HPC in the News
PRACE Completes First Phase of Pre-Commercial Procurement
PRACE is pleased to announce that Phase I of its Pre-commercial Procurement (PCP) was completed on March 9, 2015. PRACE started this pre-commercial procurement (PCP) to obtain R&D services, which should result in future PRACE HPC systems to become more energy efficient. The process is highly competitive, and during Phase I the companies Bull, E4, Maxeler and Megware explored the various possible solutions. All of them have now been invited to bid for Phase II during which prototypes for the three most promising solutions will be built. This phase is expected to start in May 2015. To read further, please visit http://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/prace-completes-first-phase-of-pre-commercial-procurement/.
FY15 National Workforce Diversity Grant Pipeline Program
Submission Deadline – May 18, 2015
The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 3/17/2015. If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis. If you would like to receive notifications of changes to the grant opportunity click send me change notification emails. The only thing you need to provide for this service is your email address. No other information is requested. For more information, please visit http://www.grants.gov/view-opportunity.html?oppId=275242/
Summer Training Workshop in Bimolecular Simulations for Undergraduate and First-Year Graduate Students
June 21-26, 2015 – Caltech, Pasadena, California
Application Deadline - May 13, 2015.
The 2015 Summer Training Workshop in Bimolecular Simulations is an NSF-funded workshop that provides a hands-on opportunity for undergraduate students and first-year graduate students to learn both basic scientific computing practices and a wide variety of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation techniques. The scientific computing topics covered this year will include command line automation, data analysis with Python, and version control. The MD topics will span the basics of the entire simulation process from system setup to trajectory analysis, as well as more advanced topics including using polarizable force fields, parametrizing small molecules, and running simulations on GPUs. Throughout the workshop students will make use of XSEDE computing resources and learn best practices for operating in supercomputing environments. To encourage undergraduate participation this workshop has no registration fees, free lodging, and attendees’ travel costs will be partially reimbursed. For information, including how to apply, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/biomolsimstw.
Radio Free HPC Wraps up the 2015 GPU Technology Conference
In this episode, the Radio Free HPC team wraps up the GPU Technology Conference. The theme of the show this year was Deep Learning, a topic that is heating up the market for GPUs with challenges like image recognition and self-driving cars. As a sister conference, the OpenPOWER Summit this week in San Jose showcased the first OpenPower hardware, including a prototype HPC server from IBM that will pave the way to the two IBM/Nvidia/Mellanox Coral supercomputers expected in 2017. To read further, please visit http://insidehpc.com/.
XSEDE News from Partners and Friends’
OSU Open Notebook: Meetings of Minds, or, How to Talk to a Scientist
by Geoffrey Giller
Science writers need scientists. Scientists probably need writers a little bit less, but even so, this relationship is generally productive for everyone involved: Writers get a great story, scientists communicate their work to a broad audience, and readers learn about science. But tension can also creep into the working relationship between writers and scientists. A writer and scientist might have competing views on what aspect of the scientist’s research should be highlighted, for example. Scientists may try to retract or alter quotes after the fact. And sometimes writers get the story wrong, leaving scientists frustrated and distrustful of journalists in general.
I asked three scientists and three science writers to share their thoughts on the scientist-writer relationship and how to avoid these problems. Below is an edited version of the resulting email discussion, which covers how to prevent reporting mishaps (hint: don’t make assumptions), the pros and cons of allowing scientists to review quotes, and the key questions writers should ask. To read further, please visit http://www.theopennotebook.com/2015/03/17/meetings-of-minds-how-to-talk-to-a-scientist/.
Call for Papers and Participation
Call for Papers: International Conference on Health and Social
Care Information Systems and Technologies (HCist 2015)
October 7-9, 2015
- Algerve, Portugal
Submission Deadline – April 3, 2015
Final Submission Deadline - June 12, 2015
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit their manuscript electronically at the Conference webpage (http://hcist.scika.org) until April 3, 2015.
