Dear CISE community,

I would like to dedicate this newsletter to sharing several important personnel updates within the U.S. National Science Foundation Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate (NSF CISE) leadership team.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Irina Dolinskaya as deputy assistant director for NSF CISE. Dolinskaya has served as deputy division director for the NSF Division of Computing and Communications Foundations since 2023 and brings a wealth of experience in strategic planning and interdisciplinary program design, having led efforts like Foundational Research in Robotics and partnering with the NSF Office of the Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy on launching the Trusted Research Using Safeguards and Transparency pilot for the quantum information, science and technology portfolio.

Wendy Nilsen has been appointed acting division director for the NSF Information and Intelligent Systems Division (NSF IIS). Nilsen has served as the deputy division director for NSF IIS since 2021 and previously held leadership roles across NSF and the National Institutes of Health. She brings cross-disciplinary expertise and a strong track record of building impactful research initiatives, including co-leading the multiagency Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science program. We are confident her thoughtful leadership will guide IIS through its next chapter.

We are also excited to announce the appointment of Erion Plaku as CISE senior advisor for AI. Plaku is currently a program director at IIS. He co-leads the NSF-led National AI Research Institutes program, serves on the NSF Robust Intelligence cluster, and co-chairs the AI steering committee and the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) AI R&D Interagency Working Group. Previously, he was a rotator in IIS, co-leading the Foundational Research in Robotics program and co-chairing the NITRD Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems group.

Finally, Michael Littman has concluded his service as division director for IIS and has returned to Brown University. We are deeply grateful for his visionary leadership, collaborative spirit and significant contributions to NSF and the CISE community. During his tenure, Littman led impactful efforts in AI research, education and cross-agency collaborations. He now takes on a role as Brown's first associate provost for AI. We congratulate him on this exciting next chapter and thank him for advancing NSF's mission with integrity and imagination.

Please join us in welcoming Dolinskaya, Nilsen and Plaku into their new roles and in extending our sincere thanks to Littman for his outstanding service to the CISE community.

In other news, a contingent from NSF will attend the upcoming 2025 Computing Research Association Summit, to be held in San Francisco at the end of July. We look forward to connecting with the community in person again. We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter, and please share it with your colleagues.

Ellen Zegura
NSF Acting Assistant Director                                                                            NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering 

News and updates

New AI model could revolutionize U.S manufacturing NSF-supported researchers developed a new AI model that sees inside a factory, understands what’s happening and suggests ways to solve problems, making manufacturing smarter, safer and more competitive.

AI that delivers smarter glucose predictions without compromising privacy. NSF-funded researchers use privacy-preserving AI to improve blood sugar predictions for diabetes patients, grouping users by eating habits and training models without sharing personal data, enhancing care while protecting privacy.

Training AI to see more like humans. NSF-funded researchers at Brown University are training AI to see more like humans by using an online game called Click Me. The project aligns AI vision with human perception, improving accuracy and reliability of AI systems.

TACC Showcases Growth and Impact of NSF LCCF Internship Cohort. The second cohort of interns at the NSF Leadership-Class Computing Facility showcased the value of NSF's investment in developing future high-performance computing talent. Over 20 weeks, interns received hands-on training with cutting-edge systems and software at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, gaining technical skills, research experience and professional development.

Liu's research expands, connects autonomous vehicle capabilities. Qiang Liu, assistant professor in the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, is leading NSF-supported research to enhance autonomous vehicle safety and performance by connecting vehicles to broader 5G-enabled networks, enabling real-time data sharing and adaptive collaboration.

Events

2025 Computing Research Association Summit. CISE Acting Assistant Director Ellen Zegura will join CRA members and computing research leaders from academia, industry and government to explore how AI is reshaping computing research, education, and workforce development. July 28-31, 2025. San Francisco, California.

CISE Units

Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS)
Supports research and education in computer systems and networks, hardware and software systems, future-generation computing and communication systems, cyber-physical systems, and secure and trustworthy cyberspace.

Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF)
Supports research and education in mathematical, scientific and technological foundations of computing communication, hardware, software, and emerging technologies.