COMPUTING RESEARCH NEWS Computing Research Association Uniting Industry, Academia and Government to Advance Computing Research and Change the World. FEBRUARY 2019 Vol. 31 / No. 2 CRN At-A-Glance New York Times Article Spotlights the High In This Issue Demand for Computer Science Professors 2 New York Times Article Spotlights Recently, The New York Times featured an article "The Hard Part the High Demand for Computer of Computer Science? Getting Into Class." The story explores how Science Professors the increasing student demand for computer science courses is 3 2019 Nominees for CRA Board; outstripping the supply of professors. The article cites CRA Taulbee CRA Board Elections in Progress data and quotes several current and former CRA board members. 4 Jennifer Rexford and Westley Weimer Receive the 2019 CRA-E Undergraduate See page 2 for full article. Research Faculty Mentoring Award 6 CCC Launches the “Catalyzing Computing” Podcast 2019 Nominees for CRA Board; 7 CCC Response to NITRD RFI to Update the 2016 Federal CRA Board Elections in Progress Cybersecurity Research and Development CRA is pleased to announce the 2019 Election Committee’s slate of Strategic Plan nominees for the CRA Board. Ballots have been distributed to all CRA 8 Interdisciplinary Research Challenges in Computer Systems department chairs and lab directors. Each will have one vote for each open (NSF Workshop Report) slot on the board. Completed ballots are due February 27. 9 Feeling Like an Outsider in Computing? See page 3 for full article. You Are not Alone! 11 Expanding the Pipeline – The Participation and Challenges of Community College Jennifer Rexford and Westley Weimer Students in Undergraduate Research 14 2018 Grad Cohort for Women Attendees Receive the 2019 CRA-E Undergraduate Share Reflections in Short Video 15 Former Board Member Margo Research Faculty Mentoring Award Seltzer Elected to National Academy These outstanding individuals are being recognized for providing of Engineering exceptional mentorship, undergraduate research experiences, and, in 16 Call for Nominations: NSF Assistant Director for Computer and Information parallel, guidance on admission and matriculation of their students to Science and Engineering research-focused graduate programs in computing. 17 Microsoft Research Ad See page 4 for full article. 18 Board Members, Staff, Column Editor 19 Professional Opportunities cra.org/crn New York Times Article Spotlights the High Demand for Computer Science Professors Recently, The New York Times featured an Also, former CRA board member Tracy were told that, with their expertise, article "The Hard Part of Computer Science? Camp described how her university is the starting salary would be $1 million Getting Into Class." The story explores how managing the situation: to $4 million,” said Greg Morrisett, the increasing student demand for computer dean of computing and information Likewise, Tracy Camp, head of the science courses is outstripping the supply science at Cornell University. “There’s computer science department at of professors. The article cites CRA Taulbee no way a university, no matter how the Colorado School of Mines — a Survey data and quotes several current and well off, could compete with that.” public university where the number former CRA board members. of computer science majors has more Finally, former CRA board member Ed On campuses across the country, from than doubled in recent years — said Lazowska shared how joint appointments major state universities to small private she was determined not to put in can offer a solution: colleges, the surge in student demand deterrents like capping the major. To stem the tide of professors for computer science courses is far Instead, she said, class sizes had decamping for industry, universities outstripping the supply of professors, sharply increased. are turning to dual appointments. as the tech industry snaps up talent. At “I don’t want to tell a student already Last year Amazon hired Siddhartha some schools, the shortage is creating at Mines, ‘You can’t major in computer Srinivasa, a world-renowned an undergraduate divide of computing science,’” Professor Camp said. robotics expert who is a computer haves and have-nots — potentially science professor at the University of narrowing a path for some minority and Camp also chaired the CRA Enrollments Washington. He now splits his time female students to an industry that has Committee, which published the between the two. struggled with diversity. Generation CS report on the computer science undergraduate enrollments surge Ed Lazowska, a computer science The number of undergraduates that has existed since 2006. The report professor at the university, said such majoring in the subject more details the results of an enrollment arrangements gave faculty members than doubled from 2013 to 2017, to survey designed to measure, assess, access to resources, like giant over 106,000, while tenure-track and better understand enrollment computing power and tremendous faculty ranks rose about 17 percent, trends and their impact on computer data sets, that could help further their according to the Computing Research science units, diversity, and more. The research and benefit their students. Association, a nonprofit that gathers National Academies also published a data from about 200 universities. “What better place could there be than report, “Assessing and Responding Amazon to put your robot to work?” Former CRA board member Maria to the Growth of Computer Science Professor Lazowska said. Klawe commented on its impact on Undergraduate Enrollments“. underrepresented groups in computing: Click here to view the full New York Times In the New York Times article, CRA Board article. Visit the CRA website for more “When you put any kind of barrier in Secretary Greg Morrisett described how information on the Taulbee Survey and place in terms of access to computer academia faces steep competition with the Generation CS report. In addition, science majors, it tends to reduce the industry for talent: CRA’s Data Buddies Project collects number of women and students of In addition, tech giants and other longitudinal data on students, which can color in the program,” said Maria Klawe, companies have been poaching be used to gauge the impact of increasing president of Harvey Mudd College, professors and hiring new Ph.D.s. demands on computing courses and a private college in Claremont, Calif., faculty. Visit the CERP website to learn that has become a national model for “I had a faculty member who came in more about how to get involved with The diversity in computer science. with an offer from a bank, and they Data Buddies Project. 2 cra.org/crn February 2019 2019 Nominees for CRA Board; CRA Board Elections in Progress CRA is pleased to announce the 2019 Election Committee’s slate of nominees for the CRA board of directors: ACADEMIC (3 OPENINGS) Marsha Chechik (University of Toronto) Lorrie Cranor (Carnegie Mellon University) Marti Hearst (University of California, Berkeley) Keshav Pingali (University of Texas at Austin) Penny Rheingans* (University of Maine) Shashi Shekhar* (University of Minnesota) INDUSTRY (3 OPENINGS) C. Raymond Perrault (SRI International) Divesh Srivastava (AT&T Labs-Research) Jaime Teevan* (Microsoft Research) Marvin Theimer (Amazon Web Services) Haixun Wang (WeWork Corporation) *Denotes current board members. CRA Board Elections in Progress Ballots have been distributed to all CRA department chairs and lab directors. Each will have one vote for e ach open slot on the board. Completed ballots are due February 27. 3 cra.org/crn February 2019 Jennifer Rexford and Westley Weimer Receive the 2019 CRA-E Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentoring Award The Education Committee career, she has actively of the Computing Research mentored students, particularly Association (CRA-E) is proud undergraduates. Rexford to announce two recipients of established events and spaces the 2019 CRA-E Undergraduate to motivate undergraduates Research Faculty Mentoring as researchers, and to support Award: Jennifer Rexford from members of traditionally Princeton University and underrepresented groups in CS. Westley Weimer from the In 2010, she mentored students University of Michigan. who established a women in computer science group (PWiCS) These outstanding individuals in the department, and the group are being recognized for is still active. providing exceptional mentorship, undergraduate research With a smaller pool of experiences, and, in parallel, undergraduate students, Rexford Jennifer Rexford guidance on admission and advises students both in single Princeton University matriculation of their students semester independent projects, to research-focused graduate as well as theses. She regularly programs in computing. publishes with undergraduate mentees, and there are multiple The 2019 selection committee papers on which undergraduates includes Pat Morreale (chair, Kean were the first author. Rexford University), Eric Aaron (Colby has mentored 23 undergraduate College), Chandra Krintz (University students in 10 years, half of who of California, Santa Barbara), and are women, and her mentorship Denys Poshyvanyk (William & Mary). has led to student placement at Jennifer Rexford, Ph.D., is the top graduate schools. She has Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor and chair mentored students who have of the Department of Computer received recognition in the CRA Science at Princeton University, an Outstanding Undergraduate ACM Fellow, and a member of the Researcher