New Director of NSF, Rita Colwell, Speaks at Snowbird

By Stacy Cholewinski
and Jean Smith

The new Director of the National Science Foundation, Rita Colwell, addressed conference attendees in a special session at the CRA Conference at Snowbird '98 on Monday, July 27, 1998. Colwell began by saying, "It is both inspiring and appropriate that I have this chance to meet with such a distinguished group of leaders from the computer science and engineering community" (speaking to the fact that this was her first speaking engagement as NSF Director).

Her afternoon session concentrated on the recognition of the importance of computing in the advancement of all areas of science and technology and the catalyst it has been to industry, which in turn betters the whole economy. Colwell also relayed her concern and awareness of pipeline issues in computing, discussed some factors that affect it, and provided some examples of ways to increase the numbers of minorities in the field.

Throughout her talk, Colwell emphasized the larger picture and the fact that computing is an integral part of it all. She spoke about doing her research as a biologist in the decades since her graduation, and that it would have been impossible without computing. She stated that "information sciences also stand out in the role as the mortar, the cementing material for the entire edifice of modern science."

And then she pledged NSF's support for computer science as a fundamental field, along with other basic disciplines. Colwell championed the fact that we should not be "allergic to change" and stated that, "[technology] has evolved through repeated exchange of ideas and people, through synergy, among industry, universities, and government." She urged the audience to continue their work and directed them to "embrace new directions and make them work for us."

CRA's biennial conference was well attended in its eighth year with more that 230 participants. The conference convened July 26-28 for two and a half days of plenary sessions, special speakers, and workshops geared toward issues relating to computer scientists and engineers in academia, industry, and government.

Basically four main topics were discussed at the conference: IT Workers, Industry-related issues, Education, and Research Policy. Of these, the most popular appeared to be the issues surrounding IT workers. Graham Spanier, President of Pennsylvania State University, officially opened the conference with an after-dinner speech and presentation in which he discussed the increasing but changing needs for IT workers, the way in which the university might respond to the new demands, and the new program being developed for this purpose at his own institution.

The reported shortage of IT workers and its effects on the community were addressed in the opening plenary session. Undergraduate enrollments appear to be going up a lot and this should be good for addressing the labor shortage; however, it also puts pressure on faculty and creates the need to hire additional faculty when the supply is tight. Participants also emphasized the need for people who can work across several disciplines.

Further discussions in the sessions addressed issues such as how to define an IT worker. Other questions to consider include: where are IT workers placed in an organization, what skills and educational background should they have, and of greatest concern, is there a shortage of IT workers in American industry (as reported by the ITAA and the Department of Commerce), and what is the CS&E field doing about it?

In the workshop session on CRA's Taulbee Survey, audience members provided feedback to last year's committee. They suggested ways to improve data solicitation from the community that could be used to answer some of the questions concerning IT workers who originate from CS&E departments.

IT workers were further discussed in the session on a current National Research Council (NRC) Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) study looking at what all citizens should know about IT. This session emphasized that the skill set possessed by university graduates, in terms of ability to complete IT tasks, is becoming a more prevalent concern for all. The conference this year contained several sessions targeted toward concerns of those in industry. Moving ideas from the research lab into the world of venture capital was addressed in a session that described this process as "a new and interesting way of creating opportunity for the corporation."

A workshop on managing industrial labs reviewed the CRA Industrial Salary Survey conducted in May 1998. How to familiarize students with the concepts, issues, and terminology to enhance their effectiveness in working in a research lab environment was also discussed. The session identified two areas for possible CRA activity: 1) develop several model intellectual property agreements between university and industry; and 2) define a set of topics and resource material to teach graduate students about industrial research labs and issues relevant to them. Topics might include patents and copyrights, technology transfer processes, business plans, and marketing.

In a session on technology transfer and industrial relations, participants emphasized that the need for talented computer scientists presents an opportunity for universities and companies to work together to increase the number of people entering the field. It was also concluded that involving industry in the CS department, through curriculum advisory boards and CEO advisory boards, is a useful strategy in getting input from those in the field and making the needs of the department known to those in industry.

Distance Education was another hot topic. How might technological advancement enhance such programs and what are their benefits and cost? The Chair of a session discussing the IT revolution in education pointed out that many online, web-based offerings are available from universities, publishers, commercial firms, and corporations. In this session it was pointed out that students tend to prefer a joint online/lecture model (small talking head rather than just audio).

Similar opportunities in distance and continuing education in CS&E and software systems via web-based distance education were discussed in a workshop that featured the history and context of the Open University (OU) in the United Kingdom. Florida State University (FSU) and OU are collaborating in a program that includes 2 years of community college and 2 years of FSU/OU distance education, with community colleges providing local support. Computer science is the first discipline to implement this program, which will begin in fall 1999.

There is still speculation about such projects though. Concerns about examinations -- how do you know the remote student is "real?" -- and questions about the viability of the four-year residential college were raised.

Another major focus of the conference was computing research policy. In attendance at the conference and participating in some of the sessions were not only the new Director of NSF, but also Al Teich, AAAS, David Tennenhouse, DARPA, Sid Karin, NPACI & SDSC, Juris Hartmanis, NSF, John Cherniavsky, NSF, and Marjory Blumenthal and David Clark, CSTB.

A session on new directions for federal agencies covered NSF-CISE, DOE-ASCI, and DARPA. Speakers indicated that the budget outlook is good and that government wants to harness the expertise of the broad scientific community. Speakers emphasized the need for the community to line up behind the PITAC interim report (see article, page 1): the operative phrases were "it's the software, stupid," "many visions, one voice," and "no food fights."

The chair and executive director of CSTB updated its activities in a workshop that covered their functional themes, including research agenda-setting, reconciliation of government and private sector interests, and reaching out to new communities.

There is no doubt that the CRA Conference at Snowbird this year was a success! Further information about the individual workshops and plenaries, including slides from presentations, can be found on our website at http://www.cra.org/Activities/snowbird/