheHouseversionofbill.Pleaseseehttp:// of securingadditionalfundsforIT. CRA isaskingthecomputing ...... 6-7 ...... More than25 Years ofServicetotheComputingResearchCommunity number ofeventswas www.cra.org/Policy/advocacy.html formoreinformation...... R ...... 2 ) initiative 14-16 10-11 ESEARCH proved apopularchoice.This FCRC in themorningaspast, andthis just beforelunchinsteadoffirstthing Information.” Research spokeon“Quantum On Thursday, CharlesBennettofIBM Technology AdvisoryCommittee.” Report ofthePresident’s Information Information Technology Research: spoke on“FutureInvestmentin Ken KennedyofRiceUniversity nology Problems.”OnWednesday, ing ProblemsinInformationTech- Lecture “WhatNext?AFewRemain- Jim GrayofMicrosoftgavehisTuring Tuesday, 1998Turing Award winner Problems inComputerSystems?”On Return toSomeLongStanding entitled “BacktotheFuture:Time to Stanford Universitygaveatalk On Monday, JohnHennessyof gist ApproachtoComputerScience.” Random, LocalData:thePaleontolo- “Testing GlobalPropertiesUsing and theWeitzmann Institutespokeon Sunday, ShafiGoldwasserofMIT Johns HopkinsUniversity. On committee headedbyRaoKosaraju, plenary speakers,selectedbya was thewidely-praisedlineupof what itexpectswillbealong-term, significant down-paymenttowards Committee believes$35,000,000isa program areas.Nevertheless,the disrupting fundinginallother this newinitiativewithoutadversely vided in...thefullbudgetrequestfor provide thefundinglevelaspro- impossible fortheCommitteeto accompanying thespendingbillsays: support forITresearch.Thereport opposes theideaofexpanding and notbecausethesubcommittee to providetherequestedincreases is, becausemoneywasnotavailable were made“withoutprejudice,”that made clear, however, thatthecuts funded atall.Thesubcommittee terascale computingsystemswasnot million requestfordevelopmentof The plenarytalkswerescheduled Another highlightofFCRC’99 “Budget constraintsmakeit FCRC ContinuedonPage6 proposed participationinIT budget afterthecongressionalrecess. subcommittee willmarkuptheNSF’s forthcoming deliberations.” available toassistduringthose any newITresearchthatmaybe would hopetohavethebenefitof future yearbudgetsubmissionsand expects toconsiderthisrequestin financial resources.TheCommittee higher prioritypressuresonavailable due tobudgetconstraintsandother, taken thisaction,withoutprejudice, submission. TheCommitteehas facility asrequestedinthebudget single site,fiveteraflopcomputing resources totheconstructionofa is notpreparedatthistimetocommit program: “TheCommittee,however, about theterascalecomputing information technologies.” this importantfieldofcomputingand comprehensive researchprogramin Initiative: Accelerated StrategicComputing program inadditiontoDoE’s ongoing could notaffordtofundtheSSI The Housepanelexplainedthatit Water appropriationssubcommittees. the HouseorSenateEnergyand Initiative, wasnotfundedbyeither $70 millionScientificSimulation Appropriators ContinuedonPage6 N

CRA NONPROFIT ORG. The DepartmentofEnergy’s The Senateappropriations The reportsaysmuchthesame U.S. POSTAGE 1100 Seventeenth Street, NW PAID Suite 507 WASHINGTON, DC Washington, DC 20036-4632 PERMIT NO. 993 EWS 2 , the 2 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

Expanding the Pipeline

Computing Research Association FCRC Provides CS Females Forum Board Officers The CRA Committee on the network that is critical to success. Serving as chair of this year’s Edward Lazowska Status of Women in Computing The seating arrangement for the workshop was University of Califor- Chair University of Washington Research (CRA-W) held a very lunch on May 1 was designed to nia at San Diego (UCSD) Professor of successful “Workshop on Research allow participants with common Computer Science and Engineering Mary Lou Soffa Vice Chair Careers for Women in Computer research interests to interact. Friday Francine Berman. She is also an University of Pittsburgh Science and Engineering” in night attendees participated in a SDSC senior fellow and NPACI Leah Jamieson conjunction with the Federated “Networking Practicum” specifically partner. The workshop’s vice chairs Secretary Computing Research Conference designed to enable young researchers were Nancy Leveson of the Massa- Purdue University April 30 - May 1 in Atlanta, to interact with senior researchers in chusetts Institute of Technology, James Foley Georgia. The goal of the workshop their specific fields. Anne Condon of the University of Treasurer was to provide computer science Also at this workshop, CRA Washington, and Joann Ordille of Mitsubishi Electric Research undergraduate and graduate stu- presented its annual awards for Bell Laboratories. Board Members dents, professors, and researchers Outstanding Undergraduates. This Congratulations go to the Frances E. Allen from industry and the national is a program that recognizes under- following for making the workshop a IBM T.J. Watson Research Center laboratories—especially females— graduate students who have shown success: Sandra Johnson Baylor an opportunity to share information outstanding research potential. This Francine Berman, UCSD [Confer- IBM T.J. Watson Research Center critical for achieving success in year’s awards went to April Rasala ence Chair] Anita Borg computer science. A summary of and Marsette Vena, both of Kim Peaks, CRA [Conference Xerox Palo Alto Research Center events and talks at the workshop can Dartmouth College. The runner-up Coordinator] Robert Cartwright be found at http://www.cra.org/ was Pedro Felzenszwalb of Cornell Nancy Leveson, MIT; Anne Rice University Activities/craw. University. A full list of the recipi- Condon, the University of Washing- Doris Carver CRA-W is participating on the ents and honorable mentions can be ton; and Joann Ordille, Bell Labora- Louisiana State University Access and Inclusion team of the found on the CRA website. tories [Program Vice-Chairs] Lori Clarke Education, Outreach, and Training One of the weekend highlights Bill Aspray [CRA] University of Massachusetts Partnership for Advanced Computa- occurred when Ruzena Bajcsy, NSF and SIG Governing Board Timothy Finin tional Infrastructure (EOT-PACI), a assistant director of the Directorate [Travel support] University of Maryland, Baltimore County joint organization formed to imple- for Computer and Information Jan Cuny and Leah Jamieson [Co- Peter Freeman ment the EOT goals of NPACI and Science and Engineering at the chairs of CRA-W] Georgia Institute of Technology the National Computational National Science Foundation, gave Ann Redelfs, SDSC/NPACI C. William Gear Science Alliance. CRA-W is the keynote address. Bajcsy focused [Publicity and Web support] NEC Research Institute Inc. dedicated to improving the repre- in part on the potential additional Donna Baglio and David Johnson Mary Jane Irwin sentation of women in computer congressional funding that will [FCRC] Pennsylvania State University science and other computing come in response to the President’s Ruzena Bajcsy, NSF [Keynote David S. Johnson technology fields. Summaries of Information Technology Advisory speaker] AT&T Labs - Research CRA-W sponsored or affiliated Committee (PITAC) Report to the All of the Moderators and Stephen S. Johnson events are intended to broaden President, which supports basic Panelists Transmeta Corporation exposure to the content of such research. Her message encouraged This article appeared in © 1999 Sidney Karin workshops, and especially to help the academic community to pro- Online: News about the NPACI and University of California, San Diego young women in the field get actively support the recommenda- SDSC Community. http:// Nancy G. Leveson valuable information about their tions in their interactions with their www.npaci.edu/online/, as CRA-W is Massachusetts Institute of Technology chosen profession. congressional leaders. a partner of NPACI’s. ❚ Kathleen McKeown Columbia University This year’s conference was organized as a series of parallel David Patterson University of California, Berkeley groups, enabling participants to attend panels most pertinent to their Daniel Reed Borg Appointed by Clinton University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign current career status and future goals. The panels were targeted to students Over the summer, the President positive impact of technology on Barbara Ryder Rutgers University and pre-tenure faculty, researchers in named CRA Board of Directors the world’s women. industry and the national labs, and Member Anita Borg to serve as a CAWMSET’s mission statement Robert Schnabel University of Colorado at Boulder post-tenure faculty. The pre-tenure Member of the Commission on the is to “advance the full and equi- group attended panels on topics Advancement of Women and table participation of all Americans Lawrence Snyder University of Washington such as “Getting a Job” and “The Minorities in Science, Engineering in SET education; to increase the Eugene Spafford Tenure Process.” Industry and and Technology (CAWMSET). number of qualified American Purdue University national lab researchers attended The Commission was established by scientists, engineers, and techni- John A. Stankovic panels such as “Models of Industrial Congress in October 1998. Elaine cians by expanding the human University of Virginia and National Lab Research,” M. Mendoza, President & CEO, resources pool of women, members Frank Tompa “Industry and National Lab Career Conceptual Mindworks, Inc. is of racial and ethnic minority University of Waterloo Options,” and “Strategies for Success chairing the commission. groups, and persons with disabili- Jeffrey Ullman in Industry and the National Labs.” Dr. Borg’s appointment to ties; and to thereby enhance the Stanford University Post-tenure faculty concentrated on CAWMSET is a recognition of her Nation’s economic capacity and William Woods topics including “Career Options long-standing commitment to technological growth in this era of Sun Microsystems Laboratories Beyond Research,” “From Associate minority representation in the field global competitiveness.” Stephen S. Yau to Full—Going up the Ladder After of computing. Starting in 1987, she The Commission held its first Arizona State University You’ve Reached the First Rung,” and founded Systers, an Internet-based meeting April 14, 1999 at the Stuart Zweben “Reinventing Your Research Career.” community for technical women. National Science Foundation Ohio State University All three groups participated in Since 1996, Dr. Borg has worked (NSF) in Arlington, VA. The first joint sessions pertinent to all career with the multiracial steering meeting combined introductions of Executive Director paths, including “Research as a committee for the Access by Design both individuals and their perspec- William Aspray Career,” “Networking and Profes- Project of the Center for Children tives on the issue of the sional Social Interactions,” and and Technology to encourage the underrepresentation of minorities in “Time Management, Family, and high tech industry to be more SET. Those who spoke were Quality of Life Issues.” Panel receptive to the needs of our entire representative of academia, indus- question-and-answer sessions were diverse population. In 1998, she try, and government agencies whose held at the end of each discussion. was inducted into the Women in missions encompass human re- Apart from panel discussions, Technology Hall of Fame. She is sources issues. participants also attended social the Founder and President of the Those who spoke included Rita events that enabled them and the Institute for Women and Technol- Colwell, Director of NSF who speakers to exchange information, ogy, which works internationally to opened the meeting, followed by make professional contacts, and help increase the impact of women on Arthur Bienenstock of the Office of create an informal professional technology and to increase the Science and Technology Policy. ❚

Page 2 September 1999 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS

Seed Corn at the Millennium: What Can We Learn from the Taulbee Data?

By Stu Zweben ment data may not be identical to National Research Council. Prior to than do lower ranked departments. the number reporting salary data. 1994-95, Canadian departments’ This figure also indicates that the As we approach the millennium, Again, the peak production occurs figures were merged in these reports decrease in Ph.D. production in the computer science finds itself in a during 1994-95, at about eight per with those of the departments not past two reporting periods has not position that bears great resemblance department. The last survey (for the ranked in the top 36. Also note that been distributed uniformly across to that of the early to mid 80s. departments based on their NRC Enrollment in undergraduate ranking. computer science is booming. Many At the Ph.D. qualifying exam faculty positions in computer level, Figure 2 shows a decreasing science departments reportedly are trend on a per department basis since going unfilled, as are positions in the early 90s, with some recovery in industry (Freeman and Aspray 1996-97. Figure 4 shows the 1999). Faculty are looking seriously breakdown of the qualifier data by at, and being aggressively recruited ranking. Here the decreasing trend by, industry as an alternative to their is evident in all categories although, current jobs. There is concern that curiously, the collective departments we cannot keep enough students in ranked 13-24 seem to have recov- our graduate programs to even keep ered during the latest reporting the pipeline at its level of a couple period to their early 90s levels. of years ago, much less expand it to Figure 1 The number of new Ph.D. accommodate the increased demand students per department declined for Ph.D. graduates. The forerunner from 1993-95, but for the last three of the CRA, in those days called the years it has increased considerably, so Computer Science Board, claimed it is now at its historic high of the late circa 1980 that we were eating our 80s. Figure 5 shows these data by seed corn by not being able to ranking category. As can be seen from provide for the next generation of Figure 5, the recovery is most striking computer scientists in our educa- in the higher ranked departments. tional institutions (Denning 1981). Do we have Seed Corn II upon us? Analysis It would be useful to document One might be encouraged by the such a situation as much as possible, increase in new Ph.D. students so that appropriate actions can be during the past three years, and taken to deal with it. In computer predict that this will result in a science, the best and most current significant increase in Ph.D. produc- source of data about human re- Figure 2 tion in a few years. However, the sources in our graduate departments qualifier data should cause one to be comes from CRA’s annual Taulbee a lot more pessimistic about this. Survey. What do these data tell us Suppose one assumes that, in about the seed corn issue? general, a student will take the qualifier in the second year of study. The Ph.D. Pipeline This would mean that the qualifier The Taulbee Survey provides trends should lag those of new Ph.D. snapshots of the Ph.D. pipeline at students by a year. Figure 2 shows three important points. The most that, while not entirely true, this has often quoted figures are those at the been the basic pattern over the years. end of the pipeline. These are the However, the gap in the two lines numbers of Ph.D. graduates. But the widened during the past couple of survey also gathers information years. Thus, while the significant about the number of students passing rise in new Ph.D. students per the Ph.D. qualifying examination, Figure 3 department has increased the and about the number of new Ph.D. number of those passing qualifiers students entering the academic per department, the proportions are departments. going down. This is one piece of Figure 1 shows the Taulbee data evidence in support of a seed corn for each of these junctures since the problem; a smaller fraction of mid 1980s, as reported by the Ph.D. students appears to be entering the granting computer science depart- post-qualifier stage of study for the ments in the U.S. and Canada. The Ph.D. One cannot determine from increasing number of Ph.D.s pro- these data if a smaller proportion of duced, as reported in the survey, is students are taking the exam, or a evident through 1994-95. This is a smaller proportion of those taking bit later than is often reported, and the exam are passing (or both). But the discrepancy is due mainly to 1) the effect is worrisome. the difference in number of depart- The period between passing the ments reporting each year, and 2) the Figure 4 qualifier exam and graduating with omission in our analysis of the the Ph.D. is more variable. How- computer engineering department ever, if the total time to the Ph.D. is data. To normalize for this variabil- about five to six years (the most 1998 graduating class) showed a in 1995, the most recent NRC ity in reporting, Figure 2 shows the recent Taulbee Survey showed the value of 6.6 per department, a rankings were published, and this pipeline data for the same period per average to be just over five years), decrease of more than 15percent means that the actual departments department reporting. The number the lag between the qualifier trend from the peak. included in each of the categories of departments reporting was taken and the Ph.D. production trend Figure 3 shows the differences in changed beginning with the 1994- from the Taulbee Survey’s salary should be roughly four years. Figure Ph.D. production based on depart- 95 survey. tables, though it is recognized that 2 tends to confirm this hypothesis. mental ranking. The Taulbee From Figure 3, one can see that the number of departments reporting Survey categorizes the departments higher ranked departments produce production, qualifier, and enroll- based on the ranking from the on average considerably more Ph.D.s Seed Corn Continued on Page 4