Submissions can be made as full papers, short papers, poster papers and industry papers, and must strictly follow the submission guidelines available at the conference website. Only original contributions will be accepted. Papers must not have been published before, and not be under review for any other conference or publication. Authors of selected papers will be invited to extend the paper for publication in international journals and in edited books. For more detailed information, please visit http://hcist.scika.org.
Call for Papers: 19th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Distributed Simulation and Real Time Applications
October 14- 16, 2015 - Chengdu, China
Submission Deadline: - May 29th, 2015
DS-RT provides an international forum for the discussion and presentation of original ideas, recent results and achievements by researchers, students, and systems developers on issues and challenges related to distributed simulation and real time applications. Authors are encouraged to submit both theoretical and practical results of significance. Demonstration of new tools/applications is very desirable. For complete information, please visit http://ds-rt.com/2015/.
Call for Papers: 1st European Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Computing Education for Undergraduate Students (Euro-EDUPAR) of Euro-Par 2015
August 24-28, 2015 - Vienna, Austria
Submission Deadline - May 22, 2015
Parallel and Distributed Computing (PDC) is nowadays omnipresent. It is in all the computational environments, from mobile devices, laptops and desktops to clusters of multicore nodes and supercomputers, comprising in most cases one or several coprocessors of different types (GPU, MIC, FPGA). In this context, it is vital to train new generations of scientists and engineers in the use of these computational systems, so parallelism topics must be incorporated in Computer Science (CS) and Computer Engineering (CE) programs. For submission guidelines, please visit http://www.cs.gsu.edu/~tcpp/curriculum/?q=Euro-EDUPAR.
Upcoming Conferences, Workshops and Webinars
Writing a Successful XSEDE Allocation Proposal
March 25, 2015 – 10:00am PT, 12:00pm CT, 1:00pm ET
This short webinar will introduce users to the process of writing an XSEDE allocation proposal, and cover the elements that make a proposal successful. This webinar is recommended for users making the jump from a startup allocation to a research allocation, and is highly recommended for new campus champions.
Registration: https://www.xsede.org/web/xup/course-calendar/-/training-user/class/379/session/637
Please submit any questions you may have via the Consulting section of the XSEDE User Portal. https://portal.xsede.org/help-desk.
SDSC’s Predictive Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE) Data Analytics Bootcamps
Series 1 - April 15-16, 2015
Series 2 - April 29-30, 2015
Registration is open for SDSC’s Predictive Analytics Center of Excellence (PACE)
April series of vendor-neutral Data Mining Boot Camps. Every class is taught by SDSC data scientists with more than a decade of experience
in delivering practical, hands-on training in an intimate classroom setting limited to 25 participants. You will ––
* Understand how to organize, validate, analyze & visualize your data
* Learn how to apply your new knowledge to your day-to-day operations
* Learn how to ask the right questions of your data regardless of size
* Comprehend the advantages and limitations of predictive analytics
For more information: Paceinfo@pace.sdsc.edu * 858.534.8321 * pace.sdsc.edu.
Graph Analytics Boot Camp
April 23, 2015 – La Jolla, California
The San Diego Supercomputer Center
The Graph Analytics Course offers a broad overview as well as insight into specific analytical techniques. We introduce how to model a problem into a graph database and perform analytical tasks over it in a scalable manner. Based on a fully worked-out use case, the course provides a comprehensive understanding of how to apply graph analytics to your applications. Registration and details can be found at https://www.etouches.com/ehome/120305.
1st European Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Computing Education for Undergraduate Students (Euro-EDUPAR) of Euro-Par 2015
August 24-28, 2015 - Vienna, Austria
Euro-Par is the prime European conference covering all aspects of parallel and distributed processing, ranging from theory to practice, from small to the largest parallel and distributed systems and infrastructures, from fundamental computational problems to full-fledged applications, from architecture, compiler, language and interface design and implementation, to tools, support infrastructures, and application performance aspects. Euro-Par’s unique organization into topics provides an excellent forum for focused technical discussion, as well as interaction with a large, broad and diverse audience. For complete information, please visit http://www.europar2015.org/.
11th IEEE International Conference on e-Science
August 31- September 4, 2015 – Munich, Germany
The ways scientific research is conducted and its results are taken up are undergoing radical changes as a result of the digital revolution. Researchers in all disciplines are increasingly adopting digital tools, techniques and practices in communities and projects that span multiple disciplines, laboratories, organizations, and national boundaries. The e-Science 2015 conference is designed to bring together leading international and interdisciplinary research communities, developers, and users of e-Science applications and enabling IT technologies. The conference aims to serve as a forum to present recent research advances in e-Science and highlight associated activities worldwide, providing an outlook of challenges and opportunities we will face in the future. For complete information, please visit http://escience2015.mnm-team.org/.
19th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Distributed Simulation and Real Time Applications
October 14- 16, 2015 - Chengdu, China
In its nineteenth year, the 2015 IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Distributed Simulation and Real Time Applications (DS-RT 2015) will take place in Chengdu, China. DS-RT 2015 serves as a forum for simulations from academia, industry and research labs, for presenting recent research results in Distributed Simulation and Real Time Applications. DS-RT 2015 targets the growing overlap between large distributed simulations and real time applications, such as collaborative virtual environments, pervasive and ubiquitous application scenarios, motor-, controller-, sensor- and actuator systems. The conference features prominent invited speakers as well as papers by top researchers in the field. DS-RT 2015 will include contributed technical papers, invited papers, and panel discussions. The proceedings will be published by IEEE-CS press. For complete information, please visit http://ds-rt.com/2015/.
Research News From Around the World
Life, Through the Details: PSC, Johns Hopkins Computer Model Saving Lives through Details of Vaccine Supply
Rotavirus is a killer of children in much of the world. About half a million kids die of rotavirus-caused diarrhea every year, particularly in Africa and South Asia. It’s a big reason diarrhea is the third leading cause of child deaths worldwide and why introducing rotavirus vaccine to many countries is so important. Introducing lifesaving vaccines such as the one for rotavirus immunization could save millions of children’s lives. It’s an obvious international public health goal. But these vaccines have to get to children to help them. In countries that don’t have an extra penny to spare, a new vaccine could easily overburden the system, crashing distribution of other vaccines and increasing sickness, suffering and death. To save lives with a new vaccine, you have to work out all the details. To read further, please visit http://www.psc.edu/index.php/life-though-the-details. the state-of-the-art in high-performance computing,
communications and data analytics.
PSC to Build Early Warning Tool for Fixing Internet Traffic Jams
$300,000 National Science Foundation Grant Will Use Web10G Data to Warn Users, Administrators for Proactive Repair of Slow Data Flow
A new, $300,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant will enable software engineers at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) to build the first practical tool for warning individual users and their network administrators when their connection has developed a problem that will slow or halt data flow. The one-year project will build a tool called XSight, intended to become a standard part of the toolbox for maintaining network connections for all operating systems. XSight will build on PSC’s Web10G, a set of software tools for obtaining connection data. To read further, please visit http://www.psc.edu/index.php/news-and-media/press-releases.
At TACC, Supercomputers, Statistical Software, and Science: Bridging the Gap to Study Plant Adaptation
With concern about climate change growing, understanding how plants adapt to their environment has become an important focus for research. Which genes govern drought resistance? Which genes respond to weather and climate conditions? A recent study relied on programming by Weijia Xu, group leader for the data mining and statistics group at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), US, to suggest gene expression plays a significant role in a plant’s adaptation to local climate. To arrive at this conclusion, the authors of the study looked at Arabidopsis thaliana, an edible mustard green popular with geneticists because of its relatively small genome — about 25,000 genes. The study’s scientists compared their data with over 1,000 previously gathered Arabidopsis thaliana strains, seeking a single letter among nearly 100 million DNA base pairs. Too read further, please visit http://www.isgtw.org/feature/supercomputers-statistical-software-and-science-bridging-gap-study-plant-adaptation-0.
SDSC Researchers Win NVIDIA’s 2015 Global Impact Award
Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, are the recipient of NVIDIA’s 2015 Global Impact Award for their collaborative work in developing an accelerated GPU (graphics processing unit) code to simulate earthquake physics necessary for safer building design. Computational Scientist Yifeng Cui and his team, working in collaboration with the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), developed the code to create highly detailed simulations of high-frequency seismic waves in the range of 0-10 Hertz as they propagate through the earth. To read further, please visit http://www.sdsc.edu/News%20Items/PR20150317_nvidia_award.html.
XSEDE Partners Among 18 Universities Produce Half of U.S. and Canada's Computer Science Professors
Researchers at Harvard University and the University of Colorado, Boulder analyzed 16,316 assistant, associate, and full professors across 242 schools in the U.S. and Canada between 2011 and 2013 and found about 25 percent of the institutions accounted for about 75 percent of tenure-track faculty. The purpose was to create a ranking system of the most prestigious schools in each subject, based on how successful their graduates were in finding jobs in academia. The researchers found 18 universities produce 50 percent of Canadian and U.S. computer science professors. The top 10 computer science schools are Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology, Harvard, Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, Princeton University, Yale University, and the University of Washington. The study also found 82 percent of doctoral graduates are hired by less prestigious universities than the one they attended. To read further, please visit http://qz.com/343521/18-universities-produce-half-of-us-and-canadas-computer-science-professors/.
Researcher Receives $1 Million NSF Grant to Devise New Supercomputing Model
Texas Tech University professor Yong Chen has received a $1-million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to create a faster and improved method for supercomputing. Chen will lead a team of researchers to develop a new concept called "compute on data path" that seeks to achieve data-centric computing. The approach would assimilate and analyze more and different types of data used in scientific discovery and do so all at once. "This is more how an investigation to see whether a new concept is feasible and whether a change can be made to the current software stack to make it a more data-centric way to have significantly better productivity in scientific discovery," Chen says. To read further, please visit http://today.ttu.edu/posts/2015/02/researcher-receives-1-million-nsf-grant-to-devise-new-supercomputing-model.
Missouri State University Smartphone App Tracks Students' Class Attendance Automatically
Facial-recognition algorithms power a new smartphone app that will enable college instructors to take classroom attendance more effectively and efficiently. Students will no longer be able to sign in for a friend who did not make it to class, says Missouri University of Science & Technology professor Zhaozheng Yin. The app works by moving the smartphone in a sweeping motion across the room and taking a few seconds of video to capture all students present. The initial video is stored and then is used to compare subsequent classes, enabling the app to automatically record attendance. Yin developed the original facial-recognition algorithms with student Xunxiang Mao. To read further, please visit http://news.mst.edu/2015/02/smartphone-app-tracks-students-class-attendance-automatically/.
Educator News and Opportunities
Web Development Bootcamp this Summer
HTML5 / CSS3: May 25- 29, 2015 - Fresno, California
JavaScript: June 1- June 19, 2015 - Fresno, California
Web Components: June 22- 26, 2015 - Fresno, California
Polymer: June 29 - July 3, 2015 - Fresno, California
Google App Engine, Google Cloud Storage: July 6- July 31, 2015 - Fresno, California
Dennis Mohle, the Information and Communication Technologies and Digital Media Sector Navigator for the Central Valley Region has announced high school teachers from throughout California are welcome to attend the first ever Web Development Bootcamp hosted at Fresno City College. Grow your knowledge in the latest Web Technologies. The Bootcamp will have five outstanding trainers from around the world who are not only passionate about what they do, but are also experts in their field. There is no cost to attend the workshops that are available during the months of May, June and July. There is also limited travel support available. Please contact Dennis at dennis.mohle@fresnocitycollege.edu if you are interested in participating.
The National Science Teachers Association Supports Business Partnerships for Schools
Partnerships between the private sector and education have the ability to leverage a unique set of resources, talent, involvement, and know-how from each partner that can maximize collective efforts. In this two part series on school-business partnerships, we asked the same set of questions of Dr. David Evans, NSTA Executive Director and Blair Blackwell, Manager of Education and Corporate Programs at Chevron Corporation. Today's answers come from Dr. David Evans, offering the educator's perspective. Tuesday we will post Blair Blackwell's answers, sharing the perspective from the business side. To read further, please visit http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/leadership_360/2015/03/what_does_nsta_have_to_say_about_schools_partnering_with_business.html.
New Game Shuffles the Pack of Top Female Scientists
Do you know why Dorothy Hill or Rosalind Franklin are considered pioneers in their fields? Ever wondered who left the greatest legacy - Ada Lovelace or Marie Curie? The answers could be resolved in a new game, created by students at the University of Exeter. Hannah Wakeford and Simon Clark have devised a card game that pits some of history’s greatest female scientists against each other over a series of specialist categories. The ‘Top Female Scientist card game’ features 32 of the most celebrated and distinguished names in math, natural sciences, physics, chemistry and biology. By comparing the scientists for their innovation, impact, obscurity and ‘badassery’, the goal of the game is to determine who can be considered the ultimate female scientist of all time. The thought-provoking game is available free to download for secondary schools across the country. To download and begin paying, please visit http://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_436314_en.html.
NSF 2015 Teaching and Learning Video Showcase: Improving Science, Math, Engineering, and Computer Science Education (Interactive Online Event)
May 11-15, 2015
This online event will showcase cutting-edge NSF-funded work to improve teaching and learning and will allow colleagues affiliated with the CS10K Community, MSPnet, CADRE, CIRCL, CAISE, STELAR, and ARC to view, discuss, and comment on each others’ videos. It will also provide an opportunity for project members to promote their efforts with researchers, developers, educators, funders, professional association networks, and industry representatives—helping NSF achieve its strategic goal of broad dissemination of innovative work to the public at large. For more information, please visit http://cs10kcommunity.org/blog/join-us-nsf-2015-teaching-and-learning-video-showcase?utm_source=CS10K+Community+Newsletter&utm_campaign=37924a50fb-NSF_2015_Video_Showcase_Email_13_17_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8831b7d6f9-37924a50fb-323524093. To view the video showcase, please visit http://resourcecenters2015.videohall.com/.
Your Kid¹s School Is Missing the Tech Revolution, and It¹s All Your Fault
Wired
A few months ago, I got an email from a parent at my son’s San Francisco public school, asking if I was familiar with an app called Pencil. It seems that this was a messaging app designed for teachers to communicate with students and their families, and our principal had grown enamored of it. (I’ve since moved, and left the school.) But this parent wasn’t so sure. The company was a young one, venture-backed, and she didn’t know whether it made sense to entrust vital communications to such an untested firm. She had worked in startups before, and she knew how cavalier they could be with data. “You know how they work,” she said. “You’ve got contractors coming in and out, and they all have access to the database. It’s not very secure.” To continue reading, please visit http://www.wired.com/2015/02/kids-school-missing-tech-revolution-fault/.
Student Engagement and Opportunities
White House Seeks Tech-Savvy 'Innovation Fellows'
Application Deadline – Rolling Basis
The White House is recruiting its fourth class of Presidential Innovation Fellows to spend a year working on government technology challenges such as improving access to education, improving business opportunities for entrepreneurs, preparing for the effects of climate change, and improving health care. The program aims to use the technology expertise of people working in the private sector to help the government improve its programs. "These are folks with technical acumen but [who] also are looking for ways to hack policy and bureaucracy, and break down initiatives into things that are doable today," says Presidential Innovation Fellows program director Garren Givens. Government agencies support the program by paying the fellows' salaries and developing ideas for projects. For complete information, please visit http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-federal-workplace-fellows-20150220-story.html.
NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins Visits San Diego and the Festival of Science and Engineering
Biocom teamed with UCSD and CHI in bringing NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, to UCSD's Telemedicine Learning Center for an open town hall meeting. Before the town hall, Dr. Collins met with students in the Medical Scientist Training Program of the Medical School, and then sat down for a brief roundtable discussion. Conversation topics included workforce development, NIH funding, and the 21st Century Cures Initiative, a federal bill aimed at improving our innovation ecosystem through reforms of the FDA, NIH, and CMS. Toward this end, the NIH has hired former UCSD researcher Dr. Philip Bourne to lead its initiative on "big data." Dr. Collins cited San Diego's importance in the important fields of big data management, personalized medicine, and the BRAIN Initiative, just to name a few. He also espoused his support for matching a trained workforce with growing demand, and finding ways to allow investigators to become independent earlier; the average age of someone entering the workforce after post-doctoral work is currently 42. To continue reading, please visit https://biocom.org/bcq/current_issue/cover_story/#4085.
Research Data Alliance/US Call for Fellows Fellowship Applications Deadline - April 16, 2015
Award Notifications - May 1, 2015
June 18-19, 2015 Fellowship Orientation Begins – Bloomington, Indiana
The Research Data Alliance (RDA)/US invites applications for its newly redesigned fellowship program. The program¹s goal is to engage early career researchers in the US in the Research Data Alliance (RDA), a dynamic and young global organization that seeks to eliminate the technical and social barriers to research data sharing. The successful Fellow will engage in the RDA through a 12-18 month project under the guidance of a mentor from the RDA community. The project is carried out within the context of an RDA Working Group (WG), Interest Group (IG), or Coordination Group (i.e., Technical Advisory Board), and is expected to have mutual benefit to both Fellow and the group¹s goals. Fellows receive a stipend and travel support and must be currently employed or appointed at a US institution. To apply: Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume/curriculum vitae and a 300-500 word statement that briefly describes their education, interests in data issues, and career goals to datashare-inquiry-l@list.indiana.edu. Be sure to browse the website by visiting https://rd-alliance.org/.
Student Opportunity with U.S. Geological Survey (Scientific Programmer)
Application Deadline – April 3, 2015
The USGS Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center is seeking a scientific programmer to help develop and implement numerical algorithms for geophysical data processing and uncertainty quantification. Completion of a bachelors or masters degree in computer science, geophysics, applied mathematics, or related field is required and background knowledge of geophysics and geophysical data processing is desired. Applicant must be a current student or recent graduate (within 1 year) and be able to work in the Denver metro area. Complete information can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=6931807&type=member&item=5984686855134662657&goback=.gna_6931807. Please submit a cover letter, resume and unofficial transcript to Janice Gordon,
janicegordon@usgs.gov.
2015 PSC MARC Summer Institute Workshop & Internship
Application Deadline – March 22, 2015
The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center MARC program is accepting applicants for the 2015 Bioinformatics Summer Institute workshop and internship program from qualified undergraduates. This year's internship program will run from June 1st through July 31st while the workshop will run from June 8th through the 19th. Additional information for the programs as well as the tentative Summer Institute workshop agenda is available at https://biou.psc.edu/docs/training.html. The online application forms for the programs are available at https://biou.psc.edu/signup.
The Ohio Supercomputer Center Summer Institute for High School Students
June 14-26, 2015 - Ohio Supercomputer Center, Columbus, Ohio
Application Deadline - April 21, 2015
The OSC Summer Institute is a two-week residential program that gives gifted Ohio high school students entering their sophomore, junior or senior year project-based, hands-on learning. Working in small peer teams, the students use supercomputers for practical applications such as solving complex science and engineering problems, conducting network forensics to catch hackers, studying the spread of the bird flu and designing computer games. For complete information, please visit https://www.osc.edu/education/si.
The Ohio Supercomputer Center Young Women's Summer Institute for Middle School Girls (YWSI)
June 19-25, 2015 - Ohio Supercomputer Center, Columbus, Ohio
Application Deadline - April 21, 2015
Young Women’s Summer Institute (YWSI) is a weeklong program sponsored by Ohio Supercomputer Center for middle-school girls in Ohio. It is designed to promote computer, math, science and engineering skills as well as provide hands-on experiences. YWSI helps girls develop an interest in these subjects by allowing them to work on a practical, interesting scientific problem using the latest computer technology. YWSI is designed to encourage girls’ interest in math, science and engineering and improve their participation in science, engineering and technology fields, and in particular, information technology. YWSI introduces girls to exciting careers and job opportunities. For complete information, please visit https://www.osc.edu/education/ywsihttps://www.
Faculty Opportunities
Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
Includes the description of NSF Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply. For more information, please visit http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15555/nsf15555.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click.
Computational Science News of Interest
Top 10 Big Data and Analytics Predictions for 2015
HPCAsia
Forrester’s forecast that Hadoop will become an “enterprise priority” in the next 12 months, International Data corp. has just gazed into its own
crystal ball, and sees a future where spending on Big Data analytics is set to grow three times faster in 2015. Here’s our prediction of Top 10 Big Data and Analytics trends for 2015:
1. Rise of Chief Data Officer and Data Scientists positions
2. Cloud Computing and Cloud Data Warehouse will grow adoption
3. Data Visualization tools will become very popular with business users with advanced visualization capabilities
4. Data Integration Hub at most large and mid-scale enterprise will expand to include unstructured data and incorporate advanced and predictive analytics using machine learning and advanced capabilities such as Watson
5. Integration with Enterprise Mobile Apps and Big data technology on the rise
To read further and discover the additional five predictions, please visit http://hpc-asia.com/guest-article-top-10-big-data-analytics-predictions-2015/.
The Four Main Roadblocks Holding Up Self-Driving Cars
New Scientist
There are four major obstacles facing developers of autonomous vehicles. First, the transition between human and software control is a big challenge in automating all kinds of processes. Human-robot interaction is difficult and the ability to do tests in this area is limited by the number of robots already performing real-world tasks. One possible solution is to make driving systems completely autonomous, which already has occurred in self-driving trains. Another problem facing autonomous vehicle developers is the weather, as modern machine-vision systems that use ordinary cameras cannot see as well in wet and misty conditions, which hinders the cars' navigation software. Equipping cars with a wider array of sensors, as well as embedding sensors into the environment, will help advance the technology. Security also is a major concern for autonomous vehicle developers. Car companies will thoroughly examine their software, but they will still have problems, and when issues arise, companies will need to fix them as fast as possible. Autonomous vehicle software also should require minimal effort on the part of the user. Finally, there are legal and personal issues, as manufacturers will have to show the cars are at least as safe as conventional vehicles. To read further, please visit http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530082.100-the-four-main-roadblocks-holding-up-selfdriving-cars.html#.VQ8TEGZqaLp.
Social Media and HPC
CS+Social Good Looks to Consolidate Student Activism in Computer Science
Stanford Daisy
Some Stanford University computer science students have formed CS + Social Good to understand the applications of computer science (CS) in a socially relevant way. Although CS + Social Good is not yet recognized as an official student organization by the university, its board hopes it will become official in the spring. For now, the group has been focused on gauging campus interest and connecting computer science students who are involved in social justice. "The idea behind the group is simply to motivate people to do projects that are socially relevant," says CS + Social Good co-president Manu Chopra. CS + Social Good is working toward its goals by creating a community of people who are interested in the topic. The group also wants to involve members of the community who are not studying computer science. To continue reading, please visit http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/02/19/computer-science-is-the-most-popular-major-at-stanford-with-hundreds-of-students-choosing-it-as-a-major-or-creating-new-apps-and-start-ups-some-cs-students-however-see-the-tech-culture-on-campus-a/.
With Google Glass App Developed at UCLA, Scientists Can Analyze Plants' Health in Seconds
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers have developed a Google Glass application that enables the wearer to quickly analyze the health of a plant without damaging it. The app analyzes the concentration of chlorophyll, which indicates water, soil, and air quality. Conventional methods for measuring chlorophyll concentration involve removing some of the plant's leaves, dissolving them in a chemical solvent, and then performing the chemical analysis. With the new Google Glass app, leaves are examined and then left functional and intact. The system relies on an image captured by the Google Glass camera to measure the chlorophyll's light absorption in the green part of the optical spectrum. The system also has a handheld illuminator unit that can be produced using three-dimensional printing. To read further, please visit http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/with-google-glass-and-app-developed-at-ucla-scientists-can-analyze-plants-health-in-seconds.
