COMPUTING R ESEARCH N EWS More than 25 Years of Service to the Computing Research Community September 1998 Vol. 10/No. 4 Rally Behind the New PITAC Report 1997-1998 By Ed Lazowska recent flurry of public activity ments,” are the latest actions. CRA Taulbee Survey Chair, Computing Research follows a year of intensive behind- The key findings and recommen- is in the mail. Association the-scenes effort by the Committee. dations of the PITAC Interim Report Completed surveys are A letter report sent to the White include: due by November 13, 1998. House on June 3 warned that recent ◆ Information technology will be Federal support for research in trends will “interrupt the flow of one of the key factors driving progress information technology is “danger- ideas that are needed to fuel the in the 21st century. ously inadequate” and is “taking a information economy and solve ◆ Vigorous IT R&D is essential short-term focus,” according to the critical national problems,” and for achieving America’s aspirations. ◆ There should be a lead agency Interim Report of the Presidential recommended that “over the next ◆ We have had a spectacular for coordinating information Information Technology Advisory five years federal funding for infor- return on past federal IT research technology research, probably NSF. Committee (PITAC), sent to the mation technology R&D be doubled investments. It is essential that those of us White House on August 6. “Unless or better” and “creatively managed ◆ Current federal support for IT engaged in computing research read steps are taken now to reinvigorate to ensure that sufficient attention is research is “dangerously inadequate.” and absorb the PITAC Interim federal research in this critical area, given to innovative, long-range ◆ There is also a dangerous focus Report, and actively support its we could see a significant reduction projects.” In his June 5 commence- on near-term problems. major themes. The “high-order bits” in the rate of progress over the ment address at MIT, President ◆ As a result, “critical problems are uncontestable: the nation needs coming decades. The cost to the Clinton responded by promising that are going unsolved and we are a greater investment in computing nation of such a reduction would be his FY2000 budget “will call for endangering the flow of ideas that research, and a greater focus on high- significantly greater than the significant increases in computing has fueled the information economy.” risk long-term questions. The rest is investments needed to address the and communications research.” The ◆ Four areas of the overall details. Resist the temptation to problem now.” filing of the Interim Report, and the research agenda particularly need circle the wagons and fire inwards! Chaired by Bill Joy (Sun President’s August 10 response in attention: software, scalable informa- The Presidential Information Microsystems) and Ken Kennedy which he observed that “we have a tion infrastructure, high-end com- Technology Advisory Committee has (Rice University), PITAC was duty –– to ourselves, to our children, puting, and socio-economic and created an enormous opportunity, established in February 1997, and to future generations –– to make workforce impacts. which is ours to seize or to lose. fulfilling a mandate of the High these and other farsighted invest- ◆ There must be new modes of Material related to PITAC may Performance Computing Act. A research support: support for projects be found on the web at http:// of broader scope and longer duration www.ccic.gov/ac/. Relevant presenta- Inside CRN (multi-investigator, multi-year), tions from the CRA Conference at Expanding the Pipeline ................... 2 CRA Executive Fellowship.............. 7 centers for “Expeditions into the 21st Snowbird are linked from the top of Critical Infrastructure...................... 3 Board Elections ............................... 8 Century,” and “Enabling Technology the CRA homepage: ❚ NSF Appropriations ........................ 3 97-98 Members List ........................ 9 Centers.” http://www.cra.org. Awards ..........................................4-5 Professional Opportunities ............. 10-12 New Director of NSF, Rita Colwell, Speaks at Snowbird By Stacy Cholewinski and without computing. She stated that officially opened the conference Jean Smith “information sciences also stand out with an after-dinner speech and in the role as the mortar, the cement- presentation in which he discussed The new Director of the National ing material for the entire edifice of the increasing but modern science.” changing needs Science Foundation, Rita Colwell, PAID addressed conference attendees in a And then she pledged NSF’s for IT workers, U.S. POSTAGE PERMIT NO. 993 NONPROFIT ORG. special session at the CRA Confer- support for computer science as a the way in which WASHINGTON, DC ence at Snowbird ’98 on Monday, fundamental field, along with other the university July 27, 1998. Colwell began by basic disciplines. Colwell champi- might respond to saying, “It is both inspiring and oned the fact that we should not be the new demands, appropriate that I have this chance to “allergic to change” and stated that, and the new meet with such a distinguished group “[technology] has evolved through program being of leaders from the computer science repeated exchange of ideas and developed for this and engineering community” people, through synergy, among purpose at his own institution. (speaking to the fact that this was her industry, universities, and govern- The reported shortage of IT first speaking engagement as NSF ment.” She urged the audience to workers and its effects on the Director). continue their work and directed community were addressed in the Her afternoon session concen- them to “embrace new directions and opening plenary session. Under- trated on the recognition of the make them work for us.” graduate enrollments appear to be importance of computing in the CRA’s biennial conference was going up a lot and this should be advancement of all areas of science well attended in its eighth year with good for addressing the labor and technology and the catalyst it more that 230 participants. The shortage; however, it also puts has been to industry, which in turn conference convened July 26-28 for pressure on faculty and creates the betters the whole economy. Colwell two and a half days of plenary need to hire additional faculty also relayed her concern and aware- sessions, special speakers, and when the supply is tight. Partici- ness of pipeline issues in computing, workshops geared toward issues pants also emphasized the need for discussed some factors that affect it, relating to computer scientists and people who can work across several and provided some examples of ways engineers in academia, industry, and disciplines. to increase the numbers of minorities government. Further discussions in the in the field. Basically four main topics were sessions addressed issues such as how Throughout her talk, Colwell discussed at the conference: IT to define an IT worker. Other emphasized the larger picture and Workers, Industry-related issues, questions to consider include: where the fact that computing is an integral Education, and Research Policy. Of are IT workers placed in an organiza- part of it all. She spoke about doing these, the most popular appeared to tion, what skills and educational her research as a biologist in the be the issues surrounding IT workers. background should they have, and of decades since her graduation, and Graham Spanier, President of Pennsylvania State University, that it would have been impossible Continued on Page 5 CRA 1100 Seventeenth Street, NW Suite 507 Washington, DC 20036-4632 COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS September 1998 Expanding the Pipeline Computing Research Association Women Role Models in Computer Science History Board Officers By Denise Gürer an ability to see the future directions conference attendees remarked that Edward Lazowska In the past year there has been of computer science. Lovelace was they were astonished and delighted Chair much concern and debate over the the first conceptual programmer, to learn about the achievements of University of Washington rapidly declining numbers of women while Hopper foresaw the importance the pioneers. Honoring and display- Mary Lou Soffa in computer science. As reported by of higher-level programming lan- ing their accomplishments in such a Vice Chair University of Pittsburgh Dr. Tracy Camp in a previous issue of guages in the future of computing. public forum inspired many women However, there were many other computer scientists, both young and old. Kenneth C. Sevcik this newsletter and in Communications Secretary of the ACM, October 1997, the women pioneers in computing who These women pioneers serve as University of Toronto number of BA/BS degrees awarded to deserve mentioning and who can wonderful role models for both James Foley women over the last ten years (1983- serve as role models. young and accomplished computer Treasurer 84 to 1994-95) has decreased by 23.5 We can immediately find six scientists. They have broken their Mitsubishi Electric Research percent. In other words, we are losing women pioneers and role models way into a male-dominated field and with the world’s first electronic have been highly successful, and in Board Members one of every four potential women computing machine, the ENIAC, many cases have been “firsts.” Fran Frances E. Allen graduates with CS degrees. Interest- IBM T.J. Watson Research Center ingly, the numbers of women graduat- whose first programmers were six Allen is the first woman to become Sandra Johnson Baylor ing with BA/BS degrees in other women. In recognition of their work, an IBM Fellow at IBM’s T.J. Watson IBM T.J. Watson Research Center science related disciplines have been these pioneers were recently (1997) Research Laboratory; Ethel Marden Anita Borg increasing over the same time frame. inducted into the Women in is the first woman to be appointed a Xerox Palo Alto Laboratory This underrepresentation of Technology International (WITI) division chief at the National Bureau Robert Cartwright women in computing is alarming.