What’s New in CISE: Status Report and Reflections Gregory R. Andrews Professor, Computer Science, Univ. of Arizona Former Division Director, Computer and Network Systems, National Science Foundation February 2005

2 Outline NSF context The CISE Directorate Programs, trends, and plans Reflections and lessons learned

3 National Science Foundation (NSF) Created in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes” Roles –Support basic research –Train the next generation –Educate the public –Advise the government on science policy

4 Federal Support for Research National Science Foundation (NSF) –Curiosity-driven basic research –Long term National Institutes of Health (NIH) –Use-inspired basic research –Long term Mission Agencies: DARPA, DOE, NASA, etc. –Applied research –Shorter term

5 Pasteur’s Quadrant Basic research (Bohr) NSF 1950 … 2005 Use-inspired basic research (Pasteur) NIH Applied research (Edison) Mission Agencies

6 NSF Organization Administrative Offices

7 NSF Crosscutting Initiatives for 2005 Biocomplexity in the Environment Nanoscale Science and Engineering Mathematical Sciences Human and Social Dynamics Information Technology Research - ended as an initiative in 2004

8 Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Created in 1985 (out of MPS) –Three research divisions –Two infrastructure divisions: supercomputing and networking –Office of cross-disciplinary activities Minor reorganization in 1997 –5 Divisions: CCR, EIA, IIS, ACIR, ANIR Major reorganization in 2003 –4 Divisions: CCF, CNS, IIS, SCI

9 CISE Responsibilities Support basic research and education in computer and information science and engineering Support a shared cyberinfrastructure for all of science and engineering

10 New CISE Organization

11 Key Concept: Cluster Comprehensive activity in a coherent area of research and education Team of program officers and staff working closely with the community Initially: group of existing programs By end of FY05: one program per cluster

12 Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) Formal and Mathematical Foundations –Computer science theory; numerical computing; computational algebra and geometry; signal processing and communication Foundations of Computing Processes and Artifacts –Software engineering; software tools for HPC; programming languages; compilers; computer architecture; graphics and visualization Emerging Models for Technology and Computation –Computational biology; quantum computing; nano-scale computing; biologically inspired computing

13 CCF Competitions FY 2004 –Responsible for about 2030 proposals –Heavy mortgages and NSF-wide commitments –Decent success rates for CAREER (15%) but terrible success rates for clusters (6%) FY 2005 –Theoretical Foundations: January 2005 –Emerging Models for Technology and Computation: February 2005 –Foundations of Computing Processes and Artifacts: May 2005 with awards in fall from FY 2006 budget FY 2006 and 2007 –Possibly no competitions in FY 2006 –Fall deadlines for all three clusters in FY 2007

14 Computer and Network Systems (CNS) Computer Systems –Distributed systems; embedded and hybrid systems; next- generation software; parallel systems Network Systems –Networking research broadly defined plus focus areas in programmable wireless networks and networks of sensor systems Computing Research Infrastructure –Research infrastructure; minority institutional infrastructure; research resources Education and Workforce –Curriculum development/educational innovation; IT workforce; special projects; cross-directorate activities (e.g., REU sites)

15 CNS Competitions FY 2004 –Responsible for about 2035 proposals –Good success rates for CAREER and infrastructure (30%) –Fair success rates for research programs (18-20%) FY 2005 — One solicitation per cluster –Computer Systems: November 2004 –Network Systems: January 2005 –Computing Research Infrastructure: July 2005 –Education and Workforce: Education with research programs; workforce subsumed by Broadening Participation emphasis area FY 2006 –Same deadlines as in FY 2005, but Networking in December

16 Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) Systems in Context –Human computer interaction; educational technology; robotics; computer-supported cooperative work; digital government Understanding, Inference, and Data –Databases; artificial intelligence; text, image, speech, and video analysis; information retrieval; knowledge systems Science & Engineering Informatics/Information Integration –Bioinformatics; geoinformatics; cognitive neuroscience; data-driven science

