News and Information for the Broad EOT Community
Upcoming Conferences and Workshops
Grace Hopper Annual Conference
November 9-12, 2011 – Portland, Oregon
The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is a series of conferences designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Presenters are leaders in their respective fields, representing industrial, academic and government communities. Leading researchers present their current work, while special sessions focus on the role of women in today’s technology fields, including computer science, information technology, research and engineering. For more information, to view the agenda at a glance, and to register, please visit http://gracehopper.org/2011/.
SC11
November 12-18, 2011 – Seattle, Washington
SC11 will feature the latest scientific and technical innovations from around the world. Bringing together
scientists, engineers, researchers, educators, programmers, system administrators and managers, The conference will be the forum for demonstrating how these developments are driving new ideas, new discoveries and
new industries. The SC11 thrust is Data Intensive Science; the theme is Connecting Communities; and the technical program focus is on sustained performance. For more information and to register, please visit http://sc11.supercomputing.org/.
Research News and Announcements
Purdue University Researcher Predicts Internet Risks Will Drive Users Offline
The untrustworthy environment that has developed due to researchers' focus on securing legacy information technology architectures instead of developing secure technology will drive users offline, warns Purdue University professor Eugene Spafford. "We will reach a tipping point where we won't do online business because it isn't trustworthy enough," Spafford says. Security research is being held back by the need to keep virus-infected systems operating, which diverts resources from the vital task of discovering and developing better ways to do hardware and software, according to Spafford. There should be a system that would do for computer users what the U.S. Agriculture Department's Cooperative Extension System does for farmers, he says. Researchers are devoting all of their energy to finding and exploiting vulnerabilities, instead of fixing them or replacing infected devices, which puts security at a disadvantage. "As a field, we have become an arm of industry rather than of research," Spafford says. To read further, please visit http://gcn.com/articles/2011/10/03/purdue-spafford-sidebar.aspx.
Rice University Partners to Create Low-Cost Electronic Tablet for Indian Classrooms
Researchers at Rice and Nanyang Technological universities, working at the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID), are preparing for full-scale production of the low-cost I-slate electronic tablet. The I-slate, an electronic version of the handheld blackboard slates used by millions of Indian children, will eventually be solar-powered for use in classrooms that lack electricity. It is expected to cost less than $50. "Our study clearly shows the I-slate is an effective learning tool for all students, regardless of their learning ability," says ISAID director Krishna Palem. To read further, please visit http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=16258&SnID=1142525090.
SDSC Announces Scalable, High-Performance Data Storage Cloud
The San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, today announced the launch of what is believed to be the largest academic-based cloud storage system in the U.S., specifically designed for researchers, students, academics, and industry users who require stable, secure, and cost-effective storage and sharing of digital information, including extremely large data sets. “We believe that the SDSC Cloud may well revolutionize how data is preserved and shared among researchers, especially massive datasets that are becoming more prevalent in this new era of data-intensive research and computing,” said Michael Norman, director of SDSC. To read further, please visit http://www.sdsc.edu/News%20Items/PR092211_sdsccloud.html.
Campus Champions
Campus Champions Add Their 100th Champion
On August 29, 2011, Thomas Hauser and Jazcek Braden of the University of Colorado became the most recent Campus Champions to join a long and distinguished list of 98 other Champions. Who are Campus Champions? Campus Champions are campus representatives who serve as a local source of knowledge about high-performance and high-throughput computing and other digital services, opportunities and resources offered through XSEDE. This knowledge and assistance empowers campus researchers, educators, and students to advance scientific discovery. To find out more, please visit https://www.xsede.org/campus-champions.
Educator Programs and Curriculum
2012 Space Exploration Educators Conference
February 2-4, 2011 – Space Center Houston
Make plans to attend the 18th Annual Space Exploration Educators Conference!
This conference is for all K-12 educators. Activities presented use space-related themes to teach across the curriculum and can be used for science, language arts,
mathematics, history and more. Attend sessions hosted by scientists and engineers working on the International Space Station, Mars exploration and the planets beyond. Hear from astronauts who will be leading the charge in exploration. Attend
sessions presented by educators and receive ready-to-implement classroom
ideas. Attendees can earn up to 24 hours of continuing professional
education credit. For more information, please visit http://spacecenter.org/TeachersSEEC.html.
CSEdWeek
December 4-10, 2011
Today’s students have the opportunity to change the world if they have access to rigorous computer science education, which teaches the skills necessary not only to succeed in our information driven world but also to engage in some of the most challenging scientific issues. Computer Science Education Week is a call to action to share information and offer activities that will advocate for computing and elevate computer science education for students at all levels. Everyone can participate! For more information, please visit http://www.csedweek.org/.
K-12 Computing Teacher Workshop
November 11-12, 2011 – Portland, Oregon
The 2011 K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop will be held at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference (GHC). The K-12 workshop is hosted in Partnership with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) and will be the third K-12 teachers workshop held at the GHC. For more information and to view the workshop agenda, please visit
http://gracehopper.org/2011/k-12-computing-teachers-workshop/agenda/
Student Engagement and Opportunities
NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for US Graduate Students
2012 Application Process Now Open!
Application Deadline – November 9, 2011
The National Science Foundation (NSF) East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students (EAPSI) is an international fellowship program for developing the next generation of globally engaged U.S. scientists and engineers knowledgeable about the Asian and Pacific regions. The Summer Institutes are hosted by foreign counterparts committed to increasing opportunities for young U.S. researchers to work in research facilities and with host mentors abroad. Fellows are supported to participate in eight-week research experiences at host laboratories in Australia, China, Japan (10 weeks), Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan, The program provides a $5,000 summer stipend, round-trip airfare to the host location, living expenses abroad, and an introduction to the society, culture, language, and research environment of the host location. For more information, eligibility guidelines and application instructions, please visit http://www.nsfsi.org/.
NASA and NIA Announce the 2012 RASC-AL Competition – Call for Participation
Notice of Intent Deadline – November 11, 2011
Abstracts Deadline – January 20, 2012
The 2012 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) design competition is looking for innovative and creative ideas from undergraduate and graduate level engineering students. Student teams and their faculty advisors are invited to submit an abstract in response to the following themes:
- Near Earth Object (NEO) Flexible Mission Architecture Designs
- Earth-Orbit Debris Mitigation and Satellite Servicing Missions
- Human-Focused MARS Mission Systems and Technologies
- Lunar Outpost to Settlement Architectures
Based on review of the abstracts by the RASC-AL Steering Committee, up to ten (10) undergraduate and five (5) graduate level teams will be selected to participate and receive a $5,875 travel stipend per team to attend the RASC-AL forum to be held in Florida in June of 2012. For your convenience, here is a list of important dates:
November 11, 2011 Deadline for Notices of Intent (NOI) online submission
January 20, 2012 Deadline for abstract submission
February 15, 2012 Teams are notified of their selection status
May 11, 2012 Deadline for online registration and payment for 2012 Forum
June 1, 2012 Deadline for written and oral reports online submission
June 10, 2012 Faculty advisor and Steering Committee dinner - Cocoa Beach, FL
June 11-13, 2012 2012 RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, FL
Mini-grants for Youth with Disabilities in Computer Science
Application Deadline – November 30, 2011
In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the Computer Science Collaboration Project (CSCP) has announced the availability of mini-grant funding as an incentive for collaborative projects to efficiently increase the participation of K-12 youth with disabilities in computer science. These mini-grants are designed to build collaboration between participants from K-12 settings, community-based organizations, higher education, and industry to encourage youth with disabilities to explore and/or pursue computer science educational programs and careers. Collaborative projects must take place between January 1, 2012 and October 31, 2012. Please visit the CSCP website http://www.cscproject.org; to download the application form and learn more about the mini-grants. Questions can be directed to grants@cscproject.org.
News at 11 – XSEDE Staff in the Spotlight
Carnegie Mellon's David Brumley Receives Prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Cybersecurity Research
Carnegie Mellon University professor David Brumley has won a U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for his work on cybersecurity research. PECASE is the highest honor the government bestows on young scientists and engineers and was created to recognize strong leaders at the frontiers of knowledge early in their careers. The government recognized Brumley for his "innovation and vital research on malware [malicious software] analysis and for strong educational and outreach activities." "David Brumley has already made significant contributions in the area of computer malware and is clearly an emerging leader in the field of cybersecurity, both in terms of his research and educational contributions," says Ed Schlesinger with Carnegie Mellon's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. To read further, please visit http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2011/september/sept26_davidbrumley.html.
Who, What, Where - XSEDE Across the Country
XSEDE Booth at SC11
SC11 returns to Seattle, Washington for its annual conference. Visit us at Booth #1123 in the 4th floor exhibit hall at the premier international conference on High Performance Computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis. Follow us on Twitter for information on what to expect @psc_live.
XSEDE'12 and XSEDE'13 Conference Locations Set
The location for the next two XSEDE annual conferences has been finalized. For XSEDE'12, participants will be gathering in Chicago, Illinois. Craig Stewart of Indiana University will chair the conference. For 2013, Nancy Wilkins-Diehr, of the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California, San Diego, will chair the conference, which will be held in La Jolla, California. Stay tuned for upcoming details!
Contribute to the XSEDE Education Blog Spot
XSEDE News and Information is updated continually. To submit information for inclusion, please send email to amason@ucsd.edu.