Page 3 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

Seed Corn from Page 3 employment was known to be in the effect of this trend contributes to the a per-department basis, the recent U.S. and Canada, the proportions of seed corn problem. trend seems upward after some Figure 6 shows the data from Figure decline in the early 90s. The 2 transformed so that the qualifier numbers are small enough so that it data is lagged one year from the new does not seem as if one can sound an students data and the Ph.D. produc- alarm, though the trend is in a tion data is lagged four years from direction consistent with a seed corn the qualifier data. problem. The general decrease between 1990-91 and 1995-96 in the number Conclusion per department passing the qualifier The Taulbee Survey provides exam suggests that Ph.D. production some evidence that there may be a per department will continue to seed corn problem, though the show decline for the next couple of evidence to date is weak. There is a years, unless the proportion of those trend of a decreasing number of passing qualifiers who complete the students per Ph.D. granting depart- degree increases from its historic ment who are continuing past the levels. Of course, an argument can Figure 5 qualifying exam level, despite a be made that the proportion of those recent upsurge in the number of new passing qualifiers who go on to Ph.D. students per department. This complete the degree is decreasing likely will mean that the number of rather than increasing. Anecdotal Ph.D.s per department over the next evidence abounds of Ph.D. students several years will remain below its leaving after passing the qualifying historic high of just four years ago. exam. It would be illuminating to There also are considerably more see data at an intermediate point new Ph.D.s going to industry than to between the qualifier exam and the academia, and somewhat of an granting of the Ph.D. It is common increase in the number of faculty per for departments (or their institu- department who leave for non- tions) to require a second intermedi- academic positions. ate hurdle, variously called by names Many persons intuitively feel such as the Candidacy or Preliminary that the seed corn problem is far Examination stage. Unfortunately, Figure 6 greater than this. Additional data the Taulbee Survey doesn’t collect about the Ph.D. pipeline, such as at data about this milestone, but such an intermediate point in the Ph.D. data may provide more conclusive study, and data about vacancies and evidence about the status of the their ability to be filled, can Ph.D. pipeline. improve our understanding of this The number of students graduat- problem. While we may not be able ing with the Ph.D. should not to collect this data in time to exceed the number passing the properly analyze the current situa- qualifier, unless there is a back door tion, it should prove valuable for into the Ph.D. Figures 2 and 6 the future. suggest, therefore, that the number of The vacancy problem goes well Ph.D.s produced per department will beyond those departments surveyed not rebound to its 1994-95 high in through Taulbee, since most of the the foreseeable future. undergraduate and masters computer science students are taught in Faculty Data Figure 7 departments that do not grant Ph.D.s. Production of new Ph.D.s is only The decline in the number of new one part of the seed corn issue. In Ph.D.s who take positions in these order to educate the next generation departments is quite alarming. of computing professionals, we need to currently attract and retain these Acknowledgments persons within academic computing My thanks to Bill Aspray and departments. Stacy Cholewinski for their assis- The number of advertisements tance in compiling these data and for faculty positions is growing helping me understand how they (CRN had to increase the size of its were collected and how they might January issue to cope with the be interpreted. However, any errors increased demand for advertising). in the arguments or their associated If fewer new Ph.D.s are going into data should be attributable to me. the academy, there will be a greater tendency for these faculty positions to go unfilled. If existing faculty are Figure 8 References departing the academy with increas- P. Denning, ed., “A Discipline in ing frequency, this will damage our these graduates who went to industry Of those new Ph.D.s who go into Crisis,” Communications of the ACM, ability to not only teach new and academia. Note that, within the academia, the vast majority go to 24, 6 (June 1981), pp. 370-374. students but also perform vital “industry” category, the Taulbee data other Ph.D. granting computing P. Freeman and W. Aspray, The research in the discipline and do not distinguish among positions in departments. Figure 7 also illustrates Supply of Information Technology mentor the new faculty. industry research, startups, develop- this, and in fact shows a decreasing Workers in the United States, Comput- The Taulbee Survey collects data ment, etc. These data compare with proportion who go to other than ing Research Association, 1999. on the first jobs taken by new Ph.D.s, NSF data that indicate, of new Ph.D.s Ph.D. granting CS/CE departments. and on faculty departures. Last year, in 1994 with plans for U.S. employ- While in the early 90s there were Stu Zweben is Professor and Chair the survey also attempted to obtain ment, 43% planned to go to industry about one-third going to such in the Department of Computer and information about the extent to and 49% to academia, while in 1996 departments, now there are only Information Science at Ohio State which open positions are being filled, these respective percentages were around 10%. This does not bode University. He is currently the chair but the question was not worded 50% and 44%. The data in Figure 7 well for these departments, which of the Computing Research Associa- satisfactorily. We are trying to illustrate the recent tendency for also are facing increasing enroll- tion Surveys Committee. He is past improve our ability to collect this new Ph.D.s to go to industry with ments and increasing demands for Co-chair of the CRA Taulbee Survey vacancy data. greater frequency than they do to instructional personnel. Committee. He can be reached for Figure 7 shows, for new Ph.D. academia. While industry employ- The Taulbee data on faculty comments at [email protected] ❚ graduates whose first post-Ph.D. ment is not to be discouraged, the departures is shown in Figure 8. On state.edu.

Page 4 September 1999 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS

Association News Outstanding Undergraduate Executive Fellowship By Victor Rosenberg appropriate and making sure that consumers can trust the system. They Awards Deadline October 25 Around 1997 the Computing must be confident that they will not Research Association concluded that be defrauded and they must be Nomination Information the federal government could benefit confident that the system will be The Computing Research Association is pleased to announce the sixth from the services of academic com- reliable. This is especially true of annual CRA Undergraduate Award Program, recognizing undergraduate puter professionals. I am not sure why business-to-business e-commerce students who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing they came to this conclusion, but I which is currently about four fifths of research. think they were right and I am grateful all electronic commerce. A cash prize of $1,000 will be awarded to each of two undergraduate they decided to establish a fellowship As part of my work I participated student winners, one female and one male, who are majoring in computer for senior faculty in information in the writing of the Department’s science, computer engineering, or an equivalent program. A number of technology to spend a year or two in 2001 budget request. If the budget is other outstanding candidates will be recognized with Honorable Mention. Washington. As the first recipient of funded (a big if) there should be room The awards will be presented at one of the major computing research the CRA fellowship, my goal for the for a program that will target small- conferences sponsored by CRA, ACM, the IEEE Computer Society, SIAM, year in Washington was to help where and medium-sized business for AAAI, or USENIX. The two first-prize winners will receive financial I could, but more importantly to learn assistance in getting into the world of assistance toward their travel to the conference. CRA encourages home as much as I could about the electronic commerce. government’s policies in the area of departments to provide similar assistance to other students who are The Fellowship Year recognized. electronic commerce. Little did I Please make this award widely known in your department. CRA hopes know that I would be involved in the The fellowship year began with an that your strongest undergraduates will be nominated. The award is a creation of the policies. excellent ten-day orientation pre- terrific way to recognize your best students and your department. I chose to be placed in the sented by the American Association This years awards program is made possible by the generous support of Department of Commerce, because it for the Advancement of Science the Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab. is one of the agencies that deal with (AAAS). In cooperation with many business, universities, and local scientific professional societies, governments. This is the intersection AAAS sponsors about seventy Nomination Procedure where I believe e-commerce will be fellowships each year and places most important. scientists in Congress and in executive A nomination package consists of the following items: I came to two major conclusions branch agencies. This orientation, 1. Nomination form about electronic commerce policy. I along with a continuing series of 2. Nominee’s resume (two-page maximum) concluded that electronic commerce seminars throughout the year, gave me 3. Nominee’s transcript of academic record is not just buying and selling on the an especially useful insight into 4. Verification statement signed by department chair* Internet, it is a much more profound science policy and how it is made in 5. Letters of support from two other supporting nominators (two-page restructuring of business so that it can Washington. maximum) function effectively in a global, Washington is a strange place for a 6. One-page description highlighting one or two of the student’s networked environment. More and Midwesterner to land. It has a unique research or other achievements. This statement should be prepared more companies are coming to life of its own and is especially strange by the student and it should describe the significance of the work recognize this and are wrestling with for a former entrepreneur who is used as well as the student’s specific contributions. the consequences. Government to getting things done quickly and *The verification statement signed by the department chair should simply state that the student is in good officials must understand the phenom- efficiently. JFK used to joke that standing and eligible for the award. enon and deal with the issues that are Washington is a town of northern A department may nominate more than one candidate. While it is raised. My second conclusion is that charm and southern efficiency. I preferable for nominations to be submitted by the candidate’s department government must help technologi- arrived in Washington at a very chair, it is also possible for them to come from individual faculty members. cally and economically challenged interesting time with the culmination Nominees must attend a university or college located in the United States businesses and individuals participate of the impeachment trial. It will be or Canada. in the new wired world. difficult to get much done in the last Nomination forms and other information are available on the CRA The major question that govern- two years of the Clinton Administra- website at: http://www.cra.org/Activities/awards/undergrad/home.html ment officials are grappling with is just tion, but e-commerce will not wait, The nomination must reach CRA no later than October 25, 1999. Four what is the proper role for government even for politicians. copies of the complete nomination package are required (one transcript in this new technological environ- One of the highlights of the year must be an original). ment. Government must help the in Washington was observing the Address: smaller and the disadvantaged impeachment close up. I went to a CRA Undergraduate Award Competition businesses to participate in the session of the Senate trial and was Computing Research Association technology; and second it must amused by the conversation of a 1100 Seventeenth Street NW, Suite 507 develop policies to make e-commerce family behind me in the Senate Washington, DC 20036-4632 safe and effective. The latter includes Tel. 202-234-2111 the development of standards where Fellowship Continued on Page 11 Fax: 202-667-1066 E-mail: [email protected] COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS Vol. 11/No. 4/September 1999 Computing Research News (ISSN 1069-384X) is published five times per year: in January, March, May, September, and November. Copyright 1999 by the Computing Research Association (CRA), 1100 Criteria for Selection of Winners Seventeenth Street, NW, Suite 507, Washington, DC 20036-4632; tel. 202-234-2111. All rights reserved. Material in CRN is not endorsed by CRA nor intended to reflect any official positions of CRA 1. Evidence of unusual talent in some area of computing research as or its board. demonstrated by one or more of the following: Subscriptions: Call 202-234-2111, send e-mail to [email protected] or mail subscription inquiries to CRA, a. Significant research contributions, individually or as a member 1100 Seventeenth Street, NW, Suite 507, Washington, DC 20036-4632. A free subscription is available to qualified subscribers. One-year paid subscriptions are $30 in the United States, $45 (U.S.) in of a team. Canada and $54 (U.S.) elsewhere. b. Creation of highly innovative software or hardware design. Change of Address: Note that a change of address must include the old and new addresses with ZIP+4 c. Demonstration of exceptional leadership or vision in a field of if available. Please include a street address or PO Box. computing research. Postmaster: Send address changes to: CRA, 1100 Seventeeth Street, NW, Suite 507, Washington, DC d. Other evidence of extraordinary interest, excellence, or commit 20036-4632. Postage paid at Washington, DC. CRA Communications Committee ment to computer science and engineering, including Anita Borg, Xerox Palo Alto Research Laboratory industrial experience, participation in special programs, Joan Francioni, Winona State University (Editor, “Expanding the Pipeline”) and mentoring or tutoring of other students. Randy Goebel, University of Alberta Dave Nicol, Dartmouth University Computing Research Association Staff 2. Outstanding academic record. William Aspray, Executive Director and CRN Editorial Director Stacy Cholewinski, Editor and Communications and IT Manager Dana Neill, Business Manager Questions and inquiries involving this year’s Outstanding Undergradu- Jean Smith, Program Associate ate Awards should be directed to Jean Smith at [email protected]. The award Lisa Thompson, Director of Government Affairs Jay Vegso, Membership Services Associate winners will be announced by December 1, 1999. ❚ Shelly Walton, Administrative Assistant