17 IIS Competitions FY 2004 –Responsible for about 2590 proposals –Success rates 17% CAREER, 6% regular. FY 2005 –Raise success rate of 2004 to 12-15% –Science & Engineering Informatics/Information Integration and Universal Access: December 2004 –Data, Inference, and Understanding and Systems in Context: May 2005 with awards in fall from FY 2006 funds FY 2006 –Same deadlines as in FY 2005

18 Shared Cyberinfrastructure (SCI) Cyberinfrastructure: computational engines, storage, networking, data, sensors, software, and services to support advances in science and engineering Infrastructure Deployment –Planning, construction, commissioning, and operations Infrastructure Development –Creating, testing, and hardening next-generation deployed systems

19 History of NSF CI Investments

20 SCI Competitions FY 2004 –Core funding for the PACI centers and expansion of the Extensible Terascale Facility (ETF) –NSF Middleware Initiative (NMI): 141 proposals; 20 awards –International Network Connections: recently decided FY 2005 –Continuing support for PACI and ETF –Cyberinfrastructure Teaching, Education, Advancement, and Mentoring (CI-TEAM): Spring 2005 –NSF Middleware Initiative (NMI): Spring 2005 –Leveraging and coordinating shared and domain-specific cyberinfrastructure with other agencies and directorates

21 Key Concept: Emphasis Area Focused area of research that cuts across clusters and divisions Addresses a scientific and/or national priority Has program announcement and funds

22 FY 2004 Emphasis Areas Cyber Trust –Develop computing systems that operate securely and protect sensitive information –Received 488 proposals; made 50 awards; got $5M in co- funding from DARPA Information Integration –Integrate and “mine” large data repositories to support data- driven science –Received 238 proposals; made 33 awards Science of Design –Develop a body of theoretical and empirical knowledge to facilitate creation of a science of software design –Received 182 proposals; made 24 awards

23 FY 2005 Emphasis Areas Information Integration: December 2004 Cyber Trust: February 2005 Science of Design: Spring 2005 Broadening Participation: June 2005 –Support alliances and projects that have the potential significantly to increase the number of underrepresented students achieving college and graduate degrees Probably one more on High-End Computing

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27 CISE FY 2005 Budget Request ($M) CISE Budget LinesFY 2005 CCF$91.41 CNS$ IIS$92.54 SCI$ ITR (cross-CISE) $ CISE Total$618.05

28 Reflections on Being at NSF My Duties –Represent CISE in NSF and Interagency settings –Help set CISE directions and policies –Manage the development and execution of CNS programs and budget –Manage CNS staff: scientific and administrative Program Officer Duties –Represent their discipline within CISE and NSF –Interact with community to get input and provide advice –Help define directions for their area of research –Manage competitions: core and cross-disciplinary

29 General Observations Science Policy and Government Agencies –There are lots of smart, hardworking government employees –Each agency, including Congress, has its own point of view and its own agenda –Budget size matters National Science Foundation –Widely respected throughout government, for good reason –There is an institutional ethic to provide service to the scientific community –It’s lots more fun when the budget is rising (2003) than when it is falling (2004 and 2005)

30 General Observations II CISE Directorate –The importance of CISE is recognized within NSF –Funding decisions truly are guided by NSF’s dual roles: Supporting good science Training the next generation—throughout the country –The rapid increase in proposals has put CISE under tremendous pressure The scientific staff is overworked The peer review process is at the breaking point –Despite the above, panels and program officers are making good recommendations –However, few projects are adequately funded and lots of really good work is not getting funded

31 Advice Attributes of winning proposals –Address important problem and have novel idea(s) –Well written project description, good technical depth, know the related work –Address broader impacts and describe (own) prior work — and read the proposal submission instructions! Interact with program officers –Get feedback on proposals, ask for advice, provide input –Volunteer to be a reviewer Consider working at NSF at some point

32 Conclusion NSF’s role is fundamental to all areas of society — the most basic future investment Computer science and related disciplines are hugely important in their own right and essential to advancement in all areas of S&E NSF and our field are facing unprecedented pressures that can only be overcome by concerted, cooperative action

33 Further Information CISE Web site: Computing Research News bimonthly columns: Contact: