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A Message from CISE Leadership
Dear colleagues,
In his original treatise, “Science the Endless Frontier,” which was instrumental to the formation of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Vannevar Bush wrote, “… without scientific progress no amount of achievement in other directions can insure our health, prosperity, and security as a nation in the modern world.” While much of our CISE-supported research contributes to prosperity and security, this month, I want to spotlight the critical role of computer science research in driving innovations and solutions that contribute to the health and well-being of our nation.
The CISE Directorate funds many types of pioneering research—often in collaboration with other directorates within NSF—that transforms and generates innovative technologies and approaches that support the wellbeing of our society. Computing technologies are a vital resource for scientists and researchers to harness data, model complex biological processes, and develop personalized interventions for diverse populations, including aging individuals and women. The impact of NSF-funded research on creating a healthier society is more significant now than ever. As we articulate this value, it is essential to emphasize the pivotal role computer and information sciences plays in advancing health.
I’d like to highlight three NSF CISE-funded programs that are revolutionizing health research:
- The NSF Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention (PIPP). This program addresses the critical need for innovation and preparedness in response to infectious diseases. This includes improving early detection methods, developing rapid diagnostic tests, and enhancing data analytics for outbreak prediction. NSF recently announced a new round of PIPP awards that will bring together the multidisciplinary research and training, technology and data, and sustained collaboration needed to tackle this grand challenge and develop effective mitigation and response activities.
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Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH). This program is a multidisciplinary partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). SCH, now in its 10th year, is designed to accelerate innovative research that bridges the gap between technological and biomedical research. A key component of this program is creating sustainable partnerships between computer scientists and biomedical researchers to ensure that research targets the most critical health questions and that biomedical researchers can take full advantage of the advances in computing and engineering.
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Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS). The CRCNS program is also a multidisciplinary program in partnerships with NIH and the Department of Energy and supports collaborative research and data sharing in computational neuroscience to enhance the understanding of brain function and disorders. By integrating computer science, neuroscience, and other disciplines, it accelerates insights into nervous system structure, function, and computational strategies.
Researchers funded by these and other programs within CISE’s portfolio are developing innovative technologies like non-invasive health monitoring systems, smart environments in healthcare, and AI-driven diagnostics, all of which are improving patient outcomes, enhancing healthcare efficiency and advancing precision medicine. If you are interested in learning more about specific projects funded by the SCH and CRCNS programs, we invite you to visit the SCH and CRCNS database.
CISE investments are transforming technology in ways that truly touch people's lives. As we push the boundaries of innovation, let's keep our focus on the heart of our mission—the meaningful impact we can have on the health and well-being of our communities.
We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.
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Greg Hager
Assistant Director for CISE
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Funding Opportunities and Deadlines
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Design for Environmental Sustainability in Computing.
Supports foundational research addressing the substantial environmental impacts of computing. Projects should surpass studies of energy efficiency alone, pursuing dramatic improvements to overall sustainability.
Full proposal deadlines:
September 13, 2024. Type I small projects and Type II large projects.
January 1 to December 31, 2024. Type III workshop projects.
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 NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program.
Aims to enhance the capacity and competitiveness of EPSCoR jurisdictions by providing funding to graduate degree-awarding institutions to support NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellows as they pursue graduate degrees.
Full proposal deadline:
October 2, 2024.
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 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education.
Full proposal deadline:
October 18, 2024, for computer and information science and engineering communities. Multiple deadlines for other fields.
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News & Announcements
NSF announced new grants to centers that will accelerate fundamental research and development activities to develop methods and tools for the prediction and mitigation of future pandemics.
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tion of NSF’s 75th anniversary, NSF is inviting K-12 students to participate in a video game design prize challenge. Under the theme, "Life in 2100," participants will delve into STEM concepts, explore NSF-supported research areas and compete for prizes. The competition is open until January 31, 2025.
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Rice University engineer Ashutosh Sabharwal will lead a research project that will significantly expand research capabilities and catalyze innovation in support of 6G wireless technology.
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From technology to materials science to medicine, AI is the hot topic branch of computer science focused on creating systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.
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Indiana University Professor of Music Peter Miksza has been using NSF-funded ACCESS allocations and Jetstream2 supercomputer to teach graduate students the connection between music and mathematics.
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Information science at the University of Pennsylvania, has won the 2024 Donald E. Knuth Prize for outstanding contributions to the foundations of computer science for his introduction of novel models of computation which provide the theoretical foundations for the analysis, design, synthesis, and verification of computer systems.
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Get more CISE News
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Events
"Mathematical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence Office Hours."
Join program officers from NSF's Mathematical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence Program to learn more about the solicitation.
August 29, 2024. 2:30-3:30 p.m., ET.
"Using AI to Better Understand Menopause."
This workshop will bring together researchers in the biomedical and advanced computing fields to promote interdisciplinary work targeted at the understudied area of menopause.
September 4, 2024. 9 a.m. – 5:15 p.m., ET.
"Office Hours for Future PIs: NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program."
Participants will learn more about the EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program and have an opportunity for questions and answers.
September 6, 2024. 11 a.m. - 12 p.m., ET.
"NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Initiative Office Hours."
Participants will learn about the NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Initiative project and have an opportunity for questions and answers.
September 10, 2024. 3-4 p.m., ET.
"Fall 2024 Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure (ACCI)."
The purpose of the ACCI is to advise NSF on the agency’s plans and programmatic strategies to develop and support a state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure that enables significant advances across all fields of science and engineering.
September 12-13, 2024. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., ET.
"NSF Workshop on Algorithm-Hardware Co-design for Medical Applications."
The workshop will be held at the University Club, University of Pittsburgh, located at 123 University Pl, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
September 26-27, 2024.
"28th NSF EPSCoR National Conference."
Join researchers, students, and staff from EPSCoR jurisdictions in Omaha, Nebraska to connect, collaborate and keep science flowing.
October 13-16, 2024. Omaha, NE.
"Exploring the Ethics and Societal Interactions of Climate Intervention."
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will be hosting a series of workshops in October and November 2024 on the ethical and social dynamics of climate intervention technologies.
October 15, 2024. 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., ET.
"Exploring the Ethics and Societal Interactions of Climate Intervention."
NSF is looking for social scientists, ethicists, natural and life scientists, and engineers to join the conversation on shaping the governance framework around climate change, focusing on solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal technologies.
November 18, 2024. 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., ET.
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Victor M. Lubecke, Ph.D., is a professor of electrical engineering the University of Hawaii, Manoa. His research interests include remote sensing and imaging technologies, biomedical sensors, animal tracking and monitoring, heterogeneous integration, and microwave/terahertz radio.
His innovative research has focused on the development of wireless sensing technologies, particularly in non-invasive health monitoring systems. He received a Master of Science and a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from Caltech, and a Bachelor of Science degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Prior to joining the University of Hawaii, Lubecke worked at Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, where his research focused on remote sensing and microelectromechanical systems for biomedical and industrial applications. Before that, he was with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory and RIKEN, where his research involved terahertz and MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) technologies for space remote sensing and communications. He has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications, holds eight U.S. patents, and co-founded two start-up companies. He is a Fellow of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fulbright Senior Scholar (Nis, Serbia), and an emeritus Distinguished Microwave Lecturer of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society.
Lubecke has received support from NSF to further advance his research. For example, he received an NSF Smart and Connected Health award to develop a radar-based measurement system that can autonomously assess sleep at home. This system uses advanced Doppler radar technology, combined with deep learning models, to provide non-invasive and personalized monitoring of sleep patterns, including the detection of apnea events and other sleep disorders. The research will contribute significantly to the fields of smart radar technology, big data analytics for personalized medicine, and sleep physiology.
Additionally, he is co-principal investigator in an NSF Cyber Physical Systems award to improve indoor environmental quality in healthcare facilities. By integrating biosensor technologies, deep-learning health data analytics, and user-centric control algorithms, the project aims to create environments that minimize stress and optimize performance, particularly in hospitals. The outcomes are expected to have significant societal impacts by improving patient healing, which could lead to better overall health and productivity, as well as economic benefits.
"NSF funding has been pivotal in advancing my career and research, allowing me to explore and develop cutting-edge wireless sensing technologies that address critical healthcare challenges, from non-invasive sleep monitoring to improving indoor environmental quality in hospitals. The support from NSF has enabled me to push the boundaries of innovation, contributing not only to the field of electrical engineering but also to the well-being of individuals and society as a whole,” Lubecke said.
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Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS)
Supports research and education on the interrelated roles of people, computers, and information to advance knowledge of artificial intelligence, data management, assistive technologies, and human-centered computing.
Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC)
Supports the conceptualization, design, implementation, and operation of research cyberinfrastructure to advance and transform research and education in science and engineering.
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