Page 5 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

Policy News Early History of U.S. Policy on IT Workers By William Aspray this conference, there was no U.S. colleges and universities This transition was rapid, and by government action at the time, other acquire their first computers. 1970 more students were graduating The supply of information than to monitor numbers of practi- Throughout the 1950s, computer in computer science with bachelor’s technology workers in the United tioners and students in mathematics. science education was provided on degrees than with doctorates. States has become a major policy No one at the time had a good sense campus mainly through computer Curriculum development grants, issue over the past several years, of the number of computer workers centers, and at a few schools through research grants, and fellowships from involving visa legislation, tax credits that would be needed. programs in established depart- the federal government were essential for corporate training programs, The period from 1956 to 1962 ments—most often electrical engi- to this growth. regional training programs, and major was marked by rapid growth in neering or mathematics. Computer The period between 1962 and investments in education and research. computing use and the number of science programs were developed 1967 was one in which the federal To provide some perspective on these computing machines, and by an very rapidly throughout the 1960s, government began to understand the recent events, this article and a follow- equally rapid expansion of the and half of the doctoral programs that national importance of computers. In up that will appear in the November computer manufacturing industry. exist in the United States today were 1962 the Information Technology issue of CRN will trace the history of This growth was driven in part by formed between 1962 and 1972. Processing Office of the Defense U.S. policy concerning information Cold War needs. For example, Training began at the doctoral level, Advanced Research Agency was technology workers. System Development Corporation moved to the master’s level and Generally, the federal government (SDC), which was formed in 1956 to finally reached the bachelor’s level. History Continued on Page 13 has not established direct labor policy carry out the programming for the for information technology workers. computers in the SAGE missile Instead, it has been embedded in defense system, trained 7,000 There continues to be active interest in the IT worker situation at both the regional policies for science, education, public programmers in its first five years. and the national level across the United States. Here is a small sample of the recent welfare, economics, and business. In Because of the rapid turnover of activities, which is by no means complete: the period covered here (up through employees at SDC, many U.S. the late 1970s), IT labor policy was programmers received their first The National Research Council has recently launched a study of Workforce Needs in closely related to science and educa- programming training there. Very Information Technology and Other High Technology Fields. They are sponsoring open hearings around the country, the first on September 24 in Santa Clara, tion policy—especially as it applied few universities provided formal California. For more information about the project, see http:// to the National Science Foundation training in computer science at this www4.nationalacademies.org/cpsma/itwpublic2.nsf. (NSF)—and to one failed effort time. It soon became clear that there connected to social welfare policy. would not be an adequate supply of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, which is a civic action nonprofit located in San In the decade following the end of mathematicians to fill computing Jose, has recently released Joint Venture’s Workforce Study: An Analysis of the Workforce Gap in Silicon Valley. You can reach them for a copy at 408 271-7213 (or the World War II, the computer was positions, and also that it was 800 573 JVSV outside 408 area code) or by email at [email protected]. Other largely conceived as a scientific probably not necessary for mathema- interesting information is available on their website, http://www.jointventure.org. instrument. Only near the end of that ticians to fill most programming period did people begin to recognize jobs. SDC and other organizations Computing Research Association has distributed more than 4,000 copies of its report, Peter Freeman and William Aspray, The Supply of Information Technology its potential for use in data processing. thus began using standardized Workers in the United States. Single copies are still available free of charge from This change brought with it a demand aptitude and personality tests to CRA, or the report can be viewed and downloaded from the CRA website http:// for many more computers and IT identify people who were analytical www.cra.org. workers, as well as the formation of a and meticulous to train for program- computer manufacturing industry. ming careers, rather than looking for The Information Technology Association of America has a variety of on-going programs and projects associated with increasing the supply of information The first conference on the mathematicians. technology workers in the United States. They are undertaking a study of IT skills training of workers for the computing This era was also marked by the used in the workplace, scheduled for completion in October 1999. Other projects field was held at the end of this era, in responses to the launching of the include engaging IT employers in school-to-work programs, helping women in 1954, at Wayne State University in Soviet artificial satellite, Sputnik. transition achieve economic self-sufficiency through IT job training, and IT training Detroit. It was clear at this time that The National Defense Education and placement programs for persons with disabilities, as well as other studies, partnerships, and conferences. For more information, seehttp://www.itaa.org/ mathematicians were in demand to Act was passed, providing fellow- workforce/. fill most computer jobs, even in ship support for many people who data-processing environments. The became computer scientists. NSF’s vast majority of practicing mathema- budget was expanded, and increas- FCRC from Page 1 students. This year their attendance ticians had been trained before the ing numbers of grants were made for fees were kept low in part by gener- computer was invented, and some teacher training and curriculum also seems to have been more ous subsidies from IBM Research - uneasiness was expressed about a development across the sciences, successful in encouraging attendees Almaden, AT&T Labs - Research, shortage of mathematicians to fill including computer science. Most to sample the programs of events Lucent Bell Laboratories, and these positions. While research- important, however, was the com- other than their own. At FCRC, Telcordia Technologies (formerly related agencies, such as the Office puter facilities program established although attendees register for Bellcore). In addition, the ACM of Naval Research and the National by NSF, which ran from 1957 particular events, they are allowed to Special Interest Groups SIGPLAN, Science Foundation, participated in through 1973 and helped some 500 attend events at other conferences SIGACT, SIGARCH, and and workshops running on the same SIGMETRICS provided “lines-of- days as theirs, and one of the original credit” that could be used to under- Appropriators from Page 1 House and $45 million by the goals of FCRC was to encourage this. write the student subsidy if needed, but Senate. Both of the Defense appro- This year, the layout of the hotel and in the end these appear to have been “The budget justification for SSI priations subcommittees considered the arrangement of conference rooms unnecessary. Preliminary financial failed to justify the need to establish the new program to be a low priority made this easier than in the past. In reports indicate that the FCRC a second supercomputing program in even within a growing DoD R&D addition, for the first time the umbrella organization will run a slight the Department of Energy. The budget. organizing committee was able to surplus, as opposed to the significant Congress has been supportive of the When Congress returns it will prepare a “Timeline Schedule” which deficits of the first two FCRCs that ASCI program which the Department continue work on the appropriations allowed participants to quickly had to be underwritten by the SIGs. claimed would have benefits in bill and set about reconciling the identify all the talks and sessions The surplus resulted from tight addition to the defense purposes for differences between the House and going on at any given time. financial controls, the replacement of which it was originally created. The Senate versions. The President will Conference management and the glossy advance program provided proposed SSI program has a goal of most assuredly veto the Republican registration services were provided by for the first two FCRCs by a postcard building and operating a separate, yet tax-cut legislation. This, and the ACM, under the supervision of and a website, and the decision to similar, program dedicated exclu- possible veto of one or more appro- Donna Baglio of the ACM staff, who have conference management and sively to domestic purposes. priations bills, could lead either to put in long hours on behalf of the registration done in-house by ACM. At this time, the Committee negotiations on a compromise conference and is one of the main There were some complaints about cannot support this massively parallel package of tax cuts and spending reasons for its success. The other the web-based advance registration proposal to manage and fund two increases, or to a continuation of the chief organizer was David Johnson of process introduced this year, but this separate supercomputing programs.” impasse. As always, the outcome will AT&T Labs and the Computing was the first time ACM had tried At the Department of Defense, reflect political calculations made by Research Association Board. something of this complexity, and DARPA’s $70 million request for IT2 both sides as they position themselves As in the past, about one third of was cut down to $30 million by the for the 2000 Presidential election. ❚ the attendees at FCRC ’99 were FCRC Continued on Page 13

Page 6 September 1999 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS

Policy News NIH Focus on Biomedical Computing Extending

A National Institutes of Health cal Computing devoted to all facets should provide financial resources to (NIH) panel has called on the agency of this emerging discipline, from the increase computing capacity, both FOIA to to establish a Biomedical Information basic research to the tools to do the local and remote. The purpose of this Science and Technology Initiative to work. It is the expectation that those recommendation is to establish a Research expand research in biomedical National Programs will play a major balanced infrastructure for all computing and train a new genera- role in educating biomedical- computational needs. tion of researchers. Formed last year computation researchers. Some of the research areas Data by NIH Director Harold Varmus, the 2. To make the growing body identified by the initiative include The Office of Management and Working Group on Biomedical of biological data available in a form surgery, neurobiology, medical Budget recently issued the latest draft Computing found that the growing suitable for study and use, the NIH genetics, rational drug design at the of revised rules that would expand convergences in biomedicine and should establish a new program cellular level, cell biology, software public access to federally funded computation necessitate increased directed toward the principles and development, algorithms, and research data. The rules stem from a attention by the agency. practice of information storage, databases. provision, inserted by Senator The NIH initiative will likely curation, analysis, and retrieval The NIH has long been Congress’s Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) in a become part of the broader Informa- (ISCAR). pet research agency, the recipient of 1999 appropriations bill, that charges tion Technology for the Twenty-First 3. The NIH should provide substantial funding increases in OMB to extend the Freedom of Century initiative. The FY 2000 additional resources and incentives recent years and subject of legislative Information Act (FOIA) to cover budget proposal for the initiative for basic research (through R01 attempts to double its budget over research data collected under federal includes only $6 million for NIH, grants) to provide adequate support the next five years. In FY 2000, the grants and contracts to nonprofit which many criticized as being too for those who are inventing, refining, agency could see as much as $2 organizations. FOIA currently low. The Administration described and applying the tools of biomedical billion added to its currently $15.6 requires federal agencies to provide the figure as merely a placeholder, computing. [RO1 grants are the billion budget, enough, one would any non-exempt data to anyone who anticipating an increase after the NIH standard individual investigator think, to begin supporting a reason- requests it. (Exemptions from the had a chance to consider the Work- awards at NIH.] able biomedical computing program. requirement have been established to ing Group’s report. 4. The NIH should foster a The working group’s report on the protect individual privacy and The report offers four recommen- scalable national computer infra- Biomedical Information Science and proprietary interests, among other dations: structure. To assure that biomedical Technology Initiative can be found things.) The revised rules and OMB’s 1. The NIH should establish researchers can gain access to the on the NIH website at: http:// request for comment can be found at between five and twenty National computing resources they need www.nih.gov/welcome/director/ http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi- Programs of Excellence in Biomedi- beyond their desktops, the NIH 060399.htm. ❚ bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=1999_ register&docid=99-20683-filed The university community has been working both to soften the rules IT Workforce Still Concern For Congress and to get the Shelby provision repealed. It is feared that the new High-tech companies having Last year’s action was highly and a national information and data requirements will impose trouble finding qualified job controversial and only succeeded at advertising campaign to improve the onerous and unfamiliar administra- applicants have once again asked the end of the Congressional session image of technical jobs is proposed. tive burdens on universities; will be a Congress to help remedy the situa- by being buried in a huge omnibus Further information is available at disincentive in attracting volunteers tion by lifting the cap on H-1B visas funding bill. The Administration http://www.ta.doc.gov/PRel/ for health research studies and that permit them to import skilled typically opposes lifting caps on pr063099.htm. clinical trials; will have a chilling workers from abroad. Legislation immigration and would prefer Another idea being circulated for effect on university-industry coopera- introduced this summer by Senator homegrown measures to meet the the easing of corporate difficulties in tion; and could lead to harassment of Phil Gramm (R-Texas), the New rising demand for information acquiring needed worker skills is the researchers in controversial areas. Workers for Economic Growth Act technology workers. establishment of a technology training Earlier this year, the late Repre- (S. 1440), would raise the annual In a June report, “The Digital tax credit program. Senator Kent sentative George Brown (D-Califor- limit to 200,000 for the period 2000- Work Force: Building Infotech Conrad (D-North Dakota) and nia) introduced a bill (H.R. 88) that 2002. Last November the cap for Skills at the Speed of Innovation,” Representative Jim Moran (D- would repeal the Shelby provision. 1999-2001 was raised from the the Department of Commerce Virginia) have introduced similar bills (CRA has endorsed H.R. 88.) A baseline 65,000 to 115,000 per year, suggests a number of new approaches that would allow employers a credit recent hearing on the bill, held by the and all of this year’s visas were for attracting Americans into IT jobs against income tax of twenty percent House Subcommittee on Govern- claimed by June. The Gramm bill and training them adequately: of their qualified information ment Management, Information, and would also repeal the earnings test Businesses are called on to expand technology training expenses. Mr. Technology, provoked a lively that reduces Social Security benefits worker training programs; universi- Conrad’s proposal was offered as an debate (http://www.house.gov/ for some seniors who continue ties are urged to better address the amendment to a broader tax bill but reform/gmit/hearings/testimony/ ❚ working. needs of the future IT workforce; failed on a 46-54 vote. 990715h.htm). On another front, an amendment to postpone implementa- tion of the new regulations for one year was recently defeated by the CS Community Mourns loss of John Gannon House Appropriations Committee. Proponents of the Shelby provi- Professor John D. Gannon, Chair specification, analysis, and testing of Rickard Gannon of Foster, Rhode sion argue that the public has a right of the Department of Computer software systems. He was also a gifted Island. He is also fondly remembered to see research data that it pays for. Science at the University of Mary- teacher and received many awards for by his nieces, Allison and Michaela, They are particularly concerned land, died in his sleep of cardiac his work with students, including the and a nephew, Matthew Gannon. about research used in developing arrest at his home in Silver Spring, University of Maryland Distin- The John D. Gannon Scholarship federal regulations. There have been MD, early on Saturday June 12, 1999 guished Scholar-Teacher Award. His Fund has been established to com- a number of high-profile incidents in He was 51. recent public service included memorate John’s commitment to which the Environmental Protection Dr. Gannon was born in Provi- membership on the Board of Direc- students and education at the Agency justified expensive regula- dence, Rhode Island, and raised in tors of the Computing Research University of Maryland. Contribu- tions on the basis of research con- Warwick, Rhode Island. He received Association, chairing the Graduate tion and condolences information is ducted under contract and then Bachelors and Masters degrees from Record Examination Board computer available at www.cs.umd.edu/. claimed it was not required to release Brown University, and the Ph.D. in science committee, and serving as a A Memorial Service was held in the data, even to outside reviewers, Computer Science from the Univer- program officer with the National the Large Memorial Chapel with a because it belonged to the contractor. sity of Toronto. He joined the Science Foundation. Dr. Gannon was reception that followed in the A. V. Opponents of the bill have a University of Maryland faculty in an elected Fellow of the Association Williams Building on the University formidable challenge in the face of 1975. for Computing Machinery (ACM). of Maryland Campus. strong anti-regulatory sentiment in Dr. Gannon was a leading figure Professor Gannon is survived by Information provided by the Congress. The OMB intends to in computer science through his his wife, Nancy Garrison, of Silver Department of Computer Science, complete the rule-making process by research on software engineering: the Spring, Maryland, and a brother, University of Maryland. ❚ the end of September. ❚

Page 7 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

Special Insert

As a second generalization, experimentalists tend to conduct Computing Research Association research that involves creating computational artifacts and assessing them. The ideas are embodied in the artifact, which could be a chip, circuit, computer, network, software, robot, etc. Artifacts can be compared to lab apparatus in other physical sciences or engineering in that they are a medium of experimen- Best Practices Memo tation. Unlike lab apparatus, however, computational artifacts embody the idea or concept as well as being a means to measure or observe it. Researchers test and measure the performance of Evaluating Computer the artifacts, evaluating their effectiveness at solving the target problem. A key research tradition is to share artifacts with Scientists and Engineers other researchers to the greatest extent possible. Allowing one’s colleagues to examine and use one’s creation is a more intimate For Promotion and Tenure way of conveying one’s ideas than journal publishing, and is seen to be more effective. For experimentalists conference publication is preferred to journal publication, and the premier conferences are generally more selective than the premier The evaluation of computer science and engineering faculty journals [Academic Careers, 94]. In these and other ways for promotion and tenure has generally followed the dictate experimental research is at variance with conventional academic “publish or perish,” where “publish” has had its standard aca- publication traditions. demic meaning of “publish in archival journals” [Academic The reason conference publication is preferred to journal Careers, 94]. Relying on journal publications as the sole demon- publication, at least for experimentalists, is the shorter time to stration of scholarly achievement, especially counting such print (7 months vs 1-2 years), the opportunity to describe the publications to determine whether they exceed a prescribed work before one’s peers at a public presentation, and the more threshold, ignores significant evidence of accomplishment in complete level of review (4-5 evaluations per paper compared to computer science and engineering. For example, conference 2-3 for an archival journal) [Academic Careers, 94]. Publication publication is preferred in the field, and computational artifacts — in the prestige conferences is inferior to the prestige journals software, chips, etc. — are a tangible means of conveying ideas only in having significant page limitations and little time to and insight. Obligating faculty to be evaluated by this traditional polish the paper. In those dimensions that count most, confer- standard handicaps their careers, and indirectly harms the field. ences are superior. This document describes appropriate evidence of academic achievement in computer science and engineering. Impact — The Criterion for Success

Computer Science and Engineering — Brooks noted that researchers in a synthetic field must estab- Structure of The Field lish that their creation is better. “Better” can mean many things including “solves a problem in less time,” “solves a larger class of problems,” “is more efficient of resources,” “is more expressive Computation is synthetic in the sense that many of the phe- by some criterion,” “is more visually appealing in the case of nomena computer scientists and engineers study are created by graphics,” “presents a totally new capability,” etc. A key point humans rather than occurring naturally in the physical world. about this type of research is that the “better” property is not As Professor Fred Brooks of the University of North Carolina, simply an observation. Rather, the research will postulate that a Chapel Hill observed [Academic Careers, 94, p. 35], new idea — a mechanism, process, algorithm, representation, When one discovers a fact about nature, it is a contribution protocol, data structure, methodology, language, optimization or per se, no matter how small. Since anyone can create some- simplification, model, etc. — will lead to a “better” result. For thing new [in a synthetic field], that alone does not establish a researchers in the field, making the connection between the idea contribution. Rather, one must show that the creation is and the improvement is as important as quantifying how much better. the improvement is. The contribution is the idea, and is generally Accordingly, research in computer science and engineering a component of a larger computational system. is largely devoted to establishing the “better” property. The fundamental basis for academic achievement is the impact The computer science and engineering field in academe is of one’s ideas and scholarship on the field. What group is af- composed of faculty who apply one of two basic research fected and the form of the impact can vary considerably. Often paradigms: theory or experimentation. Generalizing, theoreti- the beneficiaries of research are other researchers. The contribu- cians tend to conduct research that resembles mathematics. tion may be used directly or be the foundation for some other The phenomena are abstract, and the intellectual contribution is artifact, it may change how others conduct their research, it may usually expressed in the form of theorems with proofs. Though affect the questions they ask or the topics they choose to study, conference publication is highly regarded in the theoretical etc. It may even indicate the impossibility of certain goals and kill community, there is a long tradition of completing, revising, off lines of research. Clearly, it is not so much the number of and extending conference papers for submission and publica- researchers that are affected as it is how fundamentally it influ- tion in archival journals. Accordingly, faculty who pursue ences their work. Users are another group that might feel the theoretical work are often more easily evaluated by traditional impact of research. academic mechanisms. Nevertheless, the discussion below For the purposes of evaluating a faculty member for promo- regarding “impact” will apply to theoretical work, too. tion or tenure, there are two critical objectives of an evaluation:

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Special Insert

(a) Establish a connection between a faculty member’s intel- less informed, thoughtful, or insightful because the writer’s lectual contribution and the benefits claimed for it, and return address is a company. (b) Determine the magnitude and significance of the impact. In terms of assessing item (b) the significance of impact, the Both aspects can be documented, but it is more complicated letter writers will generally address its significance, but quanti- than simply counting archival publications. tative data will often be offered as well. Examples include the number of downloads of a (software) artifact, number of users, Assessing Impact number of hits on a Web page, etc. Such measures can be sound indicators of significance and influence, especially if they indicate that peers use the research, but popularity is not equivalent to impact. Standard publication seeks to validate the two objectives Specifically, it is possible to write a valuable, widely used indirectly, arguing that the editor and reviewers of the publica- piece of software inducing a large number of downloads and not tion must be satisfied that the claims of novelty and ownership make any academically significant contribution. Developers at are true, and that the significance is high enough to meet the IBM, Microsoft, Sun, etc. do this every day. In such cases the journal’s standards. There is obvious justification for this view, software is literally new, as might be expected in a synthetic field, and so standard publication is an acceptable, albeit indirect, means but it has been created within the known state-of-the-art. It is of assessing impact. But it can be challenged on two counts. not “better” by embodying new ideas or techniques, as Brooks First, the same rationale can be applied to conference proceedings requires. It may be improved, but anyone “schooled in the art” provided they are as carefully reviewed as the prestige confer- would achieve similar results. ences are in the computer science and engineering field. Second Quantitative data may not imply all that is claimed for it, and the measure of the impact is embodied in the quality of the it can be manipulated. Downloads do not imply that the soft- publication, i.e. if the publication’s standards are high then the ware is actually being used, nor do Web hits imply interest. significance is presumed to be high. Not all papers in high There are techniques, such as the Googol page-rank approach quality publications are of great significance, and high quality [http://www.google.com], that may produce objective informa- papers can appear in lower quality venues. Publication’s indi- tion about Web usage, for example, but caution in using numbers rect approach to assessing impact implies that it is useful, but is always advised. not definitive. The primary direct means of assessing impact — to document items (a) and (b) above — is by letters of evaluation from peers. Summary Peers understand the contribution as well as its significance. Though some institutions demand that peer letter writers be selected to maximize the peer’s stature in the field, e.g. member- Computer science and engineering is a synthetic field in ship in the National Academy, a more rational basis should be which creating something new is only part of the problem; the used. creation must also be shown to be “better.” Though standard From the point of view of documenting item (a), the connec- publication is one indicator of academic achievement, other tion between the faculty member’s contribution and its effects, forms of publication, specifically conference publication, and evaluators may be selected from the faculty member’s collabora- the dissemination of artifacts also transmit ideas. Conference tors, competitors, industrial colleagues, users, etc. so that they publication is both rigorous and prestigious. Assessing artifacts will have the sharpest knowledge about the contribution and its requires evaluation from knowledgeable peers. Quantitative impact. If an artifact is involved, it is expected that the letter measures of impact are possible, but they may not tell the writers are familiar with it, as well as with the candidate’s publi- implied story. cation record. These writers may be biased, of course, but this is a cost of collecting primary data. The promotion and tenure References committee will have to take bias into consideration, perhaps seeking additional advice. The letter writers need to be familiar with the artifact as well Academic Careers for Experimental Computer Scientists and as the publications. The artifact is a self-describing embodiment Engineers, 1994, National Academy Press of the ideas. Though publications are necessary for the obvious reasons — highlighting the contribution, relating the ideas to Googol Page Rank System previous work, presenting measurements and experimental results, etc. — the artifact encapsulates information that cannot be captured on paper. Most artifacts “run,” allowing evaluators to acquire dynamic information. Further, most artifacts are so Approved by the complex that it is impossible to explain all of their characteristics; Computing Research Association it is better to observe them. Artifacts, being essential to the Board of Directors research enterprise, are essential to its evaluation, too. August 1999 Some schools prohibit letters of evaluation from writers not having an academic affiliation. This can be a serious handicap to experimental computer scientists and engineers because some of the field’s best researchers work at industrial research labs and Prepared by: David Patterson (University of California,Berkeley) occasionally advanced development centers. Academic-industry Lawrence Snyder (University of Washington) collaborations occur regularly based on common interests and the Jeffrey Ullman (Stanford University) advantage that a company’s resources can bring to the implemen- tation of a complex artifact. Letters from these researchers are no

Page 9B COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

CRA New Board of Directors Members John A. Stankovic is a BP America Professor in the Department of Com- Incumbents puter Science at the University of Virginia. He is also currently Chair of the Computer Science Department. He has served as Chair of the IEEE Technical James D. Foley of Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center Committee on Real-Time Systems, and Editor-in-Chief of America rejoins the Board of Directors for his second term. He also contin- IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Comput- ues as treasurer of the Computing Research Associa- ing and Real-Time Systems journals. He is both a Fellow tion. Foley’s experience includes being a Fellow of of the IEEE and ACM. both IEEE and ACM, serving on various editorial For CRA, he has chaired the electronic services boards, and co-authoring three books. He was also committee, the communications committee, the profes- named “Most likely to make students want to grow up sional awards committee, and ran the new chairs work- to be professors” (Georgia Tech College of Computing shop at Snowbird ’98. Graduate Student Committee Award, 1992). He Stankovic earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science received his Ph.D. in Computer, Information, and from Brown University. His Ph.D. thesis was published as Control Engineering from the University of Michigan. a book in part of a series of the best Ph.D. theses in His supporting statement included the following: computer science. “Having lived in academia for many years and now in industrial research for nearly three years, I would want to continue and strengthen CRA’s traditional role as an interface between these two interdependent worlds by way of Snowbird sessions and special workshops. Appointees: I will continue to be active in recruiting and retaining industrial labs as CRA members. As this is best done by ensuring that industrial labs perceive value in Doris L. Carver is Professor of Computer Science at Louisiana State Univer- CRA, I will work as an executive committee member to ensure that our pro- sity. Carver has a doctorate degree in computer science from Texas A&M grams provide appropriate value.” University. Her research interests are software engineering, formal methods, reverse engineering, and object-oriented software development methods. Daniel A. Reed has been very active in CRA’s Government Affairs program Carver was the 1998 president of the IEEE Computer Society, and she is the and takes over this year as Chair of the committee. His past experience includes 1999 IEEE Division V Director-Elect. She is a member of being the Review Committee Chair for the Presidential IT Advisory Commis- the Executive Committee of the IEEE Computer Society/ sion, a member of an NSF CISE Advisory Committee, and a member of the ACM Software Engineering Coordinating Committee Executive Committee of the NSF PACI National and a member of the IEEE Computer Society/ACM Computational Science Alliance. He was also awarded Steering Committee for Computing Curricula 2001. She the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award. has served as a IEEE Computer Society Distinguished He believes, “[that] with the recent PITAC report and Visitor. She has also served on numerous conference IT2 Initiative, we are poised to move computing to the committees and editorial boards. She currently serves as forefront of the national research agenda. However, we the associate Editor-in-Chief of COMPUTER. She is an must act with unity and with vision.” IEEE Fellow. She is also currently serving as the IEEE- Reed received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Computer Society Representative to the CRA Board. Purdue University and is now Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois Frank Tompa’s awards and honors include being named a “leader in at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include: Canadian Science” by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council high-performance computing, experimental performance of Canada and being a recipient of a University-Industry Synergy R&D Partner- analysis, parallel I/O, resource management, virtual environments, and mobile ship Award from the Conference Board of Canada and NSERC. computing. He is the current chair of the CRA Canada Committee. He is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. And Lawrence Snyder earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Toronto. Mellon University. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the ACM and has served Tompa’s supporting statement: on several National Research Council Committees, and been a member of the “In bringing together the needs of academia, business, and government, NSF Advisory Committee of the Science and Technology Centers. CRA plays a major role in advancing computer science He believes that through community dialogue issues of relevance to CRA and computer engineering as disciplines. Through the are raised and that CRA is obligated to be balanced and Board, I can apply my experiences from university life (as responsible. He states that “CRA has met this obligation professor, department chair, member of senate) and from well... [and that he] offers steady leadership balanced corporate participation (as researcher, founder of Open across CRA’s four mission areas [to continue in] keeping Text Corp., board member) to help guide CRA as it computer research healthy... for both its intellectual and continues to fulfill its mandate. More specifically, I am economic value. interested in strengthening CRA’s impressive contribu- At the University of Washington, Snyder’s research tions to collecting and disseminating information that interests are parallel algorithms and models of parallel highlights the impact and potential of computing computation, parallel architectures and interconnection research and to supporting the education and deploy- networks, and parallel programming languages and ment of computing professionals.” environments. Tompa replaces John Gannon on the CRA Board. He will serve out the rest He has served for several years on the CRA Outstand- of Gannon’s term ending in 2001. ing Undergraduate Award Committee.

Mary Lou Soffa has served on the Board of Directors since 1996. Her Newly Elected: involvement and dedication to CRA can be seen in her many activities, including being a member of the Committee on the Status of Women in Lori A. Clarke’s research interests include software verification and testing Computing Research (CRA-W), member of the Government Affairs Commit- of distributed systems and software engineering infrastructure, particularly tee, member of the Executive Committee, and through the organization of a object management and interoperability. She states, “ she [is] interested in workshop on mentoring at Snowbird ’98, as well as through being a panelist at addressing issues in certification/licensing of software professionals for safety the CRA Workshops for Academic Careers for Women in critical applications and in exploring ways to increase participation by Computer Science and Engineering. She is currently the women and minorities.” Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, beginning her She has served as ACM SIGSOFT Chair, Vice second two-year term. Chair, and Secretary-treasurer. She strengthened this She “thinks it is most important that CRA play a community by serving as a member of the SIGSOFT major role in promoting computing research, and in executive committee for fourteen years and counting. educating and influencing governments and organiza- Clark is also involved with IEEE Transactions On tions about issues in computing research.” She feels that Software Engineering as an Associate Editor and ACM “CRA should continue to actively address problems in Transactions On Programming Languages and Systems. the computing research community through its commit- She is a Professor of Computer Science at the tees and programs.” University of Massachusetts at which she has been Soffa received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of instrumental in building the computer science pro- Pittsburgh and is currently a Professor of Computer Science at the University of gram. Her current work includes developing a Pittsburgh. She is an ACM Fellow, was an Invited tutorial speaker at the Sixth dataflow analysis approach for verifying safety properties for distributed International Symposium on Static Analysis, and received an NSF Professorship systems. for Women, Berkeley. Her Ph.D. in Computer Science is from the University of Colorado.

Page 10 September 1999 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS

Association News CRA Hires New Staff Association (Be sure to check out our website www.cra.org for CRA is growing further to meet determine more ways in which CRA more CRA information.) the needs of the computing research can better, more effectively serve Corner: community. We are pleased to the community. They will be announce that we have recently hired targeting special projects for CRA has a new look! two new staff members. Our Wash- membership drives and will be The 1998-99 Taulbee ington office now consists of seven creating new programs for member- Survey is in the mail. fulltime staff. ship recognition. The deadline date for Jay Vegso is serving as our Dana Neill is CRA’s new Busi- Member Services Associate. This is a ness Manager. This is also a new submission is brand new position in our organiza- position. Dana is taking over in part November 5, 1999 tion –– one that we believe will for Kimberly Peaks, former Director focus greater attention on the needs of Administration, who left the of our members. Jay’s responsibilities organization this past summer. will include the coordination of our Kimberly joined CRA back in February 1990, and was Special Thanks to witness to and Telcordia Technologies for Membership packets have contributed in membership at the been sent out for U.S. many parts to Sponsoring Member Level academic departments the establish- and Sun Microsystems at for the 1999-2000 ment of CRA as the influen- the Supporting Member membership year tial organiza- Level in 1998-99 tion it is today. Her experience and dedica- Fellowship from Page 5 will be helpful when I return to the tion will be University of Michigan. I came to missed. We gallery. The mother said to the son, Washington with a normal degree of workshops and meetings aimed at thank her for her many years of “now if you behave here we can go to cynicism about government. As the educating the community on issues service and wish her and her family the Air and Space Museum and see year progressed my cynicism lessened and topics of concern. Jay will be well. the Imax film.” Somehow this put the as I watched able and talented people managing CRA member data Dana Neill’s role within CRA year and the impeachment in perspec- working hard for the public good. resources and he will also be the will be primary responsibility for tive. Now that I am leaving and am primary contact for member questions handling all of CRA accounts. She Learning about the process of watching the extreme partisan and relations. He can be reached at will be working closely with the government has given me some bickering the cynicism is beginning to [email protected] and at 202-234-2111, Treasurer, Jim Foley. She will also be significant new insights. I have return. extension 109. administering the biennial CRA learned how important the political Recommendations Jay most recently was studying Conference at Snowbird in Utah, as parties are in Washington and how toward his Ph.D. in Medieval History well as other . Dana will handle all much policy is made not just by In a recent action the CRA board at Cornell University. Prior to this, vendor contracts as well as payables legislation, but by political appointees decided to discontinue the Senior he received his Masters in Medieval and receivables and all inquiries of in all the agencies run by the execu- Executive Fellowship program, but it History from Cambridge University this nature should be directed to tive branch. It was difficult to learn might be a good idea to look at a and a Masters in Library Sciences [email protected] or 202-234-2111, who is a political appointee and who more junior Congressional fellowship. from the State University of New extension 102. is a career civil servant. I learned that Many of the participants in the AAAS York at Buffalo. He received his Dana comes to CRA from United elections really are important and it program are fresh from post-docs or are undergraduate degree in History from Rental at which she was the office matters whether a Republican or a junior faculty members who want to Catholic University of America. manager with similar accounting Democrat wins a particular House or get into the policy arena. Washington He believes that he will be able duties as she now has at CRA. She Senate seat. I expect to become much could certainly use more people with to blend his experience in the received her education in part from more active in local politics as a result skills in computer science as the issues workings and concerns of higher George Mason University where she of my stay in Washington. they are dealing with increasingly education with his dedication to studied Early Childhood Education. My year in Washington fully met involve computer or communications service in an effort to advance the Dana is very excited to be my expectations. I was able to technology. Without effective input cohesiveness of the computing working in the dynamic field of reorient myself towards electronic from the computer science community research community. computing research and has enjoyed commerce and was able to learn about Congress can most likely be counted Jay will be working closely with the dialogue and relations she has the processes of government. In on to negatively affect the progress of the membership committee to had thus far with the community. ❚ addition I made many contacts that technology. ❚

Kathleen R. McKeown earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science at the tation, information retrieval, natural language processing, mechanical University of Pennsylvania. Her current research interests include natural reasoning, speech understanding, artificial intelligence, and expert language processing, natural language generation, systems. digital libraries, text summarization, and multimedia He has been involved with the National Research explanation. She is Professor and Chair of the Depart- Council Panel on Applied Mathematics Research and ment of Computer Science at Columbia University Committee on Computerized Speech Recognition and Chair of Columbia’s Commission on the Status of Technologies, as well as Alternatives for the Navy. Women He’s worked with the Association for Computational McKeown’s experience includes being an elected Linguistics and is a Fellow of both the American officer for one of our affiliate societies, the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the Ameri- Association for Artificial Intelligence can Association for the Advancement of Science. She believes, “computer science is seeing major Supporting statement: changes as interest in the field reaches all-time highs.” “At a time when research agendas emphasize She is “interested in the role CRA can play in keeping research funding technology impact and practical benefits, it is important to also provide levels high with a focus on basic research, in helping to change undergradu- funding for projects aimed at fundamental advances with longer range ate education as enrollments grow, in defining issues for computer literacy, significance. Many important problems will take years of continued and in drawing women and minorities to the field.” research on fundamentals before they yield their most significant benefits. The integration of machine reasoning with language processing and speech William A. Woods joins the CRA Board of Directors as and Industrial understanding is an example of such a problem. It is important to make Representative. He is a Principal Scientist, Distinguished Engineer at Sun the investment to continue fundamental research in such areas, while we Microsystems Laboratories. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics reap the benefits of past research, in order not to miss significant opportu- from Harvard University. His research interests include knowledge represen- nities for the future.” ❚

Page 11 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

1998-99 Computing Research Association Membership

Academic Members Oregon State University-CS University of Maryland-CS University of Texas, Arlington-CSE Pace University-CSIS University of Maryland, University of Texas, Austin-CS Baltimore County-CSEE Pennsylvania State University-CSE University of Texas, Dallas-CS Abilene Christian University-CS University of Massachusetts, Amherst-CS Portland State University-CS University of Texas, El Paso-CS Arizona State University-CSE University of Michigan-CSE Princeton University-CS University of Toronto-CS Auburn University-CSE University of Michigan, Dearborn-CIS Purdue University-ECE University of Tulsa-MCS Ball State University-CS University of Minnesota-CS Purdue University-CS University of Utah-CS Boston University-CS University of Mississippi-CIS Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-CS University of Virginia-CS Bowie State University-CS University of Missouri-Columbia-CSCE Rice University-CS University of Washington-CSE Brandeis University-CS University of Missouri-Rolla-CS Rutgers, State University of New Jersey-CS University of Waterloo-CS Brigham Young University-CS University of Nebraska, Lincoln-CSE Santa Clara University-CE University of Western Ontario-CS Brown University-CS University of Nevada, Reno-CS Simon Fraser University-CS University of Wisconsin, Madison-CS Bucknell University-CS University of North Carolina, Southern Methodist University-CSE Chapel Hill-CS University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee- California Institute of Technology-CS EECS Stanford University-CS University of North Dakota-CS Carnegie Mellon University-CS University of Wyoming-CS State University of New York, Albany-CS University of Oklahoma-CS Case Western Reserve University-ESCES Vanderbilt University-CS State University of New York, University of Oregon-CIS City University of New York, Graduate Binghamton-CS Virginia Polytechnic Institute-CS Center-CS University of Pennsylvania-CIS State University of New York, Buffalo-CSE Wake Forest University-MCS Clemson University-CS University of Pittsburgh-CS State University of New York, Washington State University-EECS College of William & Mary-CS Stony Brook-CS University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez-EC Washington University-CS Colorado State University-CS Stevens Institute of Techology-CS University of Rochester-CS Wayne State University-CS Columbia University-CS Swarthmore College-CS University of SW Louisiana-CS West Virginia University-CSEE Cornell University-CS Temple University-CIS University of Saskatchewan-CS Western Michigan University-CS Dartmouth College-CS Texas A&M University-CS University of South Carolina-CS Williams College-CS Duke University-CS Texas Tech University-CS University of South Florida-CSE Worcester Polytechnic Institute-CS Florida Atlantic University-CSE Tulane University-EECS University of Southern California-EES Wright State University-CSE Florida International University-CS University of Alabama, Birmingham-CIS University of Southern California-CS Yale University-CS Florida State University-CS University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa-CS University of Tennessee, Knoxville-CS York University-CS George Mason University-CS University of Alberta-CS George Washington University-EECS University of Arizona-CS Georgia Institute of Technology-CS University of Arkansas-CSE Industrial Members Harvard University-CS University of British Columbia-CS AT&T Laboratories Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs Indiana University-CS University of California, Berkeley-CS Compaq Computer Corporation NASA Ames Research Center Iowa State University-CS University of California, Davis-CS Fraunhofer Center for Research in National Center for Supercomputer Johns Hopkins University-CS University of California, Irvine-ICS Computer Graphics, Inc. Applications, University of Illinois University of California, Los Angeles-CS Kansas State University-CIS Fuji Xerox Palo Alto Laboratory NEC Research Institute Kent State University-CS University of California, Riverside-CS Hewlett-Packard Company Panasonic Information and Lehigh University-EECS University of California, San Diego-CSE Networking Technologies Lab Honda R&D Americas, Inc. Massachusetts Institute of Technology- University of California, Santa Barbara-CS Ricoh Silicon Valley, Inc. EECS IBM Research University of California, Santa Cruz-CE San Diego Supercomputer Center Michigan State University-CS Intel Corporation University of California, Santa Cruz-CIS Silicon Graphics Inc. Michigan Technological University-CS InterTrust Technologies Corporation University of Central Arkansas-CS SONY US Research Mississippi State University-CS Interval Research Corporation University of Central Florida-CS Sun Microsystems Inc. Montana State University-Bozeman-CS Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs University of Cincinnati-ECECS Telcordia Technologies New Mexico Tech-CS Microsoft Corporation University of Colorado, Boulder-CS Xerox Corporation New York University-CS University of Delaware-CIS North Carolina State University-CS University of Denver-MCS Northeastern University-CS University of Florida-CIS Northwestern University-ECE University of Houston-CS Affiliate Professional Society Members Northwestern University-CS University of Idaho-CS American Association for Artificial Intelligence Oakland University-CSE University of Illinois, Chicago-EECS Ohio State University-CIS Association for Computing Machinery University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign-CS Ohio University-EECS IEEE Computer Society Oklahoma State University-CS University of Iowa-CS Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Old Dominion University-CS University of Kansas-EECS Oregon Graduate Institute-CSE University of Kentucky-CS USENIX Association

Page 12 September 1999 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS

History from Page 6 inasmuch as it was growing rapidly scientists in many fields, OMB began FCRC from Page 6 and had not existed long enough to a campaign in 1971 to eliminate NSF founded, and within one year it was build an adequate financial base. support for traineeships. In the end, they are already set up to do much providing more funds for research in Other legislative and executive both fellowships and traineeships for better in the future. computer science than all other actions had a similarly negative effect computer science were reduced. As to the future, plans are federal agencies combined. The on computer science. The 1968 NSF Although the origins are unclear, in beginning to take shape. Although federal government also began to Act, known generally for its sponsor, the early 1970s there are various originally initiated through the improve the data it collected about Congressman Daddario of Connecti- references within the computer efforts of the CRA, the Federated computing. For example, NSF cut, split the NSF funding pie into science community to a goal of Computing Research Conference is contracted with John Hamblen of the more pieces by mandating new producing 1,000 doctorates per year now a de facto ACM event, and that Southern Regional Education Board programs in the social sciences and by 1980. Unfortunately, the commu- appears to be the best way for it to for a series of surveys about academic applications. In order to exert greater nity did not come close to succeed- continue. For this to happen, the computer expenditures, sources of control, the Nixon Administration ing; 107 doctorates were produced in FCRC steering committee needs a funds, and utilization for research and largely eliminated the institutional 1970 rising to 213 in 1975, but then permanent organizational parent instruction. grants that were being provided by reaching stasis and only producing within ACM. The ACM SIG It was also a time for national various federal agencies, including 218 doctorates in 1980. Governing Board seems a likely studies of computing. With NSF NSF, to the universities. The The solution to this problem and possibility, and discussions are funding, the National Research universities had been able to use others in academic computing resulted ongoing as to how to set this up. Council conducted its first computer these grants at their own discretion, in a series of new programs, which At present, it seems likely that the study, beginning in 1962 (published and they were one of the principal would lead the computer science next FCRC will take place in 2003. in 1966). Known widely as the ways to support academic computing community into a new era. These will This would be a 4-year gap, rather Rosser Report for its chairman, the centers. Computer center directors be explored in the next article. than the previous 3-year gaps––a mathematician J. Barkley Rosser, the quickly found they could not survive This article is based on a paper on longer interval will make FCRC seem study focused on computers and their on the computer usage fees they the history of IT labor policy more special and will impose a less use in research. The report was received from scientific research presented by the author in July 1999 frequent burden on the constituent somewhat useful as a planning tool grants, which was the way in which at a conference on the international conferences. More importantly, it for the federal agencies, documenting the Office of Management and history of information technology would allow more time for planning the rapid growth of academic Budget (OMB) wanted the centers policy held at the London School of and site selection, which can contrib- computing and the critical role of the supported. Economics. Oxford University Press ute greatly to FCRC’s success. federal government in financing it. The amendment to the 1972 will publish the conference proceed- Anyone with suggestions, ideas, or However, the report was too techni- Military Procurement Authorization, ings in 2000. The research was offers of organization help for future cal and was viewed by Congress as sponsored by Senator Mike supported in part by the National FCRCs is encouraged to contact David self-serving, so it did not succeed in Mansfield, required military agencies Science Foundation. ❚ Johnson ([email protected]). ❚ increasing federal support for to divest themselves of research grants academic computing. that were not directly military- A second study (1965-1967), related. Other mission-oriented commissioned by the Presidential agencies, such as NASA and the CRN Subscription Form Science Advisory Committee and Atomic Energy Commission, volun- focusing on computers and educa- tarily followed this practice as well. Please check one: tion, was more politically effective. The result was an overall reduction This report—known by the name of of federal support for computing ❒ I want to subscribe or renew my subscription to CRN. I its chairman, the distinguished research (and hence for computer qualify for a free subscription. electrical engineer from Bell Labs, education, which was closely John Pierce—convinced President interlinked). Although NSF had a ❒ I want to subscribe, but do not qualify for a free subscription. Lyndon Johnson to make computers a one-time increase in its computing A one-year subscription in the United States is $30 and $45 in cornerstone of his educational support as a result of the mission Canada. Foreign subscriptions are $54. All subscriptions must platform, as a delivery system to poor agencies transferring programs to NSF, be paid in US currency. Please enclose a check made payable and rural areas. As a result of a the process was disruptive and the to the Computing Research Association. presidential directive, NSF formed an funding was not sustained in subse- Office of Computing Activities quent years. Finally, in this era, there ❒ This is a change of address. I have included my address (OCA), reporting directly to the NSF were a number of hostile questions label or a copy of the old address. director (previously computing had from OMB, the General Accounting been a program under mathematics Office, Congress, and even the ❒ Check here if you do not want your name given to organiza- within NSF). OCA not only sup- National Science Board about the tions that ask to send information to CRN subscribers. CRA ported the computerized delivery of arcane nature, practical relevance, screens all such requests. education programs, but also sup- social impact, and need for comput- ported computer science research and ing research given the strong indus- Free Subscription Policy: CRN is mailed free to 1) faculty members, education. These latter programs trial base. administrators and full-time researchers in college and university would endure, whereas expense of This was the federal context in computing departments; 2) research staff members and administrators of nonprofit, for-profit and government laboratories involved in computing computerized education coupled which federal agencies, particularly research; and 3) persons who affect policies related to computing with the technology not being NSF, were working to meet the research. Free subscriptions are only available in the United States and advanced enough at the time led national need for computer scientists. Canada. NSF within a few years to largely Undergraduate enrollments were divest itself of the charge to promote growing rapidly, but not enough Name computerized education. doctorates were being produced to Title/Position Federal action during the period staff faculty positions in computer between 1968 and 1976 had a science. There were 200 computer Phone E-mail generally unfavorable effect on the science faculty members in the Organization fledgling field of CS. In the summer United States in 1967. Projections Type of Organization of 1968, domestic programs were cut were that 223,000 undergraduates in order to pay for the Vietnam War. and 61,000 graduate students would Department NSF cut its support for capital items take computer courses in 1968, and Address in order to continue support for these would require 400 faculty City State ZIP+4 individual researchers. In effect, this members to provide the instruction. was the beginning of the end for But only 40 new doctorates in NSF’s computer facilities program, computer science were being Please note: We cannot process your subscription unless you include a complete street address or a post office box. To request an electronic subscription form, send your request to [email protected]. which for a decade had been the produced each year, and only 80 federal government’s most effective percent of them were entering program for helping the universities academic careers. Mail this form to: CRN Subscription Department train people in computer science. OCA tried to build up research Computing Research Association NSF decided to spread its cutbacks and education in computing, but it 1100 Seventeenth St. NW, Suite 507 approximately evenly across the was receiving resistance, especially Washington, DC 20036-4632 Fax: 202-667-1066; e-mail: [email protected] various scientific disciplines. This from OMB. Noting the surplus of hit computer science especially hard,

Page 13 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

Professional Opportunities Prof. Stanley Zdonik strong research potential, and with interest and Dept. of Computer Science ability to teach effectively at the Bachelor’s, Brown University, Box 1910 Master’s and Ph.D. levels. For the Associate CRN Advertising Policy Providence, RI 02912 Professor level, good credentials in both research Inquiries may be addressed to and teaching are required. A successful candidate [email protected]. All application is expected to participate in the development of Send copy and payment for Professional Opportunities advertisements to materials must be received by October 15, 1999 course and laboratories, supervision of graduate Advertising Coordinator, e-mail: [email protected]. E-mail submissions are for full consideration. Additional letters of students, and the pursuit of external research preferred. Items may be mailed to Computing Research News, 1100 recommendation may be requested. funding, industrial collaborations and Seventeenth Street, NW, Suite 507, Washington, DC 20036-4632; Brown University is an Equal Opportunity/ technology transfer. Affirmative Action employer and strongly The Department houses approximately 700 fax: 202-667-1066; encourages applications from women, minorities, undergraduates and 250 graduate students. Thirty The format of an ad must conform to the following: 1) the first line and protected persons. fulltime faculty and fifteen staff members support must contain the name of the university or organization, 2) the second line its activities. The Department has established a research centre, CENPARMI (Centre for Pattern must contain the name of the department or unit, and 3) the body of the ad City University of New York, Graduate Recognition and Machine Intelligence) with a should be in paragraph form. The words in the first two lines are included in Center specialization in pattern recognition and related the total word count for the ad. You may request in writing that some text be Computer Science expert-systems research. The Department is also set in bold; a bold word in the body of the ad counts as two words. Three Positions involved in two inter-university research centres in mathematical computing and in VLSI The rate is $2.25 (U.S.) per word. Purchase orders, money orders, and CUNY Graduate School and University Center, in midtown Manhattan, has some 4,000 architectures. Several members participate in the checks are acceptable (please do not send cash). All CRA members receive students enrolled in thirty-one doctoral programs. Network of Centres of Excellence (for example, 200 free words per dues year. CRA’s standard advertising package consists of The Ph.D. Program in Computer Science, with CITR and IRIS). To promote the development running an ad in CRN, and distributing it electronically to CRA’s jobs listserv over forty doctoral faculty at CUNY constituent of new faculty members, the university has the campuses, anticipates three positions based at the FRDP program to provide seed grants for research and webpage (where it remains for no less than two months). As an alternative Graduate Center (to begin 9/2000). The in the beginning years. There are excellent to this package, advertisers may request that their Professional Opportunities positions are for Associate Professor or Professor, opportunities of external funding from both ads just be published in CRN or just distributed electronically. The cost of the possibly at the Distinguished Professor level. We government research agencies (NSERC and ad is the same whether the standard or the alternative package is selected. are seeking individuals who have had a major FCAR) and industries. impact in the field, who are active in preferably Concordia University is located in Montreal, Professional Opportunities display ads cost $60 (U.S.) per column more than one area, who have a consistent grant which is a dynamic and vibrant city with no inch, with a two-inch minimum. Ads must be submitted in camera-ready, record, and some of whose work is applied. shortage of opportunities for personal enrich- offset (positives or negatives) or mechanical form. If your ad is larger than Primary responsibilities include teaching ment, entertainment, recreation, and sport. Montreal has long been recognized for its vibrant three inches, please request our Advertising Rate Card. doctoral-level students, research, departmental service, and supervision of dissertations. A cultural scene, the numerous festivals, great Computing Research News is published five times per year: in January, distinguished candidate of substantial merit or restaurants, spirited nightlife, art museums, March, May, September, and November. Professional Opportunities ads accomplishment in the field who has an historical and heritage sites, the “joie de vivre” with application deadlines falling within the month of publication of international reputation may be nominated as a of its inhabitants, and the great outdoors. It is Distinguished Professor. also a leading educational centre with four major CRN will not be accepted for publication in CRN unless the ad says Requirements: earned doctorate; record of Universities, and a leading industrial centre in applications will be accepted until the position is filled. If the closing date significant (for Associate) or exceptional (for many hi-tech domains including software, of a Professional Opportunities ad does not correspond with the publica- full) academic achievement; demonstrated ability telecommunications, multimedia, aerospace, and pharmaceutical industries. Opportunities for tion of an issue of CRN, advertisers can choose the alternative advertising to teach graduate students successfully. Review of applications begins 11/1/1999. industrial collaboration with information package and only have the ad distributed electronically. Advertising copy Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, and technology companies are among the best. Some that is to appear in CRN must be received at least one month before names/addresses of three references to: of the local leading companies with significant publication. The deadline for the November issue is October 1. Ads for Search Committee Chair R&D work include Nortel, Ericsson, Teleglobe, Ph.D. Program in Computer Science SR-Telecom, Softimage, Discreet Logic, Matrox, electronic distribution only may be submitted at any time. CUNY Graduate Center UbiSoft, Bombardier, CAE, Pratt & Whitney, 365 Fifth Avenue Spar Aerospace, and Canadian Space Agency. New York, NY 10016 Additional opportunities exist with industries in EO/AA/IRCA/ADA Ottawa, the Silicon Valley North, which is only two hours away. Also, opportunities for collaboration exist with Computer Research Arizona State University Brown University ______Institute of Montreal (CRIM), with strengths in Computer Science and Engineering Computer Science Department networking, HCI, and software engineering. Computists International Department Computer Science Faculty Position Although the primary language of instruction is We anticipate that we will have several Applications are invited for a senior position Computists’ Weekly English, proficiency in French will be tenure-track faculty positions open at all ranks in computer science with tenure, commencing considered an asset. Interested applicants should (Assistant, Associate, Full) starting as early as no later than July 1, 2000. Outstanding Weekly digests of AI-related M.S./Ph.D. arrange to send a detailed curriculum vitae, a list Spring semester of 2000 and invite outstanding applicants are sought in systems and artificial research and teaching jobs, grant opportunities, of publications, and at least three references to: candidates to apply. Applicants are required to intelligence (AI). Systems candidates are sought industry news, research software, free online Dr. H.F. Li, Chair have completed a Ph.D. in Computer Science, in the following areas: databases, distributed resources, career tips, insight, etc. Professional Department of Computer Science Computer Engineering, or a closely related field systems, environments, networks, operating association of AI/IS/CS researchers and advanced Concordia University by the appointment date. Applicants at the systems, programming languages, software software technologists since 1991. Browse 1455 de Maisonneuve West assistant professor level must show exceptional engineering, and Web-related technologies. AI archives at http://www.computists.com. Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8 promise and applicants at the associate professor candidates are sought who are adept in both Canada level and higher must demonstrate established building systems and improving our theoretical ______Phone: 514-848-3001 excellence in research and teaching appropriate understanding of such systems; special Fax: 514-848-2830 to rank. Desired areas of interest include consideration will be given to applicants in the E-mail: [email protected] software engineering, computer architecture/ areas of machine perception and robotics. Concordia University Website: www.cs.concordia.ca systems, embedded systems, networking, Candidates are expected to have outstanding Department of Computer Science In accordance with the Canadian immigra- distributed systems, database systems, knowledge- research credentials, a strong commitment to Concordia University Department of tion requirements, priority will be given to based systems, and visualization. teaching, and demonstrated leadership ability. Computer Science invites applications for at Canadian citizens and permanent residents of We also invite applications for a non-tenure They must also have a doctoral degree in least one tenure-track faculty position at the Canada. Concordia University is committed to track lecturer position that requires an MS in computer science or closely related areas. Assistant or Associate Professor rank in the Employment Equity and encourages applications Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Candidates are sought who will meet the general area of Computing and Information from women, aboriginal peoples, visible related field. The applicant must demonstrate teaching and research needs of the department. Systems. The established strengths of the faculty minorities, and disabled persons. evidence of being an excellent teacher. Successful applicants will find at Brown a members in this general area include databases, ASU is a major research university widely stimulating environment conducive to professional human-computer interfaces, machine intelli- recognized as a rapidly emerging educational growth. Brown has a strong department with a gence, real-time systems and networks. The new Concordia University institution in the United States. The main variety of interesting research projects in analysis of positions require a Ph.D. degree in Computer Department of Computer Science campus is located in the city of Tempe, in the algorithms, artificial intelligence, combinatorial Science or a related field. We are particularly Concordia University Department of metropolitan Phoenix area. The Department of optimization, computational complexity, interested in candidates whose expertise includes Computer Science invites applications for at Computer Science and Engineering provides a computational geometry, computer graphics, one or more of the following: systems design, least two tenure-track faculty positions at the stimulating and fast-growing environment for concurrent data structures and architectures, security, human computer interfaces, multimedia Assistant or Associate Professor rank in the area research and teaching, with ample opportunities database systems, graph drawing, operating systems, systems, network and mobile computing, of Software Engineering. The department started for partnerships with high-technology industry parallel computation, parallel and distributed intranet/internet-based systems, databases and a new undergraduate software engineering and emphasis on quality, leading-edge graduate debugging, programming environments, knowledge based systems. program in September 1998. This four-year and undergraduate education. For more programming languages, robotics, and software The department places a strong emphasis on program covers the specification, design, information about the department, refer to the engineering. The undergraduate and graduate teaching, applied and basic research, and implementation, and maintenance of large-scale website: http://www.eas.asu.edu/~csedept/ students are first-rate. interdisciplinary research partnerships. For the software, as well as management issues concerned Applicants must include a detailed Applicants should send a resume in hard Assistant Professor level we primarily seek a with the production of such software. There are curriculum vitae, hard copies of their most copy and have at least five referees send letters of recent graduate with some publication record, a several faculty members in the department important publications, and the names and recommendation to: working in the area of software specification, addresses of four references. Complete applica- design and reuse, program slicing and compre- tions and nominations must be received by post hension, and user interfaces. The new positions and directed to: require a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science or a Chair of Faculty Search Committee Professional Opportunities Ads Available on Web related field. Applicants with a wide range of Department of Computer Science and teaching and research interests in software Engineering Not all departments and organizations choose to run their Professional architecture, software requirements engineering, Arizona State University software quality assurance, software reuse, reverse PO Box 875406 Opportunities ads in CRN—their ads can only distributed electronically to engineering, software project management, and Tempe, AZ 85287-5406 the Computing Research Association’s website and jobs listserv. If you are distributed software development are encouraged Tel: 480-965-3190 interested in seeing more Professional Opportunities ads, access the Jobs to apply. The initial closing date is November 1, The department places a strong emphasis on 1999. Applications received after that date will webpage at http://www.cra.org/Jobs. If you would like to subscribe to teaching, applied and basic research, and be reviewed on a bi-weekly basis until the [email protected] so you can read the announcements before they are pub- interdisciplinary research partnerships. For the positions are filled. Salary is competitive. lished in CRN (or see the ones that don’t appear in CRN), send the Assistant Professor level we primarily seek a Positions pending budgetary approval. recent graduate with some publication record, a ASU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative following mail message to [email protected]: subscribe jobs firstname lastname. strong research potential, and with interest and Action employer. ability to teach effectively at the Bachelor’s,

Page 14 September 1999 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS

Professional Opportunities Master’s and Ph.D. levels. For the Associate includes a paid pre-tenure leave program. Montana State University-Bozeman performance scientific computing. Candidates Professor level, good credentials in both research Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, Computer Science Department are expected to have an excellent background in and teaching are required. The successful statement of teaching interests and scholarship The Computer Science Department seeks applied mathematics and computer science, and candidates are expected to participate in the goals in a liberal-arts environment, and three candidates for a fulltime, tenure-track position at to be actively involved in the development of development of course and laboratories, letters of recommendation to: Professor Rodney the Assistant Professor level. Requirements for computational tools in relation to application supervision of graduate students, and the pursuit S. Tosten, Chair, Department of Computer the position include a Ph.D. in Computer areas such as (but not restricted to) of external research funding, industrial Science, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, PA Science or a related field, the potential for biocomputation, imaging, physical simulation, collaborations and technology transfer. 17325. At least one letter must address teaching excellence in teaching, the potential for data mining, and statistical learning. Higher The Department houses approximately 700 effectiveness. excellence in research, and an area of research priority will be given to the overall innovation undergraduates and 250 graduate students. Thirty Review of applications will begin immediately that complements that of the existing faculty. and promise of the candidate’s work than to fulltime faculty and fifteen staff members support and will continue until the position is filled. Preferred qualifications include previous teaching contributions to any of these specific topics. its activities. The Department has established a The College seeks to promote diversity in its experience, previous research experience, and Applicants should have a Ph.D. in a research centre, CENPARMI (Centre for Pattern community through its Equal Opportunity/ excellent communication skills. For departmen- relevant field. The successful candidate will be Recognition and Machine Intelligence) with a Affirmative Action programs; included in an tal and area information, please visit expected to teach courses, both in scientific specialization in pattern recognition and related attractive benefits package is a Partner Assistance www.cs.montana.edu. Questions may be computing and in related subjects, at the expert-systems research. The Department is also Program. addressed to [email protected]. graduate and undergraduate levels, and to build involved in two inter-university research centres Candidates are asked to send a letter and lead a team of graduate students in Ph.D. in mathematical computing and in VLSI addressing their ability to fulfill the position research. architectures. Several members participate in the Massachusetts Institute of requirements, a current curriculum vitae, and The appointment will be made at the level Network of Centres of Excellence (for example, Technology must arrange for three letters of recommendation of an Assistant Professor. The position is CITR and IRIS). To promote the development Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering to be sent separately to: available immediately. Further information of new faculty members, the university has the Department John Paxton, Chair about the Computer Science Department can be FRDP program to provide seed grants for research Appointments in Teaching & Research Computer Science Search Committee viewed at http://www-cs.stanford.edu. in the beginning years. There are excellent MIT’s School of Engineering has some of Computer Science Department Applications should include a curriculum opportunities of external funding from both the top rated undergraduate and graduate Montana State University-Bozeman vitae, statements of research and teaching government research agencies (NSERC and programs in the nation. Aeronautics & Bozeman, MT 59717-2320 interests, and the names of at least four FCAR) and industries. Astronautics Engineering is an innovative The position is available for Spring or Fall references. The application should be sent to: Concordia University is located in Montreal, multidisciplinary department, a leader in the 2000 and review of complete applications will Professor Rajeev Motwani - Search which is a dynamic and vibrant city with no design and development of complex aircraft, begin 9/1/99 and continue until the position is Committee Chair shortage of opportunities for personal enrich- space, transportation, information, and filled. ADA/AA/EO/VetPref. c/o Laura Kenny-Carlson ment, entertainment, recreation and sport. telecommunication systems, and it is implement- Computer Science Department Montreal has long been recognized for its vibrant ing a new thrust in Aerospace Information Stanford University cultural scene, the numerous festivals, great Systems. A new undergraduate major emphasiz- Oregon State University Gates 278 restaurants, spirited nightlife, art museums, ing information systems topics has been Department of Computer Science Stanford, CA 94305-9025 historical and heritage sites, the “joie de vivre” established, as well as graduate and research Anticipating a period of rapid growth, the Applications will be accepted until March of its inhabitants, and the great outdoors. It is programs in software engineering, autonomy, and Department of Computer Science at OSU 15, 2000 or until the position is filled. also a leading educational centre with four major communications. Two types of positions are invites applications for tenure-track faculty Stanford University is an equal opportunity Universities, and a leading industrial centre in open at this time in a strong growth area: positions at the rank of Assistant or Associate employer and welcomes applications from many hi-tech domains including software, Software engineering for complex, real-time or Professor. Appointments can begin in either women and minority candidates. telecommunications, multimedia, aerospace, and embedded systems. January or September 2000. Candidates must pharmaceutical industries. Opportunities for Tenure-track faculty openings-Successful hold or be completing a Ph.D. in Computer Stevens Institute of Technology industrial collaboration with information- candidates will be responsible for designing and Science or a closely related field. Applicants for technology companies are among the best. Some teaching SW engineering classes at both the an assistant professor position should have Department of Computer Science of the local leading companies with significant undergraduate and graduate level and will lead records that demonstrate clear promise for Part-time Faculty Position R&D work include Nortel, Ericsson, Teleglobe, research groups composed of students with a innovative research and quality teaching. Stevens has one part-time position available SR-Telecom, Softimage, Discreet Logic, Matrox, variety of backgrounds. Topics include the Applicants for an associate professor position immediately in the Department of Computer UbiSoft, Bombardier, CAE, Pratt & Whitney, processes of end-to-end SW development, from must have well established records of accom- Science of Stevens Institute of Technology. We Spar Aerospace, and Canadian Space Agency. system requirement definitions to error checking plishment in research, teaching, and scholarly are seeking outstanding candidates in software Additional opportunities exist with industries in and verification and validation. Candidates activity. We desire candidates whose research engineering to teach one undergraduate course Ottawa, the Silicon Valley North, which is only should be interested in interacting with students complements our existing research strengths, per semester. two hours away. Also, opportunities for and faculty who may be outside the usual particularly in the areas of systems and software Salary will be commensurate with collaboration exist with Computer Research computer science boundaries. A joint appoint- engineering. qualifications and experience. Institute of Montreal (CRIM), with strengths in ment with the Electrical Engineering and To apply, send a complete resume, a Applicants should send a curriculum vitae, networking, HCI, and software engineering. Computer Science Department is possible. statement of research interests, and at least three and names of at least three references by e-mail Although the primary language of instruction is Senior Research Scientists-There are sealed letters of recommendation (e-mail is to: English, proficiency in French will be opportunities for researchers who enjoy defining acceptable) to: Stephen L. Bloom, Director considered an asset. Interested applicants should and solving problems related to real validation Faculty Search Committee Department of Computer Science arrange to send a detailed curriculum vitae, a list and verification issues in large complex systems Dept. of Computer Science Stevens Institute of Technology of publications, and at least three references to: (embedded real-time systems) to do SW design; Oregon State University Hoboken, NJ 07030 Dr. H.F. Li, Chair requirements specification and analysis; 303 Dearborn Hall [email protected] Department of Computer Science modeling, real-time application issues (analysis, Corvallis, OR 97331-3202 Stevens Institute of Technology is an Equal Concordia University scheduling, verification) SW process manage- Phone: 541-737-3273 Opportunity Employer. 1455 de Maisonneuve West ment; safety, reliability, fault tolerance, and E-mail: [email protected] Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8 other quality attributes, testing and other Web: www.cs.orst.edu Canada assurance activities for aerospace applications. Review of applications will begin September Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Phone: 514-848-3001 Activities are not limited to the above list. 16, 1999. Positions will remain open until Lausanne (EPFL) Fax: 514-848-2830 Responsibilities include leading research groups, filled. OSU has an institution-wide commit- Department of Computer Science E-mail: [email protected] developing and maintaining relationships with ment to diversity and multiculturalism; it Processor Architecture Website: www.cs.concordia.ca major industrial research partners, and teaching a provides a welcoming atmosphere with unique The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology In accordance with the Canadian immigra- course on a relevant topic, if interested. professional opportunities for leaders who are Lausanne (EPFL) invites applications for a tion requirements, priority will be given to Successful candidates will have a Ph.D. or MS women and/or people of color. All are faculty position in processor architecture Canadian citizens and permanent residents of in Computer Science or related field and real encouraged to apply. OSU is an AA/EEO (Assistant, Associate or Full Professor) for the Canada. Concordia University is committed to project experience, and will view software employer and has a policy of being responsive to Department of Computer Science. Employment Equity and encourages applications engineering as encompassing much more than dual-career needs. This position is open to candidates with a from women, aboriginal peoples, visible coding. Appointments may be made at the higher education in computer sciences and minorities and disabled persons. Senior, Principal, or Research Scientist level, engineering. Candidate must have an outstand- depending on the qualifications of the Purdue University ing research record in the field of hardware candidate, and one or two-year Research Fellow School of Electrical and Computer architecture (processors or systems). Industrial Gettysburg College positions are possible as well, for candidates with Engineering experience is an advantage. Department of Computer Science industry experience. Purdue University, School of Electrical and This position requires a strong personality, Gettysburg College invites applications for a Learn more at http://www.mit.edu/aeroastro/ Computer Engineering, seeks outstanding teaching talents, and the ability to guide tenure-track Assistant Professor position in www/hq/strategicplan.html candidates in computer engineering for research students and young researchers. The successful computer science beginning August 2000. A Send letter and curriculum vitae in MS and teaching in the following areas: artificial candidate will be talented for interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Computer Science or a closely related Word 6 or plain text to: intelligence, compilers, computer architecture, research. field, promise of excellence in teaching, and a Irene Miller computer networks, distributed computing, Starting date upon mutual agreement. commitment to continued scholarship are Dept of Aeronautics and Astronautics multimedia systems, operating systems, software Interested applicants can ask for the application essential. Applicants are expected to have a MIT engineering, VLSI and CAD. Strong candidates forms by writing or faxing to: Présidence de strong interest in undergraduate teaching and a 77 Mass Ave, Room 33-413 in all areas of computer engineering are l’Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, CE- desire to involve undergraduate students in their Cambridge, MA 02139, USA encouraged to apply. Openings are for tenure- Ecublens, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland, fax: research programs. [email protected] track faculty at all levels. +41 21 693 70 84. Gettysburg College is a highly selective We welcome applications from women and Send a resumé, including a statement of For further information, please consult also liberal-arts college located within ninety minutes members of U.S. minority groups. MIT is an research and teaching interests and a list of at URL: http://www.epfl.ch, http://diwww.epfl.ch/ of the Baltimore-Washington area. Established AA/EEO employer. least three references, to: or http://admwww.epfl.ch/pres/profs.html, http:/ in 1832, the College has a rich history and is Head, School of Electrical and Computer /research.epfl.ch situated on a 220-acre campus with an Engineering enrollment of 2,200 students. The College has Miami University Purdue University received national recognition for its innovative Department of Systems Analysis 1285 EE Building University of Alberta, Edmonton use of advanced technology. Nine month, fulltime, visiting faculty West Lafayette, IN 47907-1285 Department of Computing Science The computer science major was established position to teach undergraduate courses in Applications will be considered as they are Do you have a commitment to the science of in 1987, and as the result of rapid growth a new computer programming (Visual Basic, C++), received. Purdue University is an Equal computing? Are you looking for an academic Department of Computer Science has been networking, or other computer science areas. Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. environment that focuses on the science of your organized. The Department currently has three Beginning August 1999. A master’s degree in discipline? Join us in a dynamic Computing fulltime faculty members and will expand to four computer science or a related field or equivalent Science department, known for its collegial when this position is filled. Thus, the successful experience is required. Please send resume as Stanford University atmosphere and collaborative research environ- applicant will have a unique opportunity to soon as possible to: Department of Computer Science ment. Our department is in the Faculty of influence the direction of a growing department. Dr. Douglas Troy, Acting Chair Faculty Opening Science at the University of Alberta, in All department members are active in 230 Kreger Hall The Computer Science Department of Edmonton, the capital of Alberta. We have undergraduate research, which frequently results Miami University Stanford University invites applications for a eight established research laboratories, including in student presentations at regional and national Oxford, OH 45056 tenure-track faculty position from candidates Algorithmics, Artificial Intelligence and conferences. The College is prepared to assist in or with expertise in the areas of continuous and establishing a research program that actively E-mail: [email protected] discrete modeling, numerical analysis, or high- involves undergraduate students. This assistance Jobs Continued on Page 16

