The Computing Research Association

Computing Research News

May 2008 Vol. 20/No. 3 ∫ Download PDF Version - 679 KB ∫

African-American Researchers in Computing Sciences: A Model for Broadening Participation

By Juan Gilbert, Jerlando Jackson, and Cheryl Seals Full Article

According to the most recent Computing Research Association (CRA) Taulbee Survey, African-Americans represent 1.3 percent of all computing sciences faculty. Nationally, across all disciplines, African-Americans represent 5.2 percent of all academic faculty. The African-American Researchers in Computing Sciences (AARCS) program was funded by the National Science Foundation’s Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) program in 2006. It aims to narrow the gap between computing science faculty and the national average by eliminating disbeliefs, concerns and misunderstandings about graduate school, research, and computing sciences faculty among African-American undergraduate computing sciences majors.

Milestone Week in Evolving History of Data-Intensive Computing

By Randal E. Bryant, Carnegie Mellon University, and Thomas T. Kwan, Yahoo! Research Full Article

The last week of March 2008 saw the emergence of a significant new era in the world of data-intensive scalable computing. Co-sponsored by the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) and Yahoo!, the first ever Hadoop Summit took place on March 25 in Santa Clara, followed by the first Data-Intensive Computing Symposium on March 26 at the Sunnyvale headquarters of Yahoo!

Snowbird and the Big Data Avalanche

By Dan Reed, CRA Board Chair Full Article

As I write this column, a late spring snow has settled over Seattle, covering my freshly mown lawn. This prompted me to think about the upcoming CRA Conference at Snowbird, Utah. Every two years, the chairs of the Ph.D.-granting departments of computer science and engineering, as well as the leaders of government and industrial laboratories, gather at Snowbird to discuss all aspects of the state of computing— research, education, recruiting, diversity and inclusion, government and industrial policies, and collaboration. The Snowbird meeting a great opportunity for networking—the social kind—meeting new and old friends, exchanging ideas and experiences and sharing best practices.

CRA Elects New Board Members

By CRA Full Article

CRA Elects New Board Members

Ricoh Innovations, Inc. California Research Center

By John Barrus, Director Full Article

The California Research Center (CRC) of Ricoh Innovations, Inc. is quickly approaching its 20th anniversary. Founded in 1989, CRC’s charter was to perform fundamental research to ensure the technological future of Ricoh. Ricoh is a manufacturer of office equipment, including copiers, printers and electro-optics, and is a global remote management service provider.

Adrion and Ladner Win CRA Service Awards

By CRA Full Article

CRA is pleased to announce the winners of its 2008 service awards, which will be presented at the CRA Conference at Snowbird in July.

Science Community Seeks Supplemental Funding for FY08

By Peter Harsha Full Article

Despite the elimination of most of the requested increases for key federal science agencies in the FY2008 appropriations process,1 some members of the science advocacy community are holding out hope that a last-ditch strategy might help mitigate some of the budget shortfalls.

BLS Predicts Strong Job Growth and High Salaries for IT Workforce through 2016

By Jay Vegso Full Article

In its employment projections for 2006-2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that professional level IT occupations will continue to enjoy high salaries and more than twice the growth rate as the overall workforce. Every two years, BLS releases workforce projections covering a 10-year period. The definition for the ‘professional IT workforce’ used here is that used by the Department of Commerce’s Office of Technology Policy.