Page 15 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1999

Professional Opportunities The University of Arizona tions, the department has six computer/research Jobs from Page 15 University of Oklahoma PO BOX 210077 School of Computer Science laboratories, equipped with high performance Tucson, AZ 85721-0077 The School of Computer Science at the workstations and high end PCs. The Academic Cognitive Science, Database Management, We will start the review of applications on University of Oklahoma, Norman, invites Computer Center supports both UNIX based Graphics, Networks and Communications, October 1, 1999, and will continue to consider applications for a faculty position in the area of workstations and PCs. Computers on campus Parallel and Distributed Systems, Software applicants until the positions are filled, subject telecommunications and networking. Applicants are connected via Ethernet and have access to Engineering, and Vision and Robotics. We to availability of funds. The University of must hold a Doctorate in Computer Science or a the Internet. Students and faculty have dial-in have abundant computing facilities, and our Arizona is an EEO/AA employer - M/W/D/V. related discipline, with sufficient academic access to campus computing facilities. department leads broadly-based multidisciplinary accomplishments or significant industrial Currently the Computer Science Department research within the Multimedia and Advanced experience for appointment as Associate or Full has twenty-two tenured/tenure track faculty and Computational Infrastructure (MACI) project, University of California, Irvine Professor. In addition to research experience, seven senior lecturers. The potential for growth and the Research Institute for Multimedia Department of Information and candidates must demonstrate a strong commit- is excellent. For more information contact: Dr. Systems (RIMS). Computer Science ment to excellence in teaching at both the S.Q. Zheng, Chair of the Search Committee, at In addition to the standard computational Open Faculty Positions undergraduate and graduate levels. 972-883-2329 or 972-883-2808; send e-mail to research facilities, we also have a large SGI Origin The Department of Information and Developing an even stronger telecommunica- [email protected], or view the Internet 2000, and a 3-D immersive display powered by an Computer Science (ICS) has several tenured or tions and networking research core is an integral webpage at http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/cs/. SGI Onyx2. We are currently constructing a new tenure-track positions open in the following part of the strategic plan of the school. In The search committee will begin evaluating research laboratory building, adjacent to a areas of research emphases: addition to having excellent research qualifica- applications on January 1, 2000 and will renovated historical building, to provide us with A. Computer Graphics tions, candidates should be highly motivated, continue until the positions are filled. office and research space consolidated in the B. Systems Software: Databases, Operating energetic, and have demonstrated communica- Applicants should mail their resume with a middle of our campus of about 30,000 students Systems, Compilers, and Networks tion and leadership skills necessary to successfully list of at least five academic or professional (see the WebCam at www.cs.ualberta.ca). Our C. Computer-supported cooperative work: interface with colleagues in both the university references as soon as possible to: current complement of thirty-six regular faculty social impacts of computing, information and industrial settings. Many exciting Academic Search #739 work within a department of twenty-eight support studies, and human-computer interactions. opportunities in the networking area exist The University of Texas at Dallas staff, 130 graduate students (50/50 MSc/Ph.D.) D. Other areas of computer science such as within the School of Computer Science with PO Box 830688-M/S AD 23 and 300 undergraduate students. Our consistent software and software engineering, computer support from the College of Engineering. One Richardson, TX 75083-0688 performance in ACM World Programming security, cryptography, bioinformatics or medical example is the development of a statewide tera- Indication of sex and ethnicity for Contests is evidence of our claim to be one of the informatics. bit testbed, to be used in developing and Affirmative Action statistical purposes is best undergraduate programs in the country, and Available positions are for an Associate or evaluating next generation, high speed switching requested but not required. The University of our graduate students are successful in industrial Assistant Professor in Computer Graphics and technology. Opportunities for industrial Texas at Dallas is an Equal Opportunity/ and academic research labs around the world. Assistant Professor positions in other areas, but collaboration also exist, and the school and Affirmative Action employer and strongly We are looking for eager, computing exceptional candidates from all ranks will be college actively support research activities that encourages applications from candidates who scientists experienced in several areas, especially considered. In all cases, we are looking for involve or result in technology transfer. The would enhance the diversity of the University’s graphics and visualization, database management, applicants with a Ph.D. degree in Computer School of Computer Science is CSAB faculty and administration. and software engineering. We are also looking Science or a related field, and strong research accredited, and offers bachelors, masters, and to complement our strengths in artificial credentials as evidenced by scholarly publica- doctoral degrees. There are approximately 350 intelligence, parallel and distributed systems, and tions. Applicants for senior positions must also undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Faculty University of Utah networks and communications, with scientists demonstrate a proven track record in funded research interests currently focus on database Department of Computer Science who can demonstrate that they are driven by research activities. systems, telecommunication networks, software The University of Utah’s Department of curiosity and interested in collaborative research The ICS Department is organized as an engineering, fault tolerance and testing, Computer Science seeks applicants for tenure- across these sub-disciplines. Candidates should independent campus unit reporting to the computer vision, human-computer interaction, track faculty positions at either the Assistant or have a Ph.D. in Computing Science, a proven Executive Vice Chancellor. It runs the second artificial intelligence, parallel and distributed Associate Professor level. The department places research record, and a strong commitment to most popular major at UCI and has designed an computing, large scale scientific computing, a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary, multi- excellence in teaching. Responsibilities include undergraduate honors program that attracts the graph theory and combinatorial optimization, investigator research activities addressing large- research as well as teaching at the graduate and campus’ most qualified students. External and theoretical computer science. scale problems of significant impact. Both undergraduate level. Most positions will be at funding from government and industrial Norman is a suburb of about 90,000 people research areas and course offerings benefit from the Assistant Professor level; however, we will sponsors exceeded $10 million last year. The within the Oklahoma City metropolitan area the quality and breadth of our faculty and consider Associate and Full Professor appoint- Department currently has thirty-eight fulltime (approximate population of 1,000,000). emphasize a balance of theoretical foundations ments for outstanding candidates. faculty and 150 Ph.D. students involved in Norman offers award winning schools, cultural and practical engineering. We offer an environment that is congenial various research areas including computer festivals, diverse local industry and an Our recruiting emphasis is in systems, and supportive of new Ph.D.s, with the science theory, embedded computer systems, inexpensive cost of living. networking, languages, and artificial intelli- challenge to help you be your best, and the artificial intelligence, networks and distributed Applications with a list of five references gence, but we will consider strong candidates in support to help you succeed within an academic systems, databases, multimedia systems, must be submitted to: all areas of computer science. Applicants should environment. Our department is part of a full- computer systems design, software/software S. Lakshmivarahan, Chair, Faculty Search have earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science or a service university, in a province that has the engineering, human-computer interaction, and Committee closely related field. fastest economic growth in the country, with computer-supported cooperative work. ICS School of Computer Science The University of Utah is located in Salt over 1,600 existing software development faculty are involved in the forefront of research The University of Oklahoma Lake City, the hub of a large metropolitan area companies. in the emerging areas of the computer science 200 Felgar Street, Room 114 with excellent cultural facilities and unsurpassed In accordance with Canadian Immigration discipline such as multimedia/embedded Norman, OK 73019-6151 opportunities for outdoor recreation only a few requirements, priority will be given to Canadian computing, knowledge-discovery in databases, Tel. 405-325-2978 minutes drive away. Additional information citizens and permanent residents of Canada. If bioinformatics and the role of information in Fax: 405-325-4044 about the department can be found at http:// suitable Canadian citizens and permanent computer science and society. The faculty has E-mail: [email protected] www.cs.utah.edu. residents cannot be found, other individuals will effective interdisciplinary ties to colleagues in The preferred start date is January of 2000, Please send curriculum vitae, a research goals be considered. Our current recruiting segment digital arts, biology, cognitive science, but a later start date is also possible. Screening statement, a teaching goals statement, and names will end September 30, 1999. Find further engineering, management, medicine, and the will begin on October 1, 1999. Applications and addresses of at least four references to: details about us at and social sciences. will be accepted until the position is filled. The Faculty Recruiting Committee send your curriculum vitae and the names and Although UCI is a young university, it has University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative c/o Shawn Darby addresses of three referees to: Iris Everitt, attained remarkable stature in the past three Action Employer. Women and minorities are Department of Computer Science Administrative Assistant, Department of decades. Two Nobel prizes were recently especially encouraged to apply. OU is responsive 50 So. Central Campus Drive Computing Science, University of Alberta, awarded to UCI faculty. UCI is located three to the needs of dual-career couples. Rm 3190 MEB Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2H1, or E- miles from the Pacific Ocean near Newport University of Utah mail: [email protected]. Beach, approximately forty miles south of Los Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9205 The University of Alberta is committed to Angeles. The climate is ideal year-round University of Texas at Dallas The University of Utah is an Equal the principle of equity in employment. As an avoiding extreme temperatures in winters and Department of Computer Science Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and employer, we welcome diversity in the workplace summers. Irvine is consistently ranked among Tenure-track Positions encourages nominations and applications from and encourage applications from all qualified the safest cities in the U.S. and has an The Computer Science Department of The women and minorities, and provides reasonable women and men, including Aboriginal peoples, exceptional public school system. The campus University of Texas at Dallas invites applications accommodation to the known disabilities of persons with disabilities, and members of visible is surrounded by high-technology companies for tenure-track faculty positions at all levels, applicants and employees. minorities. that participate in an active affiliates program. starting September 2000. Visiting positions may Both the campus and the area offer exciting also be available. professional and cultural opportunities. Candidates in all areas of computer science Wheaton College (Illinois) University of Arizona Mortgage and housing assistance are available will be considered. However, priority will be Department of Mathematics and Department of Computer Science including newly built, for-sale housing located given to individuals with expertise in system Computer Science http://www.cs.arizona.edu on campus and within short walking distance areas including software engineering, program- The Department of Mathematics and Applications are invited for tenure-track from the department. ming languages, distributed databases, multime- Computer Science at Wheaton College invites faculty positions at all ranks, beginning Applicants should send a cover letter dia, e-commerce, computer graphics, and applications for a tenure-track position, Assistant employment August 2000. Candidates must indicating which of the areas above [A-D] best Internet technologies. Candidates must have a or Associate Professor, beginning August 2000. hold a doctorate in Computer Science or fits their research, a curriculum vitae, three Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, or A Ph.D. in Computer Science or a closely related field, have a commitment to excellence sample papers and contact information for three equivalent. Candidates for junior positions related field is required. A commitment to in teaching, and have demonstrated strong or four references to: [email protected] (PDF, should show strong potential for excellent effective teaching, an ongoing program of potential for excellence in research. Primary postscript, Word, or ASCII). teaching and research; candidates for senior research, and close interaction with students is consideration will be given to computer Applicants are requested to ask their positions should have a strong record of research, essential. There is opportunity to contribute to scientists who work in algorithms, theory of references to send letters of evaluation to teaching, and external funding. the development and expansion of an computation, computer graphics, and computer [email protected] by January 15, 2000. Those The Computer Science Department offers established program. systems and networks. that insist upon sending hard copy may send it the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and has The Department offers a major and a minor The Department of Computer Science at to: Master’s degrees in CS with major in Software in both mathematics and computer science. The University of Arizona has a long history of ICS Faculty Position [A-D] Engineering as well as tracks in Telecommunica- Applicants should send curriculum vitae research accomplishment, influential software c/o Lori Miskell tions, and traditional Computer Science. We including names of three references and a list of distribution (e.g., Icon, SR, FAKtory, x-kernel, Department of Information and Computer have experienced very rapid growth in computer science courses taught to: glimpse) and substantial external funding to Science enrollment in recent years. The University is Dr. Robert Brabenec, Chair individual faculty, exceeding 2.5 million dollars University of California, Irvine located in the most attractive suburbs of the Department of Mathematics and Computer last year. Major funding has included two NSF Irvine, CA 92697-3425 Dallas metropolitan area. There are over fifty Science Institutional Infrastructure grants and a Research Application screening will begin high-tech companies with in ten miles of the Wheaton College Infrastructure grant, providing a broad array of immediately upon receipt of curriculum vitae. campus, including Texas Instruments, Nortel Wheaton, IL 60187 equipment for computing research. Research Maximum consideration will be given to Network, Alcatel, Ericsson, DSC, Nokia, Application deadline is November 30, 1999. areas include programming languages, compilers, applications received by January 7, 2000. Fujitsu, MCI, EDS, and Perot Systems. Almost Wheaton is an evangelical Christian liberal arts operating systems, networks, algorithm design, The University of California is an Equal all the country’s leading telecommunication’s college whose faculty and staff affirm a database systems, and theory of computation. Opportunity Employer, committed to excellence companies have major research and development Statement of Faith and adhere to lifestyle Applicants must send a curriculum vitae and through diversity. facilities in our neighborhood. Opportunities expectations. The College complies with federal the names of at least three references to: for joint university-industry research projects and and state guidelines for nondiscrimination in Faculty Recruiting Committee consulting are excellent. employment. Women and minority candidates Department of Computer Science In addition to individual faculty worksta- are encouraged to apply.